Is Everyone Depressed?

Suddenly, many people have been thrust into varying degrees of grief and paralyzing fear, and this will continue after the lockdown

- EDUARDO GONZALES, MD

One week into the quarantine, a neighbor related to us the ordeal his 63-year-old friend has had to regularly endure because of the lockdown. The friend has end-stage kidneys and needs to undergo dialysis. He has no car and, since no public transportation is available, he has to walk one and a half hours, two to three times a week, under the sweltering summer sun, to get to the nearest dialysis center.

A couple of days later, another neighbor asked me what to do after she felt a mass on her left breast that’s about the size of a corn kernel. I advised her to consult with a female surgeon who has a clinic in a hospital nearby. She called the hospital to set an appointment, only to be told no doctor has been holding clinics since the lockdown started. What if her mass is cancerous and this lockdown lasts several months? It could be in a more advanced stage by the time she sees a doctor. With medical clinics closed, when will patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension be able to visit their doctor for a follow-up?