How has the Pandemic affected you as a cancer patient/survivor
Comments
-
After reading this thread I now know for sure that I have to get an N95 mask. I logged into Amazon and was completely befuddled with all the choices for an N95. Could one of you recommend a manufacturer and/or where you found your mask? Thanks in advance.
0 -
Cowgirl, I got these and they've been great for me.
Tons of options and many seem good.0 -
Cowgirl, try
https://shop.projectn95.org/masks/
Some of these masks need large order like couple hundreds. I got the white powecom from bona fide mask. It ships within a day.
0 -
I ordered a bunch of different styles and picked the one I was most comfortable wearing. Remember that if you can smell while wearing it, it's not fitted properly. Some that people I know are happy with:
0 -
-
cowgirl13 - I got these - they fit great, really firmly on my face, and feel substantial. I have a small face and am hard to fit - the surgical style ones are useless on me. Here is a link directly to AccuMed where you can purchase the masks, and they specify that they are made in the USA in case you have any concerns about quality control or counterfeit. I bought the 8th one down, the black 30-pack for $29.99. They come in packages within the larger bag so it is easy to keep them handy in several spots.
https://accumed.com/n95-mask-respirators-kn95-face-masks-ffp2-safety-masks.html
0 -
Thank you all so much!!! I really appreciate your help. Now I'll be able to order them today.
0 -
So the Bay area counties already have indoor mask mandate, but offices and gyms are exempted with < vaccinated 100 people indoor. now the counties have decided offices and gyms are no longer exempted. people on reddit freaked out. Mods had to lock the thread. I know some of them are probably trolls, but what's wrong with these cry babies!
0 -
Has anyone gotten sick with omicron lately and during hormonal treatment? I have had COVID one and a half year ago during my second chemo treatment (out of 6). I was at the hospital but fortunately I did not need ICU. I have gotten 3 shots of Pfizer but things are getting pretty scary lately due to the increase of cases drying the holidays. If any of you can share some experiences with the new variant during cancer treatment it will be very helpful. Thanks a lot and happy new year
0 -
I just had my pre-op covid test. "Results should be within 24 hours, although I'm hearing all the labs are pretty overwhelmed right now, so maybe longer. But it should be ok." Said the testing nurse.
She also asked how im feeling, do I have any symptoms? I said I've been feeling like crap since treatment started! I've been off ibrance 3 weeks and I no longer feel shaky and like I'm fighting off a bug, however I do have a slight cough...triple vaxxed, had covid pre vax, and either double or n95 whenever I leave my apt or even answer the door. Ive been quarentined with my kids since 12/24, but DH works. We will see.
Cancer center is requiring n95 or double now. Security was walking around handing out masks. Testing nurse kept trying to explain to older woman that she couldn't just hold them in front of her face, she has to wear the masks. Woman kept saying "but I can't breathe" All I could think was,. So hag, you mean to tell me you haven't practiced wearing a mask at all the past 2 years? Thanks for contributing to the spread.
Only tourists wandering around aren't fully masked properly. Most on city busses (4 buses for round trip to cancer center today) have n95 or double.. But with 335/100k positive yesterday in Manhattan, im sure ill be able to let you know soon Lalis.
0 -
Dancemom - Hope you can avoid omicron. I don't understand people who claim they can't breathe with a simple mask. They need to see what's going on with COVID patients who can't breathe.
QC positivity rate at 28%. Our case count is missing a lot of cases. Hospital capacity suddenly increased by 50%. Our hospitals needed to make more room for COVID patients.
0 -
It's hard to really know what variant you have though, Lalis21. I'm on the tail end of a Covid infection, but I don't think there's a way to know if it was Delta or Omicron.
0 -
My state lab only sequences about 10% of PCR specimen collections. Unfortunately, we do not have access to the lab test results.
0 -
More lockdown announced for QC. No restaurant indoor dining. Schools (elementary thru university) closed til Jan 17. Curfew begins tomorrow (10 pm to 5 am). No private gatherings except caregivers or single people visiting. Guess no NYE parties allowed.
COVID+ HCWs will wear N95s. Don’t know if N95s will be used elsewhere.
