I have come across very timely and relevant articles that are informative and enlightening. Many times there are so many issues that cancer patients deal with for which there are no easy answers.
It is recommended that these articles are read by patients, their families, caregivers, nurses, home care aides, oncologists, and the medical community at large. We all need to be aware of the issues and concerns facing patients, their families and the health/medical community.
Recommended articles:
TREATMENT OF ELDERLY CANCER PATIENTS:
1) Guidelines for the Treatments of Elderly Cancer Patients, by Stuart M. Lichtman, M.D., FACP, from the North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York, submitted May 28, 2003; accepted August 14, 2003.
http://moffitt.usf.edu/CCJRoot/v10n6/pdf/445.pdf
Lichtman writes that “the highly individual aging process must be considered in determining optimal treatment for elderly patients with cancer.
2) “Cancer treatment in the elderly: the need for a better organization, S. Monfardini, Insituteo Oncologico Veneto, via Gattamelata 64, 35128 Padova, Italy, and M. Aapro, Clinique de Genolier, Switzerland, Annals of Oncology, Oxford Journals, Volume 18, Issue 7, pp. 1283-1284., 2007.
The article cites that more than two-thirds of tumor deaths occur in people older than 65 years. While this was a problem for years – it sees that better care and organization is still lacking between clinical oncologists and geriatricians in most hospitals. http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/7/1283.full.pdf
3) “How Should We Care for Elderly Cancer Patients?” by Jonas Feilchenfeldt, MD, Manish A. Shah, MD, The Ades Article Reviewed, Oncology, Vo. 23, No. 2 Commentary, February 18, 2009.
This article discusses that an oncologist decision on treatment for a life-threatening illness take into account the patient’s will, performance status, available standard treatment options and possible experimental approaches. Physicians need to take into account the “possible detrimental, if not lethal, outcome of the treatment he prescribes and implicitly enforce good medical practice. Data suggest s that elderly patients may be a vulnerable population, from which valuable and lifesaving therapy is withheld.” Physicians are guilty of undertreating and overtreating elderly patients. “It might be appropriate for an 85 year old patient with stage III colon cancer not to receive treatment for a variety of reasons.”
“Given the increased toxicity but apparently equal treatement-related mortality with elderly cancer patients, it would be of interest to evaluate the impact of oncologic treatment on non-oncologic chronic medical care.” Questions are raised on who should receive treatment. Geriatric oncology may benefit from more subtle tools of measuring clinical performance.”
http://www.cancernetwork.com/colorectal-cancer/content/article/10165/1376787
4) Management of Cancer in the Older Person: A Practical Approach., Lodovico Balducci, M.D., Senior Adult Oncology Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA. Telephone 813-979-3822; Fax: 813-972-8468; e-mail: Balducci@moffitt.usf.edu Website: http://www.moffitt.nsf.edu Received March 31, 2000.
The elderly need to be properly assessed to determine the feasibility of cancer treatment. “Age may be construed as a progressive loss of stress tolerance, due to decline in functional reserve of multiple organ systems, high prevalence of comorbid conditions, limited socioeconomic support, reduced cognition, and higher prevalence of depression. Recognition of potentially treatable conditions such as depression or malnutrition, that may lessen the tolerance of cancer treatment and be reversed with proper intervention; Assessment of individual functional reserve; Gross estimate of individual life expectancy; and Adoption of a common language to classify older cancer patients.”
http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/5/3/224.short
5) “Tolerance to Chemotherapy in Elderly Patients with Cancer,” Ulrich Wedding, MD, Friedemann Honecker, MD, PhD, Carsten Bokemeyer, MD, Ludger Pientka, MD, MPH, and Kalus Höffken, MD, from the Department of hematology and Oncology at the Friedrich Schiller Universität, Jena, Germany., Submitted May 23, 2006, accepted September 12, 2006.
“The factors associated with increased toxicity, and the current recommendations for different chemotherapeutic agents and treatment situations are reviewed.
6) “Special Report: Can You Be Too Old For Cancer Treatment?” by Sara Golin, Inside Jersey Magazine, June 2012.
7) “No Single Path for Cancer Care in Elderly” by Jane Brody, New York Times, March 16, 2009. This article still relevant today about the issues regarding cancer treatment for the elderly. It can be argued that they are undertreated, overtreated, or they are not being treated in clinical trials. There are concerns regarding transportation to facilities, incomplete medical information, the state of their physical and mental health, the problems of aggressive treatment vs. quality of life. Families need to be involved. Question posed to doctors: How would you treat your mother or father?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/health/17brod.html
LACK OF HONESTY AMONG PHYSICIANS:
1) Survey shows that at least some physicians are not always open or honest with patients, Author: Ienozzi, Campbell et al, Institute on Medicine as a Profession, Published: February 29, 2012.
