Hodgkin's Lymphoma - chemo at 87 yrs old?

keithl · New User Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 2

My 87 year old grandmother has just been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I haven't spoken with the doctors directly yet since the diagnosis, but my mother indicates that it is an "advanced" form/stage. She (grandmother) has been in the hospital the past week and a half as they ran tests, biopsies, etc. Overall she is weak, has trouble eating (food tastes bad, trouble swallowing, upset stomach) and it is hard for her to get much food down. The past few months we have seen her condition worsen and she has had a few falls, which is much of the reason why she went in to the hospital for testing. We have had one oncologist say that she wouldn't recommend chemo at this age/condition, and another say nonchalantly that we should start her on chemo like it was no big deal.

I am looking for advice, guidance, or just direction on where to look for more information about chemo in elderly patients. Most of what I can find in a quick google refers to statistics of elderly being over 70, but 87 is quite a bit older.

Obviously, we are concerned about the effect of chemo on her already weak condition, and she is looking to us to help her make the right decision. We want her around as long as she can be, but quality of the remainder of her life is also very important to all of us.

Does anyone have suggestions, other things to consider, or even opinions that might help us evaluate our options?

Thanks so much,

Keith

Corvette · Regular Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 29 Location: North GA

I would think it would be up to your Grandmother. What does she want to do?

My aunt had skin cancer and was 83 years old. The Doctors told her that they would have to remove her leg but she chose not to have it removed and eventually died. We all wanted her to do it but she knew what was best for her. To this day I wish she would have fought the cancer but I believe she felt that she had lived a good life and it was time for her to go.
_________________
Wayne
Male 56 years old
NHL Folicular Large Cell
Two years of Chemo followed by a SCT
Cancer free for almost two and a half years!

ChemoMan

Hi keith
Generally the older you are the tougher it gets but there are always exceptions. Below is a link to an abstract which pretty well sums it up for you in one paragraph:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15955904
Don't be put off by the medical terms its easy to google them if you are unsure.
be kind to your family at this time and good luck
_________________
Age 52
Diffuse Large B cell Lymphoma
Stage 2a
Finished six cycles of R chop 21 26th May 2008
Officially in remission 9th July 2008
Remission confirmed 1st October 2008
http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=9620

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> Lymphoma - Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Forum	All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others