Living longer means more older cancer patients: tips on optimizing care for this cohort

Population aging is a global phenomenon, and Quebec is no exception. Today, two out of every 10 adults in the province are over 65, and more than half (53%) of them have cancer. “We're living longer, and that's a good thing. But we're also developing more cancers, and we need to know how to treat them properly,” said Dr. Martine Extermann, oncologist at the Moffitt Cancer Center in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and former president of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology.Dr. Extermann took part in the 36th Entretiens Jacques-Cartier, an annual conference that brings together French-speaking experts and is held alternately in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, and Quebec. This year the event was held at the Université de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Que., and healthcare providers came together to discuss the optimization and relevance of care for seniors affected by cancer. ‘Cancer isn't just a tumour’Dominique Tremblay, professor at the Université de Sherbrooke's School of Nursing, began by telling the audience that cancer is not just a medical condition. “What we're trying to convey now is that it's not just a tumour to be treated. It's a whole person who wants to be treated as such.” A good oncology treatment plan needs to be adapted for the particular disease of an individual, but also for their holistic needs, she said, noting that people age in a different ways and need customized care.Everyone has the right to the treatment that suits their physical, mental and emotional condition, agreed Dr. Extermann. "The care team must not only assess the cancer, but also the patient overall. This assessment is crucial, as it helps to avoid over- or under-treating the patient, and allows for diagnosing other ailments that had previously gone unnoticed."And just because patients are advanced in age doesn't mean that treatment should be initiated too slowly or lightly said Tremblay: “Cancer won't leave them alone.”Betting on successful agingPart of the answer lies in successful aging. Regardless of how a person accumulates years, aging is considered successful when the individual lives a life that is “worthwhile and meaningful,” said Dr. Extermann. This concept applies not only to healthy people, but also to patients suffering from chronic diseases or cancer.Thanks to advances in treatment, cancer patients now have a much higher survival rate than a few decades ago—an improvement of around 1% per year over the past 30 years, estimated Dr. Extermann. Considering the aging population and the growing number of cancer survivors who will need access to a variety of healthcare services, this is important for healthcare planning.But personalized, compassionate care for every patient requires a lot of resources. “You have to think about investment in personnel, investment in capital, investment in care,” said Dr. Extermann.Fortunately, the research, technology and scientific data now available helps in optimizing the use of resources to deliver the right treatment to the right patient.Dr. Extermann encouraged clinicians to continue learning about specific treatments in geriatric oncology, get to know those in their department who make it a specialty, and feel comfortable discussing possible treatments with their patients. "As a clinician, we're capable of building and participating in our patients' best lives,” said Tremblay. “That's why we became healthcare professionals, to be present and be with them.”

Living longer means more older cancer patients: tips on optimizing care for this cohort

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