Background: The rapid outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to thedelay of non-urgent or routine medical appointments, placing tremendous burden on cancer patients Meanwhile, the emotional effect of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on high-risk groups, such as multiple myeloma (MM)patients, remains unclear The purpose of this project was to understand psychosocial distress and unmet needsamong patients with active MM during the acute phase of social distancing and COVID-19 impact in the UnitedStates Methods: We utilized HealthTree (healthtree org) and invited patients with active MM cancer or precursor conditionsto participate in an online survey curated through a partnership with the Cancer Support Community (CSC) Participants were asked to rate their level of concern (Not at All to Very Seriously) on 12 items assessingpsychosocial, practical, and physical needs (selected from CSC's CancerSupportSource® distress screening tool)during the COVID-19 pandemic De-identified responses were aggregated and reviewed The survey wasdetermined to be exempt by the Western Institutional Review Board Results: 1,079 MM pts participated in the survey between April 15, 2020 and June 8, 2020 The percentages ofpatients responding moderately to very seriously concerned are reported here Eating and nutrition (71%), sleepproblems (49%), pain and/or physical discomfort (46%), and feeling too tired to do the things you need or want to do(44%) made up the physical/health concerns Psychosocial/emotional concerns included worrying about the futureand what lies ahead (46%), worry about family, children, and/or friends (44%), feeling irritable (37%), feeling sad ordepressed (30%), feeling nervous or afraid (25%), feeling lonely or isolated (20%), and relationship problems withyour spouse/partner (11%) Finally, 32% reported insurance or money concerns Conclusions: Respondents to our survey were most concerned with eating and nutrition, sleep problems, painand/or physical discomfort, and worrying about the future Informing patients and medical professionals of physicaland psychosocial distress experienced by patients could create a unified approach to decreasing distress levels andincrease patient overall health, even during a pandemic or when care is delayed Patient-reported surveys via anonline portal, like HealthTree, can help investigators assess the patient community and result in hypothesis-generating research questions to enhance patient outcomes
Cancer-related distress among multiplemyeloma patients during the COVID-19 pandemic