Mesothelioma Chemotherapy Treatments for Seniors
Mesothelioma has long latency period and usually shows its symptoms when the patient is in his 60 or 70s. According to doctors, no two senior or 70 to 75 year old patients would be same and same goes for the treatment. So, each senior individual suffering from mesothelioma would require specific mesothelioma chemotherapy based on his or her withstanding potential.
Dealing Mesothelioma in Senior Patients
A mesothelioma diagnosis is quite difficult to handle and, as seen in seniors, it become even worse as they usually have other diseases or disorder which come with aging like diabetes or heart disorders. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer which affects senior population because it is caused due to prolonged exposure to asbestos and has a long latency period. This indicates that the time between asbestos exposure and the development of the cancer can be as long as 50 years. Most of the mesothelioma contracted by senior victims is due to asbestos exposure during service to the military.
Mesothelioma Chemotherapy Risks for Senior Citizens
According to statistics, number of people over 65 years, dying from mesothelioma is 12 times more than younger patients. This is usually due to various reasons. However, chemotherapy administrated on older people is of greater risk as it might lead to chemo-related toxicity. This is because of reduced ability to repair cell damage, accumulation of body fat and decreased ability of organ functions. Apart from this, it also has co-morbidity issues as most of the seniors have various medical problems which increase toxicity. This is because the chemotherapeutic drugs react adversely with the drugs used to treat health problems like heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.
These factors slow down the recovery of the patient after mesothelioma chemotherapy. It also becomes more complicated as at times, seniors are not able to withstand the therapy due to aggravation of different side effects. There is also reduced drug absorption as well as decreased kidney function resulting in problems in excreting the drug.
Therefore, all these complications can put the senior mesothelioma patients at high risk for serious chemo-related reactions or even death making treatment with certain chemotherapy drugs more difficult.
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