Dialogue: COVID-19 and Cancer

COVID-19 has significantly changed everyone’s life, especially patients with cancer. We invited two patient advocates to discuss COVD-19 and the impact it has had on treatment, cancer research, and overall quality of life.

Adam Hayden, is a writer, speaker, advocate, and organizer. Adam has been living with a glioblastoma brain tumor since 2016. Adam has been involved with the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) as an advocate since 2017, and in 2019 began co-moderating NBTS’s virtual peer-to-peer support service, The Brain Tumor Support Conversations. Additionally, Adam has spoken at a number of research meetings and symposia related to brain tumors and cancer. He blogs about philosophy, illness, and health care on his personal blog, Glioblastology. Adam is an active member of the brain tumor, cancer, and health care communities on social media, where he can be found on Twitter.

Janet Freeman-Daily was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer in May 2011. The cancer became metastatic in October 2011. After two different chemo-radiation combinations, she had no evidence of disease since January 2013 thanks to precision medicine, clinical trials, and other patients. Janet is a lung cancer patient and founder of The ROS1ders. Janet uses her skills to help others who have lung cancer, and increase the visibility and knowledge of lung cancer among those who don’t. You can read about her lung cancer journey on her blog, Gray Connections.