26.04.12
NHS’s ‘shameful’ cancer treatment for elderly
Cancer treatment for older people needs improvement, a leading charity has said, criticising the health service for “writing people off as too old for treatment”.
Macmillan Cancer Support has published a report which shows that cancer mortality rates for older people is improving more slowly than for younger patients, and is rising for the over-85s.
This is down to both under-treatment and a failure to properly consider the effects of age and separate health problems which are relevant to treatment. Older people are not involved enough in clinical trials and they can receive insufficient support during debilitating treatment, Macmillan said.
Additionally, treatment plans are often allocated purely on an age-related basis, ignoring individual fitness levels.
The report, The Age Old Excuse, suggests that doctors need better knowledge of specific age-related issues through improved training and methods to identify the needs of older patients. More practical assistance could also be offered to help them take up treatment.
Macmillan Cancer Support is running five pilot schemes in conjunction with the Department of Health to find new ways to treat older cancer patients, which will report at the end of the year.
Ciarán Devane, the charity’s chief executive, said: “As our population ages and the number of people diagnosed with cancer grows, it is vital that steps are taken to ensure that the right people get the right treatment at the correct level of intensity, together with the practical support to enable them to take up and complete the treatment.
“The NHS and social care providers must wake up to the specific issues older people face and ensure treatment decisions are based on their overall health, not just their date of birth. Writing people off as too old for treatment is utterly shameful.”
Health minister Paul Burstow said: “We are under no illusions that there are unjustifiable variation in standards, which is why we have funded five pilots jointly with Macmillan to help us understand how older people with cancer are cared for. The learning from the pilots will help the NHS to ensure that all older patients with cancer have their needs properly met.”
Dr Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer ResearchUK, said: “There’s no room for ageism in cancer treatment if we wantUKsurvival rates to be the best in the world - something that Cancer ResearchUKis working hard to achieve.
“All cancer patients, regardless of age, should get diagnosed as early as possible and get access to first rate treatments, to increase their chance of survival.”
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