No More Cancer Screening for Senior Citizens?
Because prostate cancer is typically a slow progressing disease, the task force is recommending that men over 75 years old and younger men with life expectancies of less than 10 years not be screened for it at all. For these men, the treatment for the cancer may be more detrimental to their health that the illness itself, having a negative impact on quality of life.
Reading these recommendations reminded me of similar recommendations made for older women in regards to breast cancer screening. I blogged about this recommendation in "Should the Elderly be Screened for Cancer" . The idea was the same - elderly women who were screened and diagnosed with breast cancer often suffer a poor quality of life related to the cancer treatment.
These new recommendations for men and women make me wonder what the older population will do. They stand to gain, or lose, the most after all. Will older men give up prostate screening and older women give up mammograms? Should screening for these cancers be withheld from the older population? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Read the full New York Times article about the task forces' recommendations.
Comments
The elderly, for example my mother, often comprehend and can evaluate a lot more than we give them credit for. How about discussing with them individually the statistics about screening (possible unnecessary surgery/complications etc.), and then allowing them to make their own informed decision?
My husband’s aunt had breast cancer just before I did. She took the whole treatments, and is still here and still kicking, 8 years later. She survived WW2, her husband, and a double mastectomy and chemo. She’s tough, and I want to be just like here when I’m in MY 80’s!
There are plenty of active, vibrant seniors out there who would appreciate the opportunity to choose for themselves whether they would pursue treatment or not.