How should clinical care of the aged differ?

NM Resnick, ER Marcantonio - The Lancet, 1997 - thelancet.com
The Lancet, 1997thelancet.com
Unfortunately, the predisposition to develop symptoms earlier, when disease is more
treatable, is often offset by changes in illness behaviour. Brought up at a time when
symptoms and debility were accepted as normal consequences of ageing, today's elderly
are less likely to seek help for dysfunction and thus present at more advanced stages of
disease. For instance, although breast cancer in older women is more likely to be rich in
oestrogen receptors and therefore less aggressive, older women remain more likely to die of …
Unfortunately, the predisposition to develop symptoms earlier, when disease is more treatable, is often offset by changes in illness behaviour. Brought up at a time when symptoms and debility were accepted as normal consequences of ageing, today’s elderly are less likely to seek help for dysfunction and thus present at more advanced stages of disease. For instance, although breast cancer in older women is more likely to be rich in oestrogen receptors and therefore less aggressive, older women remain more likely to die of breast cancer than with it. 4 This sad situation results from less widespread screening, delays in presentation, and less aggressive resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, even though elderly women who are eligible for treatment protocols do as well as younger ones. 5
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