 Hello everyone, my name is Dr. Malik Arjun Kalishti. I'm a consultant hematohoncologist and bone marrow transplantation physician at Manipal Hospital Bangalore. Today I'm going to briefly speak a little bit about cancer care during this period of COVID-19 pandemic. There are many questions that patients of cancer and their family members have in their mind during these times. One of the commonest question is whether patients with cancer are more prone to contact this infection of COVID-19 and whether they are going to suffer more complications because of the same. Now we do not have any robust medical data to suggest that patients of cancer are more likely to contact infection compared to normal individuals but it is quite likely that they may suffer severe complications if they develop an infection simply because their immune system is compromised meaning their ability to fight infection is compromised. They are not able to mount an immune response to any infection like a normal individual that could very well be because of underlying cancer or it could also certainly be because of the therapy that they have received in terms of chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Now one of the other things that people always ask us is should we interrupt treatment of cancer? Should we stop cancer care like chemotherapy or radiation therapy or immunotherapy or even surgeries? Please remember there is no one-size-fits-all approach in these days of COVID-19 pandemic for cancer care. It is always very important to make sure that these decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and it is important that you go back to your primary care givers, sit with them, discuss in great detail about the kind of cancer disease that you have, about the need for urgent therapy and this decision of whether to stop, continue or even interrupt treatment should be a collective one taken by the caregivers, by the cancer physician who is looking after the patient and also patient and family. The other question that most of the cancer patients ask us is should every cancer patient be tested for COVID-19 infection even if the patient is absolutely asymptomatic? The answer to that question is no. If the patient has no symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 infection like fever, headache, body ache, cough or breathing difficulty, there is absolutely no reason for such patients to be tested for COVID-19 infection at all. It is safer for them to be at home if they have no symptoms. Now under some circumstance the treating doctor may ask for this test even in asymptomatic individuals if they have to go for a major procedure or if they have to receive a very intense chemotherapy or immunotherapy but this is a very individualised decision and is best left to the treating doctor. Another important question that patients and families ask us is what are the special precautions that a cancer patient should take during these times of COVID-19 pandemic? Now the universal precautions like social distancing, avoiding crowded places, avoiding contact with a suspected case of COVID-19 infection must be followed strictly more so with the patients with cancer. It is also important to wear a mask at all the time and one other important thing that we have to stress more is what is termed hand hygiene. We advocate frequent and prolonged washing of hands with soap and water, use of hand sanitizers as much as possible. It is also important to disinfect the high touch objects because sometimes you may catch an infection because of those surfaces. It is also important to eat healthy to make sure one eats well-cooked and hygienic food and if the patient or families have any anxieties or any distress please don't hesitate to contact us in the hospital because all of us doctors and hospitals are working round the clock to make sure our patients are protected, our patients are safe and that we as treating doctors make the best decisions keeping the long term interests of patients. I also want to pass this information to patients and families, to our communities that we here at Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Care Center at Manipal Hospital are working in full force. We are making sure we take every precaution to keep the patient safety to make sure the infection does not spread to make sure our communities and our patients are safeguarded. I also want to tell that we are working every day round the clock so any patients who need urgent cancer care patients who need immunotherapy chemotherapy radiation or even individuals who are seeking transplantation as part of treatment can consult us in person. We also have telemedicine consultation services made available on all working days. So there are contact numbers which are available on a website and individuals who need an opinion can make sure they can avail those facilities and stay safe at home. And individuals who need bone marrow transplantation for example there are certain diseases like relapsed acute leukemia, individuals with high grade lymphomers. Now these individuals if they need a transplantation it will be done taking due precautions in terms of screening for COVID-19 infection in both recipient and donor and making sure all international guidelines with regards to safety of transplantation are indeed followed. Several patients have also tried to contact us with queries of whether to interrupt oral medications which are being given for cancer during these times. My answer to such patients are please do not make individual decisions on your own. And if your disease is under good control and if you are on some medications make sure you continue it till you bring it to notice of your caregiver and make sure you have enough medicines and your treatment is not interrupted because of lack of medicines. Most of these cancer treatment should be continued uninterrupted unless there is an extraordinary situation or your caregiver requests you to stop treatment. During these extraordinary times of global pandemic it is important that all of us as individuals remain positive. We must help each other. We must do everything in our capacity to prevent the spread of this highly contagious infection. We must help elderly individuals. We must help individuals who are immunocompromised like the ones diagnosed with cancer, individuals who are on medications which are known to suppress immune system. If we all do our bit responsibly, if we all remain positive only then we can win this battle as individuals, as community and as nation.