Where the Oldest Die Now - NYTimes.com

Where the Oldest Die Now - NYTimes.com

".... But if people are being shuttled from home to hospital to nursing home (and possibly around again) during their last days and weeks, that’s nothing to celebrate. “Site-of-death data only tells you where you are at time of death, but nothing about the transitions leading to that point,” Dr. Teno said....."

open access: Cancer in older patients: an analysis of elderly oncology - Is it even possible to define when someone is elderly?

Blogger's Note: (ie. opinion) this paper definitely has some 'language' issues, obviously (?) not patient/consumer reviewed

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Conclusion

The field of onco-geriatrics is vastly expanding. The demand from older patients is increasing, and is predicted to continue to expand for the foreseeable future. Life expectancy has increased, and in turn has patient expectations regarding the quality of their lives in the latter decades of age. The burden of oncology in the elderly will need to take a modern approach regarding the management of these patients. The use of screening and predictive tools can help make better decisions for these patients. Continued collaboration between organisations has also helped to develop the management of these patients; the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) was founded in 2000 with a purpose to advance the art, science and practice of oncology in elderly patients and maintain a high common standard of healthcare in elderly patients with cancer [16]. This and other similar steps forward will hopefully bring a more tailored and higher standard of care to older oncology patients.

Call for Changes in Clinical Trial Reporting of Older Patients With Cancer [Correspondence] opens in pdf file

"In studies in which older patients make up a significant proportion
(>15%) of the study population, an analysis of the possible
interaction between outcome, toxicity, and age should be provided in
detail according to specific patient characteristics (comorbidity, function,
and so on). Toxicity should include a reporting of grade 2 toxicities,
when appropriate, given that grade 2 toxicity can be significant in
a patient age 75 years."


"In sum, clinical trials currently fail to address the issues involved
in treating an aging patient with cancer. Designers of clinical cancer
trials must begin to incorporate statistical analyses related to aging, so
that clinicians can optimize their treatment of the older patient
with cancer."