Dear Colleagues,
Many of us are struggling with how to provide care to our patients in the setting of diminished and dwindling resources, and in an effort to protect our patients, staff and ourselves from unnecessary exposure to the SARS CoV-2 virus (coronavirus).
In response to multiple requests for guidelines and numerous inquiries, the NAPBC, CoC, ASBrS and NCCN urgently collaborated to produce general guidelines and thoughts on the management of patients with breast diseases in this difficult period of time. We felt that in these unprecedented times, a unified truly multidisciplinary document would be most useful to the cancer care team.
We are attaching an Executive Summary (ES) for your review to help with some of the difficult decisions that you all are facing. This ES will be followed by a manuscript that is currently under review and will hopefully be published within a few days.
Please review and share with your hospital. Nothing is a substitute for the doctor/patient relationship and your assessment of patient risk factors and the local context at your own institutions. We are planning a series of publications that will evolve as this crisis evolves and we learn from national and international experiences.
Stay well,
Jill Dietz, President, The American Society of Breast Surgeons
Scott Kurtzman, Chair National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers
Larry Shulman, Chair Commission on Cancer
Bill Gradishar, Chair Breast Guidelines Panel National Comprehensive Cancer Network
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to provide you with an update on our efforts to continue assisting Society members while also protecting the health and safety of our staff, volunteer leaders, and the community.
The Society’s staff is currently working remotely, but our office is completely operational. To make your communication with us easier, here is a Quick Facts List of helpful Society Resources:
As a reminder, the ASBrS has cancelled the 21st Annual Meeting on April 29–May 3 in Las Vegas and is currently investigating alternative means of delivering educational content within our community. The Society will automatically cancel your registration and housing (if booked through Atlas Travel, the Society’s official housing bureau) and refund all fees. Refunds will be processed back to the original form of payment. You will not need to contact the Society to initiate a refund. Please allow up to 30 days for refunds to be processed.
We will continue to share information and resources with you through a variety of channels. We’ve heard your call for assistance—our leadership has finalized a multi-society guidance document on prioritizing treatment of breast cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are in unprecedented times, but we know that our community will get through this crisis together.
