Breast cancer treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic – a patient’s perspective

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on healthcare. The aim of the study was to assess how factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic were perceived by breast cancer patients during their anticancer treatment. Material and methods. The study was carried out on 154 breast cancer patients. A questionnaire prepared specifically for this analysis was used. Results. The duration of the cancer diagnosis was the same both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Howe­ver, 42.9% of the respondents stated that they waited longer for a visit/examination than before the pandemic. Some patients were proposed a teleconsultation and over half of them were not satisfied with this; most patients claimed that this could have been a good alternative only when they began to feel better. Conclusions. Breast cancer patients treated during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced some inconveniences and were afraid that the pandemic would have a negative impact on their treatment’s outcome.