Main description:

Problem Solving in Older Cancer Patients provides an evidence-based guidebook to current thinking and clinical practice in this field. By referring to individual case studies written and/or overseen by experienced physicians, the reader can learn how to approach the management of older cancer patients and implement the appropriate treatment strategy that best suits the patient, taking account of comorbidities, frailty, and patient choice. This guide is for physicians in oncology or geriatrics (and other medical disciplines) involved with older cancer patients, working in primary care, district hospitals or main general hospitals, cancer units and cancer centres. This work is also of importance to specialist nurses, trainee specialists and senior students. The first part of the book consists of general perspective chapters, discussing generic issues such as radiotherapy in older patients and anaesthetic issues. The second part offers clinical case scenarios. Each clinical case includes a concise discussion on patient presentation and of scenarios underpinning issues experienced by older patients followed by a clear appraisal of how the latest clinical research impacts on patient management. The aim is to help the busy clinician modify daily medical practice in response to individual cases.

Contents:

Contributors Acknowledgements Preface Abbreviations SECTION ONE Perspectives 1. Cancer in Older People: an Overview 2. Clinical Epidemiology and Patterns of Care for Cancer in Older Patients 3. Improving Care for Older Cancer Patients in the NHS 4. Strategies to Improve Outcomes for Older Cancer Patients: Learning from the Improving Cancer Treatment Assessment and Support for Older People Project 5. A European Perspective on Cancer Care in Older People 6. Clinical Trials in Older Patients with Cancer 7. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Available Tools 8. Special Issues Concerning Radiotherapy in Older Cancer Patients 9. Special Issues Concerning Systemic Anticancer Therapy in Older Cancer Patients 10. Special Issues in the Selection of Older Cancer Patients and Delivery of Their Surgery 11. Drug Therapy in Older People: Pharmacology and the Dangers of Polypharmacy 12. Screening for Breast and Prostate Cancer in the Older Population 13. The Nursing Perspective 14. Allied Health Professional Perspective 15. Perspectives from a GP on Care of Older People with Cancer 16. Anaesthetic Perspective 17. Ethics, Consent and Capacity in the Older Cancer Patient 18. Palliative Care in Older Cancer Patients SECTION TWO Case Studies 1. A Patient with Lung Cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Hypertension and Dizziness 2. Colorectal Cancer in a Patient with an Aortic Abdominal Aneurysm, Peripheral Vascular Disease and Poor Nutritional Status 3. A Patient with Early-Stage Lung Cancer and Heart Disease 4. A Patient with Colorectal Cancer, Liver Metastases and Falls 5. Adjuvant Chemotherapy in a Patient with Breast Cancer 6. A Patient with Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer, Transient Ischaemic Attack and Impotence 7. Surgery for Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer in a Morbidly Obese Patient with Diabetes and Renal Impairment 8. Carcinoma of Unknown Primary in a Patient with Multiple Comorbidities 9. Incontinence Developing During Chemotherapy in a Patient with Advanced Ovarian Cancer and Diabetes 10. A Patient with Breast Cancer and Dementia 11. A Patient with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, Comorbidities and Fatigue 12. A Frail Patient with Colorectal Cancer Considered for Chemotherapy Who Struggles to Complete Activities of Daily Living 13. Optimal First-Line Management of a Patient with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma 14. Lymphoma in a Patient with Pre-existing Depression and Parkinson's Disease Who Struggles to Complete Activities of Daily Living 15. A Patient with Carcinoma of the Thyroid and Delirium 16. Pancreatic Cancer in a Patient on More Than 10 Internal Medicine Therapies 17. Advanced Ovarian Cancer in a Patient who Is Socially Isolated and Deaf 18. Fitness for Radical Surgery in a Patient with Uterine Cancer, Hypertension, Obesity and Peripheral Vascular Disease 19. A Patient with Head and Neck Cancer Who Is a Heavy Smoker with Emphysema and Poor Nutrition 20. Fitness of a Patient with Advanced Melanoma for Therapy with Checkpoint Inhibitors 21. A Patient with Parkinson's Disease and Oesophageal Cancer Exhibiting Significant Upper Gastrointestinal Toxicity, Nausea and Vomiting from Chemotherapy 22. Diarrhoea in a Patient on Chemotherapy for Colorectal Cancer 23. A Patient with Breast Cancer Experiencing Cardiac Toxicity on Chemotherapy 24. Chemotherapy Resulting in Acute Kidney Injury in a Patient with Bladder Cancer 25. Partial Nephrectomy Followed by Hand-Foot Syndrome in a Patient with Renal Cancer Receiving Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy 26. They Disagree! Choice of Therapy by a Patient with Cholangiocarcinoma and His Family 27. A Patient with Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer for Radiotherapy or Surgery Who Experiences Falls 28. Early Prostate Cancer in an Asymptomatic Patient with Urinary Incontinence and History of Deep Vein Thrombosis 29. A Blind Patient with a Large Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour for Radical Surgery 30. Use of Radical Radiotherapy in a Patient with a Brain Tumour and Deafness 31. A Patient with Gastric Cancer and Problems with Vascular Access 32. A Patient with Infectious Complications and Neutropenia on Chemotherapy, Index