Integrative Cancer Therapies: Learning From COVID-19

Abstract

Integrative therapies have been associated with the coronavirus pandemic since shortly after it began. Traditional Chinese medicine was used with COVID-19 (coronavirus diseaes-19) patients at the start of the pandemic and featured in the Chinese National Plan. 1 In this journal, Yan et al 2 discussed the use of traditional Chinese medicine therapies with cancer patients afflicted with COVID-19. They suggested the use of Tai Chi and Qi Gong as indoor exercise during times when the public is restricted to home to help strengthen the constitution. They also raised an alarm about therapies like massage and acupuncture that involve close contact with patients, and suggest they be rigidly considered or forbidden for cancer patients in endemic areas, with stronger personal protection provisions for both patients and therapists.Their caution was prescient. Since COVID-19 is now widespread throughout the globe, integrative and conventional medical practices alike have restricted or eliminated "high-touch" therapies that involve close personal contact, ranging from dentistry to surgery, not to mention massage and acupuncture. We hear reports of integrative therapy departments in cancer-focused hospitals being shut down, with widespread halts to ongoing research. For health professionals in "high-touch" occupations practicing in areas with high COVID-19 presence, the economic devastation is palpable, with closed private clinics, and layoffs in hospitals. 3 This is raising serious concerns of how COVID-19 may shape the future of integrative cancer therapies.Cancer patients are reported to have severe outcomes in COVID-19. 4 Medical practices are already instituting ways to reduce personal contact through, for example, expanded telehealth visits. How will medical administrators view some of the staples of integrative cancer therapies in the next few years? Reiki, yoga classes, meditation classes, acupuncture, art therapy, and similar interventions may be considered hazardous to immunocompromised cancer patients, and thus medically contraindicated. Furthermore, the cost to health care systems from the COVID-19 pandemic is astounding. Recent projections show a cost to the US health care system of $654 billion if 80% of the US population

Integrative Oncology Consultations Delivered via Telehealth in 2020 and In-Person in 2019: Paradigm Shift During the COVID-19 World Pandemic

“… 15 - 17 However, there are limited data on the practice of IO through the telehealth platform. 18 - 20 This manuscript reports on data from new patient IO telehealth consults between April 21 to October 21, 2020 compared to new patient IO in-person consults during the same time period in 2019.…”

The Use of Mobile-technologies to Deliver Integrative Medicine During and Beyond the COVID-19 World Pandemic

“…The focus of integrative oncology, in particular, is on counseling patients regarding a healthy lifestyle, use of adjunctive approaches to help with symptom management, and addressing questions regarding complementary and alternative therapies. 6 …”

“…The focus of integrative oncology, in particular, is on counseling patients regarding a healthy lifestyle, use of adjunctive approaches to help with symptom management, and addressing questions regarding complementary and alternative therapies. 6 Even in the absence of COVID-19, strategies to decrease the number of in-person clinic and hospital visits in cancer patients will reduce extra exposures to possible infections among cancer patients and support a more patient-centered healthcare delivery model. This is especially relevant when patients are on immunosuppressive therapies or high-dose chemotherapy.…”

The Challenge and Management of Clinical Trials in Integrative Cancer during the COVID-19 Pandemic Worldwide

“…4 In the future, integrative cancer care may need to rely more on telemedicine services, such as consultations with integrative physicians and remotely delivered mindfulness or exercise therapies. 5 For Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, meditation, and other mind-body therapies, the best way of participating in a clinical trial might be to stay at home under the instruction of telemedicine services, and feedback information by EDC.…”