my mom is 81 and had a lumpectomy. no clear margins and involvement in 1 sentinal node. subsequently had a mastectomy and axilliary node clearance 6 weeks ago. there was no cancer found in the other nodes removed. She is now on arimidex and is to start 15 day course of radiotherapy next wednesday. there seems to be a lot of advice for younger women but not women as old as my mom so its difficult to know how others of this age have coped and if things are going as they should. Has any one else had this experience and got any advice to share?
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Q: how does treatment for older women and younger women differ?
Answers (1)
11/ 5/09 5:27pm
Hi - A lot depends on how healthy your mom is, beyond the cancer. For some women, "80 is the new 60" - she might be vigorous, and have a much younger body than her age would suggest. Or she might be frail, with other underlying issues... In general, there aren't different treatment protocols for young vs. older women; we all want to live as long and healthy a life as possible.
If she's done well so far, the most aggressive parts of her treatment are over. Radiation might make her tired; and she might have some skin issues. Arimidex may produce joint and bone aches and pains.. or she may do just fine on it. It'll almost definitely make her bones weaker, however, and if she's already frail, you might want to explore tamoxifen instead of Arimidex, since it doesn't come with the bone density issues, OR the bone/joint pain issues, that Arimidex does. Hope this helps - PJH
11/ 5/09 8:25pm
Oh, that's too bad it's a trek - certainly does add to the whole procedure. Esp. when the radiation itself is only like 15 minutes - crazy. I'm glad she's healthy. I predict she'll take this all very well. Those Depression-era gals are REALLY strong - I know, my mom's one of them! Good luck to you both - PJH
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thank you so much for your quick reply. mom is a quite spritely 81 year old who has a bit of type 2 diabetes and well controlled high blood pressure.Its reassuring to know that her age is not a barrier to receiving good treatment. I'll keep you posted as to how things are going when she starts the radiotherapy (not looking forward to that as its quite a distance to travel- but hey- one day at a time)