Cancer can affect older adults in ways that are different from how it impacts younger persons. Patients over age 55 may face special challenges in battling the disease – from treatment that must be adjusted to account for other co-existing medical conditions to difficulty in getting to appointments to a lack of a support system. Older persons may be cognitively impaired and not able to take their medication properly, or they may have difficulty with the high cost of cancer care.
A free patient education program, “Getting the Best Cancer Care at Any Age,” given by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, will be presented at The Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center to assist older cancer patients and their caregivers in navigating the difficult decisions that must be faced when a diagnosis of cancer is made. The program will be held Thursday, May 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the medical center’s David Joseph Jurist Research Center for Tomorrows Children at 30 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack. A complimentary lunch will be served.
“We invite the public to take part in this enlightening program given by some of our leading experts in geriatrics and geriatric oncology,” says Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., chairman and executive administrative director of The Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. “Our comprehensive Geriatric Oncology Division specializes in providing optimal care for this population.”
The Cancer Center’s Division of Geriatric Oncology provides cancer care and support services for older cancer patients and their loved ones. The Division of Geriatric Oncology integrates the expertise of medical oncologists, geriatricians, and other specialists who treat older adults and aims to improve their quality of life. The Geriatric Oncology Program is one of only a few such programs in the world to offer the complete depth and breadth of geriatric cancer care that older patients need. Patients are treated by a multidisciplinary team of cancer care professionals.
Speakers for the program include:
- Richard J. Rosenbluth, M.D., chief of the Division of Geriatric Oncology
- R. Knight Steel, M.D., Chief of the Division of Geriatrics
- Stuart L. Goldberg, M.D., Chief of the Division of Leukemia
- Joan Monaghan, R.N., C.N.S., Coordinator of Psychosocial Services for Hackensack University Medical Center
“The risk of developing cancer increases with age, and as the population ages over the next decade, we can expect that the percentage of older persons diagnosed with cancer will grow,” says Dr. Rosenbluth. “Older persons, especially those with cancer, need to be assessed differently as to whether they are likely to benefit from treatment, and, if so, how they will respond to the treatment and whether they will experience significant side effects.”
“Getting the Best Cancer Care at Any Age” is free, but pre-registration is required by Tuesday, May 13. Contact Deborah Halpern or Christopher Menschner at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at 908-654-9445. Or you may register online at www.lls.org/nnnjeducationprograms. This program is provided through an unrestricted educational grant from Amgen Oncology.