Tag Archives: Age and Cancer

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Survivors, Living with Cancer

Does Your Age Impact Your Recommended Cancer Treatment? Some Say Yes

Does Age Affect Cancer?
Does Age Affect Cancer?

Cancer is a devastating disease that affects thousands of new patients every year. Conventional treatment methods like chemotherapy, radiation and surgery are the most common in the United States, however, research from the United Kingdom has shown that there might be a little bit of bias when it comes to the people who qualify for life-saving surgeries.

According to an article on DailyMail.com, surgery is rarely offered to patients who are age seventy-five or older. This is especially true for men who suffer from prostate cancer, or women who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. There is speculation that these patients are considered to be “unworthy” to undergo surgery, and so the option is never even discussed with them. In fact, statistics show that when prostate cancer was detected in men who were age fifty to fifty-four, 29% of them had the surgery to remove it. Only 0.1% of men age fifty-five to eighty-four had the surgery, and no one who was eighty-five or older had it.

Although more women in the age range of seventy-five to eight-four were offered surgery (37%), almost 90% of younger women had surgery for ovarian cancer. Again, not one woman age eighty-five or older was offered this option.

The survival rates for these and other types of cancer in the UK are quite low because of these practices. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as though anything will be changing any time soon.

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with cancer, here at Issels®, we understand how you feel, and we’re dedicated to not discriminating against any of our patients because of their age. We would love to help you. Contact us.

Immuno-Oncology, Stage Four Cancer Treatment

Moms with Cancer Leave Memories for Their Children

Momeries
Momeries

When you are a mother, receiving a cancer diagnosis is magnified by the effect it will have on your children and the possibility that cancer may take you from your children before either of you are ready to let go. Cancer is no longer the death warrant it once was. Great strides have been made in treating and arresting cancer. There is real cause for hope even when a terminal diagnosis is received or standard treatments fail.

Issels Integrative Oncology Centers in Santa Barbara, California and Tijuana, Mexico have had considerable success using advanced science-based alternative cancer treatments to achieve long-term cancer remissions in patients who had been considered “incurable.” (Click here to here Issels’ patients share their cancer stories.) But despite the very real possibility of remission, cancer outcomes are often unpredictable. Many mothers understandably choose to prepare for the worst while striving and hoping for the best.

The highly acclaimed little pink book When Mom’s Cancer Doesn’t Go Away: Helping children Cope with Loss and Beyond by Maryann Makekau, author, inspirational speaker and founder of Hope Matters, tackles the issue of loss with honesty and optimism. Written from the perspective of a child, it offers suggestions for creating memories of mom, or “momeries,” to help children grieve and heal.

Memories help us keep our loved ones alive in our hearts. You don’t have to face a terminal cancer diagnosis to find value in creating and compiling family memories. Even if you live to a ripe old age, your children, grandchildren and future generations will cherish the memories you leave behind.