Public social media discussion of COVID-19 in relation to cancer services disruption
Authors: Damian Eade, Laura Galimam, Monica Fernandez-Sierra, Caryn Gordon, Jason McDonough
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2020)

Online discussions have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as countries around the world establishedrestrictive measures to limit the spread of the virus  Patients and carers have taken to social media to expressconcerns about challenges to access and disruption of diagnostic and treatment services and seek support andguidance on their prognosis  The goal of this report was to understand the online discourse around COVID-19 forkey patient and caregiver audiences, specifically in relation to patients with cancer  Public social mediaconversations across the US and UK (English only) in relation to COVID-19 and cancer were evaluated to gatherthis information  Conversations were monitored for 1 week (April 30 to May 6, 2020) and filtered to focus on delaysto cancer services  Initial analyses took place across all media channels followed by deep-dive analyses on Twitterand public forums  The online conversation around cancer in relation to COVID-19 is large and multifaceted Although delays and cancellations to diagnostic services and treatment have undergone intense scrutiny in themedia, social media have also seen significant conversation around the real-world implications for cancer patientsand their families  The number of COVID-19-related cancer mentions in social media over 1 week was 111 5K  Ofthese cancer conversations, just over one-third (38K) were related to delays to cancer services  Discussions arounddelays to cancer services were seen across 10 of the most common cancers  Delays to cancer services areprimarily being discussed on Twitter (31 1%) both by those directly affected and those interested in the implicationsfor the health care system  A considerable amount of media reporting also drove the conversation, with online news(24 8%) and blogs (typically news media;21 9%) highlighting the ongoing concerns about the effect of COVID-19 onfuture of cancer services and patient prognosis  Forums, typically comprising patients, carers, and others seekingadvice and sharing concerns and frustrations around cancer service delays, made up a smaller share of voice(5 5%)  There was a pronounced trend towards negative sentiment among conversations in public Facebook pages(49 7%), Twitter (46 3%), and forums (38 4%) regarding cancer service delays  Acute fear, anger, and helplessness were key drivers of negative sentiment in Twitter  Based on analyses of forum-specific conversations, the topCOVID-19-related concerns associated with delays in cancer services are delays in cancer diagnostics, access tocare (i e , cancer surgery), and treatment decisions (especially undergoing treatment alone due to social distancing) COVID-19 has led to patients feeling increasing uncertainty about the future  Disruptions to cancer services and lackof clarity as to when these will resume cause patients to feel “abandoned” by their health care providers, frustratedthat COVID-19 has overshadowed their battles with cancer, and scared of facing the treatment journey alone