A growing shortage of common cancer treatments is forcing doctors to switch medications and delaying some care, prominent U.S. cancer centers say.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network said Wednesday that nearly all the centers it surveyed late last month were dealing with shortages of carboplatin and cisplatin, a pair of drugs used to treat a range of cancers. Some are no longer able to treat patients receiving carboplatin at the intended dose or schedule.

In the video player above: A patient talks about how his cancer treatment was delayed amid medication shortage

Dr. Kari Wisinski has had to turn to other treatments for some patients or switch the order in which people receive their drug combinations. She said she's done that "hoping that within three months there will be a better carboplatin supply."

"It's really difficult as a physician to have these conversations with a family or a patient about not having a medication you'd like to prescribe to them," she said.

Wisinski is a breast cancer specialist with the UW Health Carbone Cancer Center in Madison, Wisconsin, a member of the network. She said doctors, nurses and pharmacists at her center have done a good job managing the drug supply, but doing so has taken them away from other elements of care.

Of the 27 cancer centers that responded to the network's survey, 25 reported a shortage of carboplatin. Among the cancer centers with shortages of carboplatin, more than a third said they were unable to treat all patients according to the intended dose and schedule.

Nineteen hospitals also reported cisplatin shortages, but all said they were able to maintain the treatments for existing patients.

Video below: More about the cancer drug shortage

The problem started developing earlier this year, said Mike Ganio, who studies drug shortages at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

"I think it went from being a shortage to being a really bad shortage really quickly," he said. "There's not a whole lot of room for it to get worse."

Ganio's society reported the cisplatin shortage in January and then carboplatin in late March, months after a factory in India that makes both drugs paused production following an inspection that raised quality concerns.

Manufacturing problems, unexpected demand spikes and tight ingredient supplies have all contributed to a growing number of prescription drug shortages in the United States. Many patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder have had a hard time filling prescriptions for Adderall this year, and drugstores ran out of children's medicines during last winter's cold-and-flu season.

There were 301 active national drug shortages through this year's first quarter, according to the University of Utah Drug Information Service.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken some steps to try to ease the chemotherapy shortage. The agency is allowing the temporary importation of some foreign-approved versions of cisplatin from factories registered with the FDA.

Video below: FDA says over a dozen cancer treatment drugs are under shortage

That should help, but the big factor is getting the factory in India back up to full production, Ganio said.

He also noted that drug supply shortages are a decades-old problem.

"We really need to get at the root causes of these shortages or they're going to continue happening," he said.

ST. JAMES, N.Y. – A 4-year-old in New York is recovering from brain surgery to treat cancer but he can't get the chemotherapy he needs because he’s been diagnosed with COVID-19.

When Matteo Ferruzzi started feeling sick, his mother, Jennifer, says she wasn’t that concerned.

"Honestly, we just thought it was a stomach virus," she told

News 12 Long Island.

But quickly, other symptoms developed, including Matteo’s eyes, which began to cross. The boy was rushed to Cohen’s Children’s Hospital, where it was discovered that he had an inoperable malignant brain tumor.

"I didn't expect to get this diagnosis," said Jennifer.

Matteo had emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. The St. James boy was then sent home to recover before he could begin chemotherapy. However, that's when things became more complicated.

Jennifer came down with the coronavirus and had to self-quarantine.

"It was hard for me to be in the bedroom so sick and hearing him out there, not be able to tell him ‘it's OK, mommy's here,’" she said.

Matteo also tested positive for the coronavirus, which has now delayed him getting the lifesaving treatment he needs.

"The best time I can get a good cry in is when I am in the shower," said Jennifer.

Jennifer says both she and Matteo were recently retested, but both are still positive. She’s hoping and praying the next test will give doctors the go ahead to save her son's life.

"It's such a crazy time for the whole world,” said Jennifer. “We are all in a crisis."

This is the message Jennifer says she wants to share during this heart wrenching time:

"If your child is showing symptoms or complaining about something, absolutely get them into their pediatrician right away,” said Jennifer. “And even if it's nothing, it is better to be safe than sorry."

Once Matteo gets to start chemo, he will have treatments for at least a year.