The Charter on Medical Professionalism, endorsed by more than 100 professional groups worldwide and the US Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, requires openness and honesty in physicians’ communication with patients. Their findings from a 2009 survey raise concerns that some patients might not receive complete and accurate information from their physicians ….
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/2/383.abstract
2) “Doctors Not Always Honest with Patients, Says Survey,” ABC News, February 8, 2012.
“Our findings raise concerns that some patients might not be receiving complete and accurate information from their physicians,” the authors wrote. “The effects of these communication lapses are unclear, but they could include patients’ lack of information needed to make fully informed decisions about their health care.”
3) American Medical News, “Some Doctors Shield Whole Truth From Patients, Survey Shows,” by Kevin B. O’Reilly, Amednews staff, posted February 17, 2012.
“A majority of physicians told a patient that his or her prognosis was more positive than the medical facts warranted within the previous year. More than a third say it is sometimes OK to shield significant medical errors from affected patients or hide financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies and device makers from patients.”
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/02/13/prse0217.htm
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:
ARE DOCTORS HIDING BEHIND FEARS OF FAILURE AND MALPRACTICE?
1. “Why Doctors Die Differently,” Life & Culture Section, The Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2012.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203918304577243321242833962.html
Some men s buy levitra viagra are unable to erect their male reproductive organ and maintain the erection. In case, plaque forms cialis prices on the walls of the arteries. High blood glucose, damaged islet-like cells, damaged kidney order generic levitra http://www.slovak-republic.org/women/ and kidney function are repaired by Stem Cell Transplant. Also, athletes vardenafil online find it is effective in relaxing the blood vessels. 2) “Doctors Have Feelings, Too,” by Danielle Ofri, The New York Times, published March 17, 2012.
CANCER RATES & STATISTICS IN THE US:
1. “Report: Cancer rates higher in South Jersey than North Jersey due to smoking,” by Meghan DeMarco/Statehouse Bureau, The Star Ledger, Wednesday, July 25, 2012.
The American Cancer Society reports that New Jersey has the most diagnosed and highest cancer death rate compared to the nationwide average. Lung cancer is found to be the most common killer and accounts for 25 percent of all cancer deaths in 2011.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/report_cancer_rates_higher_in.html
LUNG CANCER IS THE GREATEST KILLER AMONG WOMEN:
1) “Does lung cancer kill more women than any other type of cancer?” by Dr. Anna Day, Tuesday’s Globe and Mail, published October 6, 2009, last updated, Wednesday, March 16, 2011.
2) “Lung Cancer: Deadlier to Women Than Breast, Ovarian and Cervical Combined,” Politics Daily Website, by Eleanor Clift, 2010.
3) “Women and Lung Cancer,” Oncologist approved cancer information from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, www.cancer.net.
http://www.cancer.net/patient/All+About+Cancer/Cancer.Net+Feature+Articles/Cancer+Screening+and+Prevention/Women+and+Lung+Cancer
Click to Enlarge
NEW RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS:
1. “New lab test to ID early lung cancer,” by Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel 21c, Medical devices, June 10, 2012.
A new non-invasive test to aid in early detection of lung cancer may soon be available, thanks to an agreement between Israel’s BioViewand a leading California laboratory. “The average life expectancy of lung cancer patients is only about 18 months, mainly because usually it’s found at a later stage,” BioView CEO Alan Schwebel tells ISRAEL21c. “Early detection and subsequent treatment can increase life expectancy to five years or more.”
BioView technology lets caregivers identify lung cancer non-invasively.
http://israel21c.org/health/new-lab-test-to-id-early-lung-cancer/
2. “Time to Rethink Chemotherapy,” by Karin Koosterman, Israel 21c, Research, June 14, 2012
Israeli researchers built a unique “family tree” of leukemia cells from living cancer patients to understand more about how cancer cells divide, spread and can outlast chemotherapy treatments. This world’s-first will likely have profound implications for the way leukemia and other cancers are treated in the future, the researchers expect.
http://israel21c.org/health/time-to-rethink-chemotherapy-treatment/
3. “Cancelling Cancer Cells with New Radiation,” by Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21c, December 10, 2012.
When tested in an Israeli lab on human lung cancer cells, millimeter wave radiation knocked out the cancer cells ability to reproduce.
http://israel21c.org/health/cancelling-cancer-cells-with-new-radiation/
Foundation Medicine. A test developed by Foundation Medicine Inc. analyzes tumor DNA to help find targeted treatment options for patients with cancer.
4. “The Future of Medicine,” by Ron Winslow, The Wall Street Journal, Saturday Edition, December 28, 2012.
Ron Winslow writes about six of the latest innovations in health e.g. targeting tumors with specialized drugs, gene therapy, DNA sequencing analysis, a new surgical strategy to grow a heart and harnessing the immune system to fight cancer.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323530404578205692226506324.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Great article, I enjoyed reading it.