We know that COVID-19 is a major threat to people who are immunocompromised (including many patients with cancer), but there is still much about the virus that remains unknown, says Patrick I. Borgen, MD, chair of the Department of Surgery and director of the Breast Cancer Program at Maimonides Medical Center.

One of the things that seems to be clear about COVID-19 is that it is really dangerous for immuno-suppressed patients. And we do a lot of immunosuppression in the cancer treatment world. So having a maximum amount of care and caution is the right thing for us to be doing right now.

I think that we're on the early-edge of understanding this. Is it possible that this is a seasonal virus that will settle in to another part of the flu vaccine? It is definitely possible. I don't believe this is SARS, I don't believe this is H1N1... But it might be stronger than the current flu that took 18,000 lives in the country this year. It could be a worse virus than that. So I think for me, what gives me pause, what makes me the most concerned, is that there is so much we don't know.

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An oncologist discusses the scary unknowns of COVID-19. 

COVID-19: The Unknowns Cause Concern

Thousands of Americans are predicted to die in 2019 because of opioid overdose, and many of them were first introduced to this type of drug through a prescription from their healthcare provider, explained Patrick I. Borgen, MD, chair of the Department of Surgery and director of breast cancer at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Over 1 million breast cancer operations occur each year, putting the oncology community in a prime position to directly affect the number of opioids being prescribed, Borgen said. But first, clinicians need to admit that there is a problem, and that they have been overprescribing opioids for years. Then, they must realize that there are other non-opioid agents that can effectively manage post-surgical pain.

Many patients with cancer are prescribed opioids to manage post-surgical pain, putting oncology professionals in a prime position to affect the current epidemic.

Patrick I. Borgen, MD

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COVID-19: The Unknowns Cause Concern

Oncology Professionals Can Affect the Opioid Epidemic