CLEVEL AND —Former President Jimmy Carter recently announced that he has cancer. Carter is 90-years-old and said the cancer has spread.
Dr. Dale Shepard, a cancer expert at Cleveland Clinic, said generally older adults have a higher risk for cancer.
“Cancer is definitely a disease of the elderly. As people get older, they increase their likelihood of developing cancers. This is why as the population ages, we’re going to see a lot more cancer and we need to do a lot more to figure out how to treat it," Shepard said.
According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology aging is the single biggest risk factor for developing cancer.
Age really is just a number though when it comes to cancer.
Everyone ages differently and your calendar age may not reflect how functional or fit your body truly is.
So, age alone should not determine your treatment options.
When considering treatment, older adults need to weigh a host of issues including any other diseases they may have, how fit they are and how treatment will affect things like well-being and independence.
“Strictly based on age we shouldn’t be making treatment decisions. It really has to be based on their functional abilities," said Shepard.
Shepard said regular exercise and weight management may contribute to preventing cancer at an older age. A healthy physical activity level and a healthy weight also make treating cancer more manageable.
By Wcvb News
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