No oncology patient left behind: Challenges and solutions in rural radiation oncology

Health inequities and decreasing median American lifespan, potentiated by the worldwide COVID 19 crisis, have taken centre stage in the public consciousness. Specifically, for this discourse, rural radiation oncology challenges external to the pandemic and unique to the rural American radiation oncology care delivery result from a confluence of the following: a) increased incidence of cancer in the United States;1 b) recent legislative emphasis on rural healthcare equity initiatives;2 c) pandemic-associated delays in cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment3,4 with resultant presentation of advanced oncologic stages; d) social spotlight on healthcare equity and inclusion for disenfranchised populations.5