Special Evaluations Can Help Seniors Cope With Cancer Care

Geriatric assessments requiring doctors to evaluate physical and mental fitness, as well as emotional and social well-being, among older adults are being considered as beneficial to dealing with cancer treatment, reports the Associated Press . Such tests also account for the subject's desire for life-extending care regardless of how much time might be left. New guidelines from the American Society of Clinical Oncology urge the assessments for those 65 and older, particularly before making decisions about chemotherapy. Yet most cancer treatments stem from studies on younger persons, leaving doctors with limited insight on how treatments will affect seniors. The assessments require 15 to 30 minutes or more; recent research demonstrated they can accurately predict how subjects will fare during and after treatment. Older subjects who get chemotherapy and have other health problems are more susceptible to falls and delirium and at a higher risk for losing independence. The University of North Carolina's Hyman Muss stresses the evaluations' importance, but admits insurance coverage can be a problem.