Older people living with cancer

3 minute read time.

In the UK about 2 in every hundred people over the age of 75 are diagnosed with cancer each year. As people are living longer, this means that the number of older people living with cancer is also increasing.

This is likely to affect most of us in some way. Even if we are not over the age of 75 yet, many of us are likely to have a relative or friend who is. In this blog, one of our information development nurses Teri looks at some of challenges we face with diagnosing, treating and coping with cancer when we are older and how to help overcome them.

Awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer
It can be a challenge to get an early diagnosis of cancer when we are older. And it is common for older people to have a more advanced cancer at the time it is diagnosed. This is partly due to symptoms being confused with other ones that may be caused by other health problems. Early symptoms of cancer are often the same as ones for other health problems.

Another reason why older people aren’t always diagnosed early is a lack of awareness of cancer symptoms and not knowing when to go the GP.

What you can do
One way to help with this is to become more aware of possible cancer symptoms. If you are older, you may think you are wasting the GP’s time. But if your symptoms don’t go away, it is important to find out the cause and get the right treatment, even if it isn’t cancer. If you are a friend or relative, try to offer encouragement for the person to tell their GP about any symptoms that might be a symptom of cancer.

Fitness levels and treatment for cancer
When a cancer specialist is deciding about treatment for anyone diagnosed with cancer, they will consider whether the benefits of the treatment outweigh the side effects. The choice of treatment offered will depend on how far the cancer has spread. It may not be possible to treat more advanced cancers with more aggressive treatments, which can be more effective.

Your cancer specialist will assess your general fitness levels when planning your treatment. Your treatment decision is based on fitness for treatment and not your age. The fitter you are, the more chance you have of being offered more aggressive treatment. This is because you will be more likely to cope with the side effects. You will discuss the treatment plan together with your doctor.

What you can do
Knowing about ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle and keep fit, can help you to cope with treatments for cancer and also reduce your risk of developing cancer.

Worry about how you may cope with cancer treatment
Some older people worry that they do not have the practical support they need to cope treatment. But there is help available.

What you can do
If you have family or friends, they may be able to offer practical support, for example driving or going with you to hospital, housekeeping, shopping and dog-walking. Your GP can also help by referring you to local support services or possibly a Macmillan nurse, or both, that may be able to help. You may find our database of local information and support services helpful to find out what support is available in your area.

Knowing that you have this support may help you feel more confident and supported enough to take up the treatment that you are recommended.

You can find more information about the topics we've talked about here in our booklet Cancer and older people. You can order a free copy at be.macmillan.org.uk or by calling 0808 808 00 00.


To see what else Macmillan's cancer information team has been blogging about, please visit our blog home page! You can subscribe to receive our blogs by email or RSS too.

We're with you every step of the way

The Macmillan team is here to help. Our cancer support specialists can answer your questions, offer support, or simply listen if you need a chat. Call us free on 0808 808 00 00.

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