{"id":26462,"date":"2020-10-19T19:17:20","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T19:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cmshub.wpengine.com\/?p=325087"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:16:16","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:16:16","slug":"31-year-old-mother-dies-of-cancer-after-her-chemotherapy-was-paused-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/31-year-old-mother-dies-of-cancer-after-her-chemotherapy-was-paused-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"31-Year-Old Mother Dies of Cancer After Her Chemotherapy Was Paused During the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The COVID-19 pandemic has been a scary and difficult thing for most of the world, and it\u2019s important to keep safety protocols in place where they\u2019re reasonable. However, in some cases, quarantine and shutdowns have caused just as much harm as good for people. Kelly Smith<\/a> was one of those cases.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 31-year-old mother was forced to stop chemotherapy treatments for her bowel cancer in March due to the coronavirus restrictions and shutdowns. Her doctors told her that England\u2019s National Health Service<\/a> was trying to open up more hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, so she would have to wait a few months to start her treatment again.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Adobe Stock\/Enrique Micaelo<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kelly was understandably upset about the cessation of her treatment. She knew the aggressive cancer wasn\u2019t going to wait around until the hospital was ready to take her on again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m angry at COVID and that I got put on this break, because I don\u2019t think I should have,\u201d Kelly said at the time. \u201cI\u2019m terrified \u2014 absolutely terrified. I don\u2019t want to die. I feel like I\u2019ve got so much more to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadly, Kelly\u2019s cancer continued to spread while she was off of her treatment for the next several weeks, and she passed away on June 13th, 2020<\/a>, about three months after her treatments were paused.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Adobe Stock\/NetPix<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cCancer is not a disease where you can put people on the shelf for three months,\u201d says professor Karol Sikora, a consultant oncologist at the University of Buckingham. \u201cIt\u2019s not like hip replacements or cataract surgery where patients on the waiting list face immense discomfort\u2014if cancer isn\u2019t diagnosed and treated promptly, it can spread, and more people will die.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kelly\u2019s story is a tragic one, and it\u2019s far from being the only one of its kind. Many people in England and across the globe have suffered from delayed diagnoses, treatments, drug trials, and surgeries during the pandemic. Roughly 3 million people<\/a> in the UK alone are still awaiting screenings for different diseases, and as many as 35,000 extra people may die next year as a result of pandemic lockdowns.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Adobe Stock\/ Pitchayaarch<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s absolutely vital to do what we can to protect each other during this time, such as wearing a mask and social distancing. However, it\u2019s unacceptable that screenings and procedures that save people\u2019s lives should be halted as well. Hopefully, Kelly\u2019s story can be a lesson to others; it\u2019s so important to get screened for these deadly diseases early and often!<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

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Elizabeth Nelson is a wordsmith, an alumna of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, a four-leaf-clover finder, and a grammar connoisseur. She has lived in west Michigan since age four but loves to travel to new (and old) places. In her free time, she. . . wait, what\u2019s free time?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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