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Pancreatic cancer patient dies of covid 19. Is it possible chemo made his system too weak to withstand coronavirus?
He was in some palliative care facility and there was outbreak there. He was stage 4 already.
12 Answers
- Anonymous6 days ago
It's very possible. My mom hasn't left the house since Covid started. She's 69 and two and a half years removed from breast cancer treatments. She did 6 rounds of chemo, 33 rounds of radiation, and 26 rounds of herceptin.
In some ways, she's still recovering from the treatments.
- Anonymous1 week ago
Possibly but pancreatic cancer is usually a death sentence anyway.
- PatriciaLv 72 weeks ago
Unfortunately, pancreatic cancer is almost always a death sentence whether the person gets covid or not.
- A HunchLv 72 weeks ago
If he was in a palliative care facility, he received very limited treatment for covid.
He might have received nebulizer breathing treatments to aid in breathing.
But anything beyond this like corticosteroids he would not have been given.
This is no different than if he had had the flu or pneumonia while receiving palliative care.
Palliative care means receive comfort care but not treatment.
It is not the same as hospice care.
Also, all forms of pancreatic cancer don't have a low survival rate. It depends where the tumor is located. If it's on the front of the pancreas, then surgery may be an option. But if it's on the back, it's not usually accessible.
- Anonymous2 weeks ago
Of course chemo weakens a person's immune system.
- Pat WoodenLv 72 weeks ago
Having a pre existing condition is one reason some people die from Covid-19. However, determining the official cause of death would be the final thing that made him die. No matter how weak or sick a person is, if they likely would have lived a little longer if they had not gotten the Covid, that was the cause of death. Covid was the last straw, and thereforetheultimate cause of death.
- NonplussedLv 62 weeks ago
Possibly... It's also a good chance the cancer itself made him more susceptible. The immune system of someone with end-stage cancer is gonna be shot to hell anyway, chemo or no chemo.
- TarkarriLv 72 weeks ago
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is terminal.
Once on palliative care there is generally less than 6 weeks life expectancy.
Yes, chemotherapy can temporarily damage the immune system and vulnerable to infection but it is typically ceased before patient moves to palliative care.
If you must blame someone, blame whoever entered the facility while infectious it that patient's life expectancy was only a few weeks .