Even When Cancer Is in Remission, Patients’ Risks of Severe COVID Rise

Your cancer has gone into remission, so you breathe a sigh of relief as you try to navigate the coronavirus pandemic safely. Not so fast, says new research that finds even cancer patients in remission still have a high risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.

“Patients who have cancer need to be careful not to become exposed during this time‚” said senior study author Dr. Kara Maxwell, an assistant professor of hematology-oncology and genetics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.