Host Dr. John Sweetenham, of the UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor, director of the cancer institute at Tampa General Hospital, discuss the impact of Hurricane Ian on cancer care in Florida, and the importance of disaster preparedness to protect patients and clinicians in regions prone to natural disasters.   TRANSCRIPT Dr. John Sweetenham: Hello, I'm Dr. John Sweetenham, the associate director for Clinical Affairs at UT Southwestern's Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, and host of the ASCO Daily News podcast. Hurricane Ian, a large and destructive Category 4 hurricane, has caused fatalities and widespread damage in Florida after causing huge destruction in Cuba. Communities in the hardest-hit areas have been destroyed, and hospitals across the state have been forced to evacuate patients. Today, I will be speaking with Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor, the director of the Cancer Institute at Tampa General Hospital, about the impact of the hurricane on cancer care. Our full disclosures are available on the transcript of this episode, and disclosures relating to all episodes of the ASCO Daily News podcast are available on our transcripts at asco.org/podcasts. Dr. Sotomayor, thanks for being on the podcast today. Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor: Thank you, John, and the ASCO Daily News Podcast, for having me. Dr. John Sweetenham: To begin with, Dr. Sotomayor, could you tell us a little about how Hurricane Ian impacted cancer care at your institution, and how soon do you think you'll have all of your cancer services restored? Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor: Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you about the effect of Hurricane Ian on the state of Florida. But before we start, I would like to say that our thoughts and our prayers are for those Florida citizens who were severely affected by this hurricane, in particular, our cancer patients and their caregivers. So, Tampa General Hospital is located on Davis Islands. So, we were at high risk for having inundation, major destruction, and disruptions in cancer care if the hurricane hit us directly. We were blessed that at the last minute, the hurricane changed its path. But it's important to emphasize all of the preparation that took place, starting seven days before the potential landfall of the hurricane in the state of Florida. This started at the highest levels of the hospital, with the senior leaders getting together as well as the leaders of the cancer institute. We have different scenarios that we call scenario A, B, and C. So, scenario A was the worst-case scenario that we would have a direct hit, then one or two floors of the cancer institute and the hospital would be under water. So, for that scenario, we knew that we needed to be ready to move cancer care to other facilities that Tampa General has inland in areas called Riverview and Brandon. So, scenario C is the scenario that fortunately for us, was the scenario that we dealt with during the storm. We didn't have a direct hit; we had only minimal damage, and we were able to reopen our doors 48 hours after the storm hit Florida. Important to mention also is that during those 48 hours, there was significant disruption in cancer care. In the inpatient service, we had to decrease the number of inpatients to keep those patients that really needed to be in the hospital. We closed all our outpatient facilities and therefore needed to call every patient to let them know about the cancellation of appointments, but also re-scheduling those appointments for the days after the storm has passed. As I said, again, we were among the lucky cancer centers in the state of Florida, but south of us, there were hospitals and community oncology practices that were severely affected by Hurricane Ian. Dr. John Sweetenham: So, it sounds to some extent, Dr. Sotomayor, as if your institution kind of dodged a bullet, although clearly people south of you were very badly affected. But I'm assuming that there ha