This section offers the following resources to help people age 65 and older who have been diagnosed with cancer.

If you are over the age of 65 and have been diagnosed with cancer, you should know that you are not alone. In fact, most people who are diagnosed with cancer and most cancer survivors are older than 65. Because of this, most cancer care teams have experience treating people who are older. This means that they often know how aging can affect cancer and cancer treatment. In some places, there are also specialists who can provide additional help for older adults.

Many people have health conditions in addition to cancer. Any health concern that you have at the same time as cancer can be called a co-existing condition, a chronic condition, or a comorbidity. One in 4 adults have at least 2 chronic conditions and they are even more frequent in adults who are aged 65 and older.

Some common types of co-existing conditions are:

• High blood pressure

• Heart disease

• Lung disease

• Diabetes

• Kidney disease

• Arthritis

Cancer treatment can be more challenging and complicated for older adults. This is because older adults are more likely to have chronic health conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. Even when you are healthy, your body will most likely respond differently to treatment than a younger person’s body. For example, older adults are more likely to have serious side effects from chemotherapy.

But age should not be the only factor in your treatment decisions. Cancer treatment can help people of any age. This article helps you think about making treatment decisions.