WEBVTT

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As you know, cancer
is a very broad word

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and could encompass
relatively minor cancer

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with perhaps no implications
or no difference

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from someone who is otherwise
healthy, with regards

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to COVID-19, to a more
extreme situation where

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a patient with cancer might
be facing a situation of more

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advanced disease, or
a treatment that might

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be more immunosuppressive.

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That is that would bring
the immune system down more

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than average.

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And then, particularly in
those groups of patients,

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we might think of a different
way to approach their care.

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So we're getting a large number
of questions at this point

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from patients who understandably
are concerned and want

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to understand better what
a potential infection

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with COVID-19 might mean.

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From what we know,
infection with COVID-19

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seems to be more difficult,
more aggressive, and with worse

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outcomes in people who
are, in general, unwell

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and of advancing age.

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And what we're seeing is this
is predominantly in older males

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that we have seen the effect.

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We don't yet understand
all the comorbidities,

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but what we're telling
patients as we're

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getting this questions,
that until we know more

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it is prudent for them to be
extra cautious, and hopefully

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through those behaviors
prevent them becoming

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infected with COVID 19.

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So be extra careful with
regards to the sanitation

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of your hands, the good
practice of social distancing

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that we have all
seen in the news,

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and certainly try to avoid
exposure to individuals

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who may be potentially ill.

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Furthermore, some treatments
may affect different

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how a person may be able to
fight off an infection or not.

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Some of the treatments
that bring down

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a certain type of
white cells create

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what we call myelosuppression.

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That is that the
neutrophils are down.

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That is usually
thought of to be more

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important for
bacterial infections.

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Some other cancer treatments
may affect more the way

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our immune system responds.

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And there's a number of cells
there, like the lymphocytes,

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so maybe that's more
important for viruses.

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But this is all speculative,
because we really

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don't have the
information at this point.

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