Impact of Pandemic on Cancer Care

There has been a drastic drop in breast and colorectal cancer screenings.  Hospitals that are overrun and overwhelmed have prolonged and, in many cases, halted the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness. Dr. Bhoomi Mehrotra, MD, Chairman of Cancer Services at Catholic Health and Director of The Cancer Institute at St. Francis Hospital in NY, discusses how they are continuing to screen, diagnose and treat patients, and the importance of encouraging communities to not postpone their annual exams or checkups.

Bhoomi Mehrotra, M.D., is both Chairman of Cancer Services at Catholic Health and Director of The Cancer Institute at St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center. Before coming to St. Francis, Dr. Mehrotra was the Associate Chief of Oncology at North Shore LIJ Department of Medicine. Prior to that, he served as section chief of Medical Oncology and Director of the Adult Autologous Stem Cell Program at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York. He is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Hofstra-North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine and has been recognized by Castle Connolly as one of the “Best Doctors“ in the New York Metro area. Dr. Mehrotra received his medical degree at the University of Delhi, where he also completed an internship. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at LIJ and a fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at the Cancer Research Institute at the University of California (UC) in San Francisco.