Matsen Reflects on Changes to Breast Cancer Surgery During COVID-19

Author(s):

Dr. Masten reflects on the main challenges that arose during the COVID-19 lockdown with regard to surgery in patients with breast cancer, the steps that were taken as the lockdown started to lift, and the changes that have been made with regard to managing patients around the time of surgery and in the operating room.

Welcome to OncLive On Air^®! I’m your host today, Jessica Hergert.

OncLive On Air^® is a podcast from OncLive^®, which provides oncology professionals with the resources and information they need to provide the best patient care. In both digital and print formats, OncLive^® covers every angle of oncology practice, from new technology to treatment advances to important regulatory decisions.

In today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Cindy B. Matsen, MD, a breast surgeon and an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah School of Medicine, to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on surgery, telemedicine, and the return to normalcy in the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

In our exclusive interview, Masten reflected on the main challenges that arose during the COVID-19 lockdown with regard to surgery in patients with breast cancer, the steps that were taken as the lockdown started to lift, and the changes that have been made with regard to managing patients around the time of surgery and in the operating room.

Editor’s note: This interview was conducted in January 2021. For up to date information on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the field of oncology, visit www.onclive.com/clinical/covid-19.