Health – BBC News
Adrienne Chaplin, a 70-year-old from Edinburgh who is going through breast cancer treatment, says she…
Thousands of Scots
with cancer are living in fear of Covid-19, according to research by Macmillan
Cancer Support.
The charity said
there is widespread anxiety and panic among those suffering from cancer, with
many too afraid to leave their home.
Around 38,000
people with cancer in Scotland – 15% of those with the disease – have barely
left the house because they are scared about catching the virus or are
generally anxious about going outside, the charity said.
Its research found
around 10,000 people with cancer have not left the house at all since the start
of lockdown and say they will not feel safe enough to do so until there is a
vaccine or zero new cases.
An estimated 13,000
of those with cancer have experienced panic or anxiety attacks because of
Covid-19, almost one in three (30%) feel stressed, anxious or depressed, and 9%
of those with the disease – around 24,000 people in Scotland – have seen their
mental health worsen.
A Scottish government spokesman said: “We are working with the NHS and all relevant stakeholders to consider how services can be resumed as quickly and as safely as possible.”
