Eventhough women over 65 make up more than half of women diagnosed with breast cancer, the effects of therapy on this group have not been widely studied.

Studies show older women are less likely than younger women to receive common adjuvant (post-surgical) therapies like hormonal therapys or radiation treatment following surgery.

Some scientists have argued that radiation treatment is not necessary in women over 65 who have surgery and take tamoxifen, particularly because these women may face other life-threatening conditions. Others have argued that these women have less aggressive cancers and may not benefit from radiation because of the burden of travel, costs or other medical conditions.

Women under age 65 often receive more aggressive therapy when diagnosed with breast cancer. Upon diagnosis of early breast cancer, a woman may have breast conserving treatment (also called lumpectomy), a surgery in which the tumor is removed as well as a small portion of the tissue surrounding the tumor. Others receive mastectomy, the removal of the entire breast. In most cases, breast conserving surgery is followed by radiation, or the use of high-energy from x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, and other sources to kill breast cancer cells and shrink tumors.

Women with estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancers, or cancers that may grow faster in the presence of the hormone estrogen, often conclude their therapy by taking five years of hormonal treatment. At the time of this study, the standard therapy was tamoxifen (brand name: Nolvadex), a medicine that blocks the growth of hormone sensitive breast cancers by binding to estrogen receptors on the outside of cancer cells.


Posted by: Andria    Source

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