Screening for cancer past the age of 75is done too late. the sixth report of the Societal Cancer Observatory published by the League against cancer points to a phenomenon that is little highlighted: cancer screening in the elderly. In France, one million French people aged 75 and over have or have had a cancer during their lifetime, and nearly 700,000 of them are currently being treated or monitored for this condition. But for this population that suffers from cancer, the diagnosis is often made late.
Why this late screening? The report mentions several possible explanations: difficulties for the elderly in expressing their feelings (symptoms, fatigue, pain, etc.); late medical consultation because they can associate their symptoms with their age.
The preconceived ideas also slow down this diagnosis by minimizing the urgency to treat a cancer: for example to think that the cancers of the elderly evolve more slowly, or that they do not wish to be treated …
Another problem raised by the document, the organized screening of breast cancer and the colon-rectum which no longer concerns those over 75 years old. “For people who could not or wanted to participate in these screenings, the habit of monitoring themselves has therefore not been taken,” says the report.
Reduced chances of recovery
This diagnosis and late management undermines the chances of recovery. In the event of heavy treatments, the side effects will be more difficult to bear or even more numerous. Therapeutic possibilities are also reduced, due to the inability to implement excessively aggressive treatments given the patient’s age and state of health (presence of other pathologies linked to aging such as respiratory, renal or cardiac insufficiency. …)
One figure illustrates the deleterious effects of this situation: half of cancer mortality affects people aged 75 and over.
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