Healthcare systems and cancer patients faced unprecedented challenges due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic including organisational and personal ones. These challenges impacted the way that cancer was delivered throughout the pandemic. Organisational challenges included changes in the healthcare workforce, the rapid and extensive introduction of teleconsultations and changes in the working conditions where healthcare professionals had to deal with significant medical supply shortages, thus placing their health at risk of contracting the virus. Personal challenges included somatic as well as psychological implications for both patients and healthcare professionals where burnout and stress dominated. For patients this resulted in a more complex management for their cancer diagnosis and for healthcare professionals meant dealing with increased levels of burnout jeopardising the quality of the care they provided but also their health. With strict restrictions in physical contact, much of the training and the education moved to eLearning which also called for further adjustments by the healthcare professionals (often challenging their own digital skills and digital literacy). While some of these challenges spurred innovation and enhanced preparedness for similar future scenarios, they also led to increased feelings of loneliness, stress, and burnout.