Improving cancer treatment, assessment and support for older people

Just over half of all people newly diagnosed with cancer in the UK are over 70 years old.

We're concerned that the UK has some of the worst survival rates in Europe for older people. Although late presentation and diagnosis plays a part, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that older people with cancer are under-treated.

This may explain why, while mortality rates are improving significantly for the under-75s, they are improving at a much slower rate in those aged 74-84 and actually getting worse for those aged 85 and over.

For more facts and figures on older people and cancer, read our older people’s rich picture| [PDF, 5.8Mb]. 

Our new campaign

We’ve launched a new campaign to raise awareness of the complex issues which contribute to under-treatment in the older population.

The Age Old Excuse campaign| stresses that treatment recommendations should take into consideration biological age (i.e. health and fitness) as opposed to chronological age. We recognise that over-treatment is just as undesirable as under-treatment.

The campaign aims to ensure that older people get the most appropriate treatment and care that’s right for them.

The campaign will also:

• raise awareness of issues faced by many older cancer patients, for example, social isolation, co-morbidities, disability or dementia
   
• call for better evidence regarding the treatment of older cancer patients
   
• highlight the diversity of the older population in terms of 'fitness' and examine the challenges this presents in the context of cancer treatment
   
• stress the importance of managing co-morbidities and poly-pharmacy and show the impact this can have on treatment tolerance
   
• highlight practical and social issues which can be barriers to treatment, and raise awareness of agencies which can provide support
   
• highlight examples of good practice which can be adopted to improve services for older people (for example the use of comprehensive geriatric assessment in the management of older cancer patients).

For more information on the campaign, download The Age Old Excuse media report| [PDF, 520Kb].

For more information on patient age and oncology, download the Department of Health’s The Impact of Patient Age on Clinical Decision Making in Oncology report|.

Share your views

We’d love to hear your views on how to improve cancer care for older people. 

If you would like to share your story with us please email us at olderpeople@macmillan.org.uk|.