0 -
at least QC is doing something. I mean all countries are doing something except the us. Look at the damn positivity rate, and ppl are still bitching about masks, canceling fireworks or maybe even the potential lockdown.
0 -
Chowdog, those rates are crazy, I had no idea. In Houston, our positivity rate has increased from 4% to 18% in the last couple of weeks, which is disappointing. Fortunately ICU beds are still under 10% (gen beds under 5%). I really hope it doesn’t blow up here since I’m pretty confident that no lockdowns would be considered. So far, it looks like people are being cautious on their own.
Finally convinced DH to give up the beard friendly cloth mask in favor of my KN95’s, so that’s a win.
0 -
Just a quick reality check, Chowdog. People EVERYWHERE are bitching and moaning about cancelled events, mask mandates, vaccine requirements and soaring positivity rates.
It isn't just in the US. We have friends and family all across the world and they report the same issues where they are. People are tired of this Pandemic. They think it should just magically disappear with no effort on our part. They also seem to think that their government should have perfect foresight about this unprecedented, unpredictable, worldwide event. Word to the wise: It ain't gonna happen. Not now, not ever.
Humans, and their governments, are imperfect, reactive and usually three steps behind fast breaking events. Thus has it ever been. Thus will it ever be.
0 -
Canada is bad mainly due to QC. But the province was doing ok until Omicron hit. While other places were boosting their HCWs, ours had to wait until last week. By age, only 60+ are eligible for boosters. My kids aren't eligible until the last week of January. If the province had done more to protect children like in Ontario and begin boosters at the same time as others, we wouldn't need these lockdown measures. They waited too late. I know hospitals everywhere are struggling, but QC never had wiggle room.
The 7-day average for Canada is 464/100k. QC is the only province above that average at 822/100k.
0 -
Trishyla,
I think it's part of "messaging" problem. I remember at one point, I naively thought once I was vaccinated, I could have resumed some normal activities, like travel. Delta and the unmasking in may quickly brought me back to reality.
I don't expect government to be perfect, but the administration should be held accountable. They have made one mistake after another since the unmasking in may. At least put in some effort of "trying", but they are not even doing that. They are just pulling shit out of their asses and calling it science now.So we let omicron rip it through and hope it's the last wave. What if it's not? What then? I guess they are too dumb to see it will hurt their political career, just like the previous administration.
0 -
Chowdog, one problem in this country (U.S.) is that if Biden tried to implement any federal lockdowns or really, any restrictive measures at all, we'd see a reaction that would make January 6th look like a kindergarten picnic. There are enough right-wing nutters to start a civil war over something they see as government overreach, because that's how selfish bastards think. That's the situation Biden inherited, and there are too many loyalists to his vile predecessor in Congress and state governments to be able to work around without the country blowing up. There's no magic wand that anyone in this administration can wave to make people have common sense or common decency. If you figure out a way around that problem, do share it with the White House; I'm sure they'd welcome it.
0 -
Oh I agree that messaging has been uniformly bad by a lot of governments throughout this. UK had "Freedom Day" in June (I was honestly looking for BoJo to rock up on the new aircraft carrier in a flight suit sort of pomposity) and out went the masks and any consideration that Covid would ever be a thing again but... here we are. Its the same complaining (!I got vaxxed like you said and now you say I can't do what I want! Waaa!" and the same issues over here and while the government hasn't helped matters, the media dramatising everything doesn't really help either. Everything is a catastrophe because it sells and it gets very hard to stay on the mental level with so much daily angst and division.
There is some indication that London may have peaked and yet numbers on vents haven't increased much. However, its impossible to get PCR testing right now and even LFTs are tough to get. Lots of people aren't doing PCRs to confirm a positive LFT + symptoms because why would you? The responsible are sitting it out at home until they get a negative LFT, while Ive seen anecdotal stories of others going into work despite being positive because they cannot afford to take off due to poor sick pay rates here. The cost/benefit of a full lockdown here doesn't make sense with something this infectious and mostly mild and lockdown never seemed to work at all in the US anyway.
