Blood cancer patients hit hard by pandemic

I WANTED to highlight that as Covid-19 restrictions ease, more than 110,000 people with blood cancer and blood disorders, including stem cell transplant patients, plan to shield. Many are struggling with poorer mental health and, in some cases, are experiencing significant delays to their treatment. Leading blood cancer and blood disorder charity Anthony Nolan is warning that these patients are being left in the dark by the Government.

What makes the pandemic more concerning for this group of patients is that they are immunocompromised and more vulnerable to Covid-19. Studies have found that 34% of blood cancer patients who contracted the virus did not survive. This risk is substantially higher than in the general population.

Worryingly, a recent study suggests that only 13% of people with blood cancer had an antibody response after one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, meaning that, every day, they are faced with difficult choices around returning to work and public spaces while remaining extremely vulnerable to the virus. This is against a backdrop of a cancer backlog in the NHS.

These patients were identified by the NHS as amongst the most vulnerable, yet they have been forgotten time and again. We cannot risk the UK becoming a twotiered society with these patients receiving less protection from approved vaccines and being forced to shield with little access to services or support.

That’s why we are urging the Government to do more for these patients. We’d like them to step up and fund more vital research to enable patients to return to normal life with the rest of the UK, and make certain everybody that needs support can access it without delay.

Your readers can write to their MP at anthonynolan.org/leftbehind or call our support line on 0303 303 0303 or visit anthonynolan.org.

Henny Braund CEO, Anthony Nolan