Seniors Guide to Cancer
Seniors are living longer and having to face more challenges than before. A healthy lifestyle can help you deal with aging, protect you from cancer and keep you at your best.
As average life expectancies increase, older adults are learning more about the cancers and other health risks that might affect them. In fact, age is the most significant risk factor for developing cancer.
People 65 and older comprise 60% of all cancer patients.
While age is the primary factor affecting your cancer or treatment, your physical lifestyle, treatment decisions and mental fitness determine your overall health.
As the senior population rapidly grows across the U.S. and around the world, researchers are developing new methods for treating the older population.
Cancers of the prostate, lung and colon represent half of all diagnosed malignancies among men 65 and older. Studies show prostate cancer is 22 times more likely in elderly men than in younger men.
Breast, colon, stomach and lung cancers are the most prevalent cancers affecting women 65 and older, making up nearly half of all malignancies in this population.
In younger age groups, cancers are almost evenly divided between men and women. However, in seniors, men have almost double the cancer incidence rate of women.