The staff at GRACE is concerned like everyone regarding the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and are committed to providing information that benefits and educates our community.

As with any question, we always stress that talking to your doctor is your first step.  They will offer the best suggestions and information for your particular case.  

Public health guidance has been changing rapidly and often, and we, like everyone else, are following closely the changes and recommendations for remaining healthy.  Realizing that much of our community fall in to the 'immunocompromised' category, we thought it important to acknowledge the recent outbreak. 

Dr. H. Jack West, GRACE Founder, President and CEO recently confirmed that there is really no cancer-specific recommendations, and that he and his colleagues are echoing the same recomendations as the CDC.  There are no evidence-based recommendations to make outside of following guidance and recommended safety measures of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).  We suggest adhering to CDC recommendations and protocols for heightened levels of cleanliness.  For CDC guidelines outlining symptoms to look out for, please visit the CDC Symptoms of Coronavirus page. 

A good article with advice for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers on who is most at risk for COVID-19 and what you can do to stay healthy, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle can be found here:  

https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2020/03/coronavirus-what-cancer-patients-need-to-know.html.

Be safe, be healthy.  

Regards from the GRACE Staff

***As we receive important updates and information we will share it with you here***

ASCO 2020 has been unfortunately cancelled.  You can read their statement regarding COVID 19 here: https://meetings.asco.org/am/asco-statement-novel-coronavirus-covid-19

And more info from ASCO can be found here: https://www.asco.org/asco-coronavirus-information

More info from cancer.net - coronavirus-2019-what-people-with-cancer-need-know, available also in Spanish.

And common questions -common-questions-about-coronavirus-2019-and-cancer-answers-patients-and-survivors, also available in Spanish.