50-year-old cancer patient recovers from COVID-19 in home isolation

A 50-year-old man, whose immune system had weakened due to regular chemotherapy for his stage-4 cancer, recovered from COVID-19 in home isolation by having a balanced diet and doing yoga and light exercise, his doctor said.

He, however, added the biggest challenge the doctors faced was to find a way to put on hold the chemo sessions for two weeks without letting the cancer progress.

The patient, who suffers from esophageal cancer, was detected with COVID-19 on June 25 and was advised home isolation as he was asymptomatic.

"The patient needed a chemotherapy session every two weeks, which began three months ago. When he came for one such session, we tested him as per protocol and the result came positive," said Chandragouda Dodagoudar, the director of medical oncology at Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka.

"Since he was immunocompromised due to his cancer treatment, we opted for home isolation for him as he was asymptomatic. He didn't even have fever," he said.

The patient remained in home isolation for two weeks and under observation for another week.

Dodagoudar said the challenge was two-fold.

At this stage of cancer, following the treatment schedule is important or it can be difficult to contain its progression. Two, the doctors had to be very careful about what medicines to prescribe because there was a risk of accentuating COVID-19, he added.

During home isolation, the patient was given painkillers and the acute cancer treatment, which could have made COVID-19 infection severe, was put on hold.

He was prescribed a balanced diet, comprising adequate fruits and vegetables, and a light exercise regime like walking inside house, the senior doctor said.

"To maintain a balanced mental health, he was advised light yoga, breathing exercises, meditation and listening to good music," he added.

His two-week home isolation ended on July 10 but as a precautionary measure, doctors kept him under observation for another week and he resumed his chemotherapy sessions on July 20. The doctors are now monitoring him for COVID-19.