Cancer Care at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

A multidisciplinary panel of experts convened to review the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care in the United States as part of a symposium convened by the National Cancer Policy Forum in July 2021.Representatives from the cancer care community, patients, infection prevention, and a government agency provided insight into key elements of the response to and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care in the United States in 2020.Multiple stakeholders worked quickly to adapt to provide seamless care to cancer patients with considerable success despite the profound uncertainties that faced us in the early days of the pandemic.The experiences of the early days of COVID-19 in the cancer community led to key recommendations toward the goal of preparing for the next major disruption to cancer care. These include increasing competency in emergent technologies, rapid communication, engagement of all key stakeholders in policy decisions, ensuring emergency preparedness, and advocating for permanent regulatory changes to minimize barriers to enable a unified cancer community to provide effective and readily accessible cancer care.