Living with Cancer in the Pandemic Coping with Cancer by Leigh Pate - February 22, 2022February 22, 2022 COVID is a thief. The last few weeks have I have found myself at yet another crossroads of my cancer treatment. While pondering options for the next line of therapy, I also think about the last five years living with fallopian tube cancer, two of which have been in the throes of a global pandemic. When I was first diagnosed with late-stage fallopian tube cancer (like ovarian) it took me about 15 minutes to figure out that my prognosis was poor and my chance of being alive in 5 years was sketchy (the official stat for my late stage is around 20%). I had already lived through another cancer - lobular breast cancer -which was diagnosed 5 years earlier. I already knew exactly what surgery and chemotherapy and radiation meant and its impact on quality of life because I had lived it before. My gut response when I first discussing treatment with my gyn-oncologist was to fiercely protect my quality of life – mobility, independence, mental functioning, relationships and friendships – when making treatment choices - first and foremost. And second I knew I had to live life as much as possible in the time I had left, which to me meant traveling and exploring, spending time with friends, walking every day and being in nature and importantly - doing my best to contribute something constructive to the world to try and make things better for those diagnosed with cancer in the future. What I didn’t count on was the COVID pandemic and the impact that would have on navigating treatment within the living-well parameters I had set for myself as I moved forward with my choices for living with this disease. Living alone and relying on a strong network of friends and family for support added hurdles to navigating intense cancer