HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - older women not benefiting as much

AlaskaAngel · 11-11-2011, 10:14 AM

Hi LoisAnn. A friend of mine in her 80's in Seattle is also very fit and active, and is dealing with her third bout of bc spread over several decades. I do not have her specifics of diagnosis so I don't know if she is HER2 positive but she has elected to put off her treatment until she gets back from a 2 or 3 week trip to South America, where one of her children has been working.

In considering whether chemo is equally helpful in your age group as it is to those in younger populations, I think it is likely that the numbers in part reflect not so much that chemo is effective for older women, but that breast cancer is generally slower-growing in the elderly population than it is in the younger population, related to most older women being menopausal (and more completely menopausal) than younger women. With treatment, younger women often have trouble staying menopausal despite treatment, which lowers the effectiveness of their treatment in relation to your age group.

Nice to meet you!

-AlaskaAngel

11-11-2011, 10:14 AM	#9
AlaskaAngel Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Alaska Posts: 2,018	Re: older women not benefiting as much - I wonder???? Hi LoisAnn. A friend of mine in her 80's in Seattle is also very fit and active, and is dealing with her third bout of bc spread over several decades. I do not have her specifics of diagnosis so I don't know if she is HER2 positive but she has elected to put off her treatment until she gets back from a 2 or 3 week trip to South America, where one of her children has been working. In considering whether chemo is equally helpful in your age group as it is to those in younger populations, I think it is likely that the numbers in part reflect not so much that chemo is effective for older women, but that breast cancer is generally slower-growing in the elderly population than it is in the younger population, related to most older women being menopausal (and more completely menopausal) than younger women. With treatment, younger women often have trouble staying menopausal despite treatment, which lowers the effectiveness of their treatment in relation to your age group. Nice to meet you! -AlaskaAngel __________________ Dx 2002 age 51 bc for granny, aunt, cousin, sister, mother. ER+/PR+/HER2+++, grade 3 IDC 1.9 cm, some DCIS, Stage 1, Grade 3 Lumpectomy, CAFx6 (no blood boosters), IMRT rads, 1 3/4 yr tamoxifen Rads necrosis BRCA 1 & 2 negative Trials: Early detection OVCA; 2004 low-dose testosterone for bc survivors Diet: Primarily vegetarian organic; metformin (no diabetes), vitamin D3 Exercise: 7 days a week, 1 hr/day No trastuzumab, no taxane, no AI NED