Program Introduces New Tool That Helps Identify Older Patients’ Capacity To Benefit From, Tolerate Cancer Treatment

Posted by rob on January 25, 2005 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Program Introduces New Tool That Helps Identify Older Patients’ Capacity
                  To Benefit From, Tolerate Cancer Treatment

    WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ — The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society announced today the launch of a pilot program, “Breaking Through the
Age Barrier.”  The launch coincides with the Society’s release of a toolkit
for older patients and their caregivers.  The pilot program, for patients and
healthcare professionals, aims to encourage older blood cancer patients to get
the best possible care and equip their medical team with tools to make
treatment decisions.  At the core of the project is the Geriatric Assessment
which helps providers recognize who will benefit from treatment who may have
special needs that need to be addressed during treatment.  A Comprehensive
Geriatric Assessment checklist, which evaluates an individual’s physical and
emotional capacity to undergo and tolerate cancer treatment and its side
effects, includes simple forms to fill out as well as physical and laboratory
tests.
    “Older patients may need special attention when it comes to cancer
treatment,” says Robin Kornhaber, the Society’s Senior Vice President of
Patient Services.  “But the concept of being too old for cancer treatment is
outdated.”  More than half of all cancers occur in people older than 65 years
and they appear to benefit from treatment to the same extent as younger
individuals.

    Six-Chapter Pilot Program Introduces Geriatric Assessment
    The Society’s pilot program will be introduced this spring in Detroit,
Mich., Palm Beach, Fla., Northern New Jersey, Upstate New York, Baltimore,
Md., and Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Calif.  Next year, the Society
expects the program to be offered at each of its 63 chapter sites across the
U.S.  At the pilot sites this year, the Society will hold workshops for older
patients to familiarize them with advocacy, communication and emotional
aspects of battling blood cancer.
    The Society will also introduce the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment
checklist (CGA) to elderly patients.  Health care professionals review CGA
criteria with patients to assess how much an older adult might benefit from
cancer treatment and how well he or she would be likely to tolerate it.  The
CGA is also useful in identifying problems that can be remedied (such as poor
nutrition), making cancer treatment safer for the individual.
    By familiarizing elderly patients with this tool, the Society hopes
patients will fully participate in this evaluation and even ask for such an
assessment if one is not offered.  This provides patients the opportunity to
proactively engage in treatment decisions and also helps patients recognize
the impact their general health, independence and emotional well-being may
have on the success of their cancer treatment.
    The CGA looks at a person’s ability to carry out day-to-day activities
independently (called functional status), the presence of other illnesses,
living conditions and support, thinking and mood, other medications taken,
nutrition and so-called geriatric syndromes.

    Age Not a Barrier to Treatment
    “Age alone is not enough to identify a patient’s chances to benefit from
cancer treatment,” said Lodovico Balducci, M.D., program leader of the Senior
Adult Oncology Program at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research
Institute in Tampa.  “One 75-year-old can be perfectly healthy with no other
illnesses and be very independent and capable, while another may be struggling
with other ailments and be completely dependent.  Health care professionals
who conduct a CGA with patients will get a more complete picture, and
patients, in turn, when educated about the value of the CGA will find it more
palatable and will likely be more engaged in their health care.”

    Without such an assessment, it is not unusual for an older patient to be
turned away from a clinical trial (a controlled test of a new drug or medical
device in humans) based on age or for a clinician to take a less-aggressive
treatment tact with an elderly patient.  When John Rowe of Washington, D.C.,
was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia in 2000, he was initially
rattled, but quickly optimistic.  He was 62 and in good health when the
diagnosis came.  He had heard about a new experimental drug (now marketed as
Gleevec) in clinical trials and was going to see a 35-yr-old ‘whiz kid’
oncologist.  The ‘whiz kid,’ however, consulted a statistical table, told Rowe
that, at 62, he probably had between one and four years left, should get his
affairs in order and the doctor would keep him comfortable until the end came.
Rowe quickly collected his own patient records, ceased his relationship with
the whiz kid, investigated the clinical trials on his own and was enrolled.
He’s been on Gleevec for four years and was in remission six months after
starting on the drug.

    Toolkit for Older Adults and Their Caregivers
    In addition, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has published “A Toolkit for
Older Adults with Cancer, and Their Caregivers.”  The brochure series includes
pamphlets on choosing a healthcare team, understanding treatment options and
clinical trials, money matters and a caregiver’s guide.  The brochure series,
which is available free, can be obtained by calling The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society’s Information Resource Center (IRC) at 1-800-955-4572.  For
information about the Breaking Through the Age Barrier pilot program and when
it will be offered, patients are encouraged to call their local chapters.

    About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
    The Society, headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 63 chapters in the
United States and additional branches in Canada, is the world’s largest
voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and
providing education and patient services. The Society’s mission: Cure
leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of
life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society
has invested more than $360 million in research specifically targeting
leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, the Society made more than
812,000 contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

    For more information about blood cancer, visit http://www.LLS.org or call
the Society’s Information Resource Center (IRC), a call center staffed by
master’s level social workers, nurses and health educators who provide
information, support and resources to patients and their families and
caregivers. IRC information specialists are available at (800) 955-4572,
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

SOURCE The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Web Site: http://www.LLS.org

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