At this point its every man for himself - upgrade your masks, social distance, wash hands, isolate if you need to, go out at less busy times and ride out this wave best you can. Is any of this fair? No, but what can you do? The genie was out of the bottle by Feb 2020 and its never going back in.
BTW - I think Alice is right in her estimation of the US govt - Biden needs to conserve political capital for other issues, not to mention midterms are next year and you bet the pandemic handling is going to be a spark point.
0 -
Even in NYC with strictest covid rules and a mostly compliant population, the message is wrong. Mayor is STILL insisting on pushing vax (ok great) with the carrot of then you don't need to mask!!!! Why? Why not BOTH? it works in school! Why can't adults be held responsible like the kids are??
My daughter has a theory as to why our neighborhood was so bad so fast with omicron- we were among the first nearly fully vaxxed places in the country, so protections was already waning and boosters were just beginning. (My friend has another theory involving unmasked, nebulously vaxxed tourists hastening spread)
0 -
Sondra, “Freedom day”? Geez, I’ll admit, I’d be pissed if I was vaxed and thought I could live normally after my second dose, then to watch things unfold as they have. I do realize though that different variants and waning effectiveness are to be expected.
Sondra, I agree about media and catastrophes, murder hornets, anyone? Lol
Honestly, I don’t blame either administration for Covid problems. The virus and vaccines were on a scale not many could imagine, I see where both did things they thought were best given information they had at the time. Ultimately, people need to take better precautions and stop being pricks about it.
0 -
if anyone is still looking for N95 masks, my Puerto Rico family found me some at Office Max down there. Looks like the Office ZDepot/Max website has them available for mail order -
https://www.officedepot.com/catalog/search.do?Ntt=N95+masks
I have the blue ones in the top row, they fit very securely and the straps go all the way around your head, they arent just ear loops
0 -
Alice,
Two thumbs up for your post!
0 -
Alice. great post and analysis of what is the impediment to Biden's efforts. It is hard to undo something (meaning nothing of note in regards to containment/prevention) that was supported wholeheartedly by the previous false prophet that this was "no worse than the flu" or that it "would disappear when warm weather appeared".
As far as science, there are no hard and fast rules that apply and with a virus that is in constant state of evolution due to those who refuse to vaccinate, it means we are constantly on a learning curve and need to be flexible in our response. Viruses are not known for being predictable nor nice in how they will act as they undergo constant change as they pass through their respective hosts (us). Let's put the blame where it belongs and not on how the government responds.
0 -
It is thanks to vaccines that ventilations are low, here in Ontario the vast majority of critically-ill Covid patients are unvaxxd. And by getting vaccinated, I feel safer and have a greater sense of freedom than before. I travelled internationally, go to restaurants, see people, things that I wouldn't have done otherwise (with full awareness of risk associated with each activity). To say vaccines don't do anything is to deny the science.
But I'm tired of blaming governments on this mess, any government, political stripe or country. This is such a fast-moving event that no amount of foresight could see it coming or prevented it. Sometimes terrible things just happen and we have to deal with it. People's feelings of lockdown fatigue is valid and is not necessarily a sign of selfishness and shouldn't be dismissed. It was fine early in the pandemic when we knew nothing, but now it's almost pointless and destructive to the poor economically and to everyone mentally. After two years I know what to do and what not to do and those idiots who wear their mask under their nose or socialize recklessly, will keep doing so even with a lockdown. I'm not a toddler in constant need of being told off. South Africa didn't change a thing when omicron hit them, but no Westerners are different, we have to overreact! While in fact we need more rapid tests, better ventilations, better masks and better ICU capacity.
At least in Canada the elephant in the room is ICU capacity, why is it so low that with a small increase in cases our health officials think it'll collapse any minute. There are tons of structural pre-covid issues that need addressing, but they won't help us with this wave.
0 -
Alice, you said it so well. Thank you!
0 -
Rapid testing is not so reliable for omicron it seems.
0 -
not asking Biden to implement national lockdown. I don’t see any type of lockdown happening in this country anymore.
Biden had a solid plan in jan 2021. just actually implementing some of these would have been great, like his goal 3 to reduce spread.
0
