Female cancer patients and those with lower incomes had higher Covid-related stress

The risk factors identified for experiencing high levels of stress included being female, unemployed, having lower levels of education, cancer type and stage of progression. File photo

Cancer patients from lower-income households are more likely to experience severe levels of anxiety during the pandemic, research has found.

Researchers from University College Cork who examined the impact of Covid-19 on cancer patients found a number of contributing factors affected the amount of stress experienced during the pandemic. These included gender, employment, education and type of cancer.

Many of the concerns experienced by both patients and survivors were as a result of treatment delays caused by the pandemic.

While decisions to delay or cancel treatments were often made by the hospitals, some patients were 'no shows' due to their own fears associated with contracting the coronavirus. In addition to this, there were fears of disease progression.

Cancer patients who experienced severe stress were found to have lower resilience and experience social isolation and financial toxicity.

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The risk factors identified for experiencing high levels of stress included being female, unemployed, having lower levels of education, cancer type and stage of progression.

People with metastatic cancer, in particular, were hit by treatment delays with the treatment changes causing further distress.

These social and economic inequalities were compounded by a lack of support services for patients during the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Some care transitioned to online or telephone consultations and as the pandemic progressed this reduced treatment delays in some areas. However, these initiatives were not uniformly applied and where they were available, access barriers persisted.

The finding of the study will be presented at a virtual seminar hosted by the Department of Economics, Cork University Business School (CUBS), University College Cork (UCC) and Breakthrough Cancer Research.

The summit, chaired by broadcaster Matt Cooper, will hear that the economic impact of the pandemic in terms of job losses and the resultant financial crises experienced by families was a contributing factor to the stress felt by cancer patients - a burden which disproportionately impacted those in lower income households.

Dr Aileen Murphy, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics in CUBS at UCC said they anticipate the research will lead to an "important and energetic discussion".

Register https://t.co/Wk7UsTNJ1k for our virtual seminar:'The Impact of Covid-19 Amongst Cancer Patients & Survivors' Thurs, 16th Sept 2021, 11am-1pm. The event will be jointly hosted by Dr. @aileenmurphy_ & Dr. Ann Kirby (Health Economists from Dept. of Economics, @CUBSucc @UCC) pic.twitter.com/mqffB9e8It

— Breakthrough Cancer Research (@BreakthroCancer) September 6, 2021

It is hoped it will generate important discussions around how to care for cancer patients and survivors affected by Covid-19 both from an economic and social perspective.

Dr Frances Drummond of Breakthrough Cancer Research said: "The seminar will provide reflections on how care for cancer patients undergoing treatment and survivors was affected by the pandemic, to inform future contingency plans in the sector and innovation in how cancer care is delivered."

The team believes their research is timely given the delays in screening programmes and deferred implementation of the Irish National Cancer Strategy due to Covid-19.