Senior Citizens Most Likely Cancer Victims but
Little Research on Special Treatment Needs
Conference says senior can tolerate more aggressive
treatment; older caregivers at risk
June 25, 2008 Many older cancer patients can
tolerate more aggressive treatment than they typically receive, and age,
income, and education all can impact the physical health of cancer
caregivers, according to presentations last week at a gathering of over
400 experts in cancer survivorship.
Those in attendance at the Cancer Survivorship
Research: Mapping the New Challenges heard that historically, treatment
decisions for elderly cancer patients were often subjectively based on
what an individual doctor believed the patient could tolerate.
Today,
new tools have been developed that provide clinicians with more
objective assessment of health status that could lead to more seniors
receiving more aggressive treatments offering a better chance at
long-term survival.
One session addressed both the dearth of study and
possible under-treatment of the senior population, which makes up the
largest portion of newly diagnosed cancer patients as well as the
largest group of survivors.
Researchers discussed why this group of cancer
patients and survivors is not studied in proportion to its size, and
called for the use of a comprehensive geriatric assessment to understand
functional, physical, mental, pharmacotherapeutic and socio-economic
factors that affect the course of disease and outcome of treatment
decisions.
Another panel of experts explored the ways in which
caring for a family member at different points throughout a cancer
experience can influence a persons own physical health.
The panel found that older family members appear to
adjust psychologically and spiritually to the caregiving role, but are
at higher risk for adverse effects on their physical health. Family
caregivers with lower education and income suffered from poorer physical
health than those with more education and higher income levels.
Researchers demonstrated that caregivers who
received social support were in better health, suggesting that it is
possible to improve family caregivers' quality of life.
The biennial conference was initiated in 2002 to
bring together investigators and clinicians involved in cutting-edge
cancer survivorship research. This years fourth conference is sponsored
by the American Cancer Societys Behavioral Research Center, the
National Cancer Institutes Office of Cancer Survivorship, and the Lance
Armstrong Foundation.
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