The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends new bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine for cancer patients, amid other updates.
Coronavirus
We now have three widely available options for treating COVID-19. The treatment that’s best for you will depend on infection status, your symptoms, your risk for complications and your overall cancer therapy plan.
The CDC now recommends additional vaccine doses for moderately or severely immunocompromised people (such as those on active chemotherapy and transplant recipients).
Now that the COVID-19 vaccine is available for children over the age of 5, we believe the tips we have developed to help children take their chemotherapy can be helpful for families preparing for vaccination.
Unlike other viruses that have been around for decades, COVID continues to evolve, as does the research about how effective the vaccines are in protecting people against new or recurring cases.
“Based on a big trial of 2,260 adolescents in that age range, the vaccine was incredibly effective,” says Kara Kelly, MD, Chair of the Roswell Park Oishei Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Program.
While many people are jumping at the chance to get a COVID-19 vaccine, others have been a little bit more hesitant because they're so new in the relative terms of drug development.
Regardless of whether additional booster doses will be needed later, the benefits of having the vaccine provided some immediate rewards.
Alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for developing cancers of the head & neck, esophagus, liver, breast, colon and rectum.
Lavon Amos is no stranger to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. He’s been treated twice for cancer here, first for prostate cancer in 1999 and later for multiple myeloma, and has been cancer-free since 2015. But when notified that he was eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, he hesitated.
For some women, routine mammograms are showing swollen lymph nodes in the upper arm and armpit area on the side where they’ve received their vaccine. But that’s not a reason to be alarmed.
When gathering information to help you make informed decisions about vaccination for yourself and your family, it’s important to follow the science and weigh your own personal risks and benefits.