This is a fact accepted worldwide with evidences that lung cancer is old age disease. Lung cancer patients more then 50% are diagnosed after the age of 65, while 30% patients are 70 plus old. This is also a worldwide fact that lung cancer alone responsible for more death then colon, breast, and prostate cancer combined.
As like young age patients, lung cancer also treatable in older age patients. Peoples in there 80s and 90s well tolerate chemotherapy, surgery, and other options which are used to cure or stop the spread of lung cancer. Sadly, many people are not aware of this. Patients in this age group receive very less treatment found in research. After diagnosing with stage-III lung cancer, two third of patients 80 and older did not receive treatments.
Every treatment is appropriate for patients diagnosed with any stage at older age, even stage-II and stage-III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or extensive small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) can be treated at older age. There are some people who think adults in their 80s or 90s are too weak to tolerate aggressive treatments for late stages or lung cancer treatment in general.
Luckily, even in older age persons positive results have been seen after therapies. Not all lung cancer treatments are appropriate for all age patients or health issue patients. But as more and more researches are done and more advance treatment options are coming, treatment is better tolerated by older persons.
Just age not only the reason to stop or not taking the treatment. With proper treatment, even in advanced stage, person on old age will also live full year of life.
The information shared in this blog is solely for educational purposes and is certainly not a substitute for medical advice. Please contact your healthcare provider for medical issues.
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