Dedicated to Miss Aquilla and Miss Belinda

I know many of us are over it.

NOT staying at home is a gamble. Every time you leave your home and risk exposures to others, you are taking a risk. The risk is to you, but more importantly, the risk is also to others.

It’s hard to trust decision makers, especially when we hear conflicting advice about whether we need to shelter at home. It’s hard to worry about paying the mortgage, putting food on the table. It’s hard to be cooped up with a spouse and kids. It’s hard to not see people we love.

It’s hard to fight an invisible enemy.

And

It’s hard to fight for others.

But most of you have battled cancer or walked with someone who has. You are used to hard.

Here’s what we know, almost 90% of the people who are infected are between 30 and 80 years old. But the older you are, the greater the risk of passing. There is a growing sense that this is not the worst thing in the world as “we all have to pass of something.” But today’s 65 is YOUNG. But just not to this virus. 80% of deaths are happening in those 65 and older.

As people are dying, we are learning more about how the virus works and the high-risk criteria has expanded to include hypertension and obesity.

1 out of every 3 American adults have high blood pressure. 10.5% have diabetes, 40% are obese.

Most people will do well. Even cancer patients can survive the virus. But many don’t. And that is tragic for those they leave behind.

As importantly, the health care system is “blinded.” So whether you present in the emergency room at 30 or 80, you will be treated. The result is our health care workers are at serious risk, they have multiple exposures, little rest, poor self care and are getting sicker at a fast rate than any other population.

WHY does this matter?

The result is we don’t have enough staff to care for patients in the hospital. And it’s not just the man power, even where we do, we do not have enough personal protective equipment to protect the workers we do have.

So where we once had 10 workers, we now have 2.

Emergency rooms nationwide, on an average year, see 139.0 million patients a year. 14 million of these patients are admitted to the hospital for further treatment. Let’s say a significant percentage of those are for scheduled for emergency surgery.

For one surgery, we need schedulers, nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, operating and surgical technicians, a surgical services assistant, janitorial, a sterile reprocessing specialist, an instrument technician, surgical supplies stocker and so on.

Before this crisis, a surgical center with more than four operating rooms performed 25 cases per day, now we simply don’t have the staff to man these surgeries. If we have limited the number to 4 surgeries a day, we have to pick and choose which surgeries we do.

Why does this matter? It may not for you. But it does matter to many of our patients. Delivering cancer care during this crisis is challenging given that our population is immunocompromised.
—Hospitals are delaying surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.
—There is a push to have patients who are healthy and have curable cancers, delay treatment.
—Surveillance requiring stents, catheters, imaging and physical exams is suspended

These decisions can have serious consequences to many individuals. In our practice we are SEEING these patients. We are beefing up and modifying anti neoplastic protocols and nutrition. We are helping those who have delays in treatment choose when to push and when to hold back. We are doing increased surveillance on patients who can’t get in for standard of care.

Dr. Roy is a guest on Facebook Live of Molly Macdonald and The Pink Fund at 5:30 pm on Thursday, April 23rd.

We will be talking about what steps all cancer survivors can be taking during survivorship to lower their risk of recurrence EVEN under the shelter at home order.

On Monday, April 20th at 6 pm, Dr. March will be speaking virtually at the Gilda’s & Lakehouse about Nutrition Strategies during the CoVID Crisis to Fight Cancer.

Visit aimnatural.org or email us at dr.roy@aimnatural.com to learn more.

But we need your help. For our population alone, your decision to stay at home, while inconvenient, expensive and boring, IS life saving.

It’s an invisible enemy and it may even be one that doesn’t have you in it’s sights, but doing the “right” thing is what takes your measure. There are many forms of resistance. As Dr. King famously said, “the measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

80% of deaths are happening in those 65 and older. And with so many of us facing hypertension, obesity and high sugars, let’s try to transform our perspective on this time off of work….with nothing to do. This is a PERFECT time to REVERSE these outcomes.

Those risk factors are wholly the result of our LIFESTYLE choices and now we have an opportunity to do something about it. And obesity is the number ONE contributor to risk of cancer behind age and cigarette smoke exposure.

Like you, I am struggling to find my way, and I am OVER it. But I have made a plan for the next five weeks to make a commitment to weight loss and model for you. I have never had a patient with Dr. March who is trying to lose weight not be successful. So sign me up. It’s what I should have done years ago.

If you are well and ambulatory, tie a bandanna over your nose and mouth, get your butt outside and walk “with” me.

That’s ALL you have to do to be someone’s invisible hero against an invisible enemy that’s creeping on us for the very thing we never had enough of…enough time to do nothing but play outside.

Drs. Roy and March