Study considers strategies used for multidisciplinary breast cancer management during COVID-19 pandemic

Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)Aug 19 2020

Announcing a new article publication for the BIO Integration journal. In this commentary article the authors' Chi Wei Mok, Yert Li Melissa Seet, and Su-Ming Tan from Changi General Hospital, Singapore, and Singhealth Duke-NUS Breast Centre, Singapore consider experiences and strategies used by a Singapore breast surgical unit for multidisciplinary breast cancer management during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced healthcare institutions around the world to direct resources to manage the pandemic. This has resulted in a sudden acute limitation of resources to care for non- COVID patients with critical conditions.

In Singapore, the escalating situation has necessitated swift reaction in the Division of Breast Surgery in Changi General Hospital to develop strategies to support the battle against COVID-19 and yet deliver care to our breast cancer patients.

Prompt patient stratifications, quick adaptation to restricted resources whilst balancing the risks of exposure to patients and healthcare personnel are all crucial in providing optimal patient care.

The importance of multidisciplinary team effort is pivotal in ensuring optimal delivery of care to breast cancer patients.

The authors describe the challenges faced and measures adopted by the division during this pandemic in the multidisciplinary management of non-COVID breast cancer patients providing insights to serve as a guide for physicians in similar settings who are managing breast cancer patients amidst the pandemic.

Article reference: Chi Wei Mok, Yert Li Melissa Seet and Su-Ming Tan, Breast Cancer Multidisciplinary Management during COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences and Strategies Used by a Singapore Breast Surgical Unit. BIO Integration, 2020

BIO Integration is fully open access journal which will allow for the rapid dissemination of multidisciplinary views driving the progress of modern medicine.

As part of its mandate to help bring interesting work and knowledge from around the world to a wider audience, BIOI will actively support authors through open access publishing and through waiving author fees in its first years.

Also, publication support for authors whose first language is not English will be offered in areas such as manuscript development, English language editing and artwork assistance.