My mum is waiting for her biobsy results but has a lump under her nipple which is retracted. My mum is in her late 70’s and already has osteoperosis, however othewise she is strong and healthy. I have seen so many press articles etc. that suggest that she may not be offered the best treatment given her age and is more likely to be offered hormone treatments than surgery despite surgery being the most effective treatment. Do I need to be forceful with the consultant if they dont offer her surgery - does anyone have experience of treatments at an older age?
Hi aliceg
I am sorry to read you are going through such worrying time waiting for your Mum’s biopsy results.
Whilst you are waiting for the other forum users to reply, please feel free to contact our helpline on 0808 800 6000. Here you can talk through any concerns you may have with one of the trained members of staff, who will offer you emotional support as well as practical information.
The helpline is open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm and Saturday 9 to 2pm.
Best wishes Sam, BCC Facilitator
Hi Alice, so sorry to hear about your Mum’s worries and possibility of a cancer diagnosis. There’s a thread from just yesterday that might be of interest here: share.breastcancercare.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=34885&p=611486#p611486 many of us have met ladies who are ‘not so young’ who have had successful treatment. I met many ladies in their 70s who’d had surgery and were doing chemo, and they coped fine.
I hope all goes well for your Mum and you feel confident in the healthcare professionals looking after her.
Hi Alice I know it is a different problem but tomorrow I take Dad to have his thyroid removed due to a cancerous tumour and he is 87 years old! So certainly here in Somerset they haven’t written him off due to age and despite other health problems of a longstanding nature.
I wish you all the very best for your Mum and hope she receives whatever treatment may be appropriate.
Ali
My grandmother had a lumpectomy in her 80s. x
Hi,
Lady in next bed to me was in her late 70’s, she came through op etc very well, hope this helps xx
Hi Alice
It is worrying because older people can have problems with some treatments… BUT when older women have bc, it is often quite slow-growing.
Do have a look at the thread mentioned above - thanks, RevCat for posting the link. I’ll make the point again, that non-surgical options (such as hormone-blockers) can control the disease very well.
Best wishes to you and your mum.
Thanks very much for everyones comments - feeling a little more confident and determined to see my mum through this.
Hi Aliceq
when i was in hospital, there was a woman who had a bi lateral mastectomy at the age of 88, when in having oopherectomy there was a women of 95, so age makes no difference, best wishes
lorna x
Hi Aliceq
I found a lump on my 77th birthday,had hormone treatment to shrink the tumour which was successful,had MX in August had to make something of a fuss to have chemotherapy,Heart scan was ok so given chemo at 80% strength,that caused a few nasty side effects but I came out the other side Thank God,now I am waiting for Radiotherapy in January,the forums on this site are incredibly helpful and supportive.With your support and Love I am sure she will sail through.
(((HUGS)))Mavis
Hmmm interesting this. When I had my lumpdectomy a lady in the bed opposite to me was in her early 70s and having a lumdectomy too.
But when my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer in both breasts the consultant said will put her on femara. Femara worked well and both lumps shrunk. I asked whether they will now remove whats left of the lumps and the doctor said no need. Just to keep taking the femara. Did try to push a bit saying surely it’s best to take the lumps out or do double mascetomy (which is what mum wanted) But the doctor insisted she was too old and wouldnt be strong enough to take the op. But I cant see why she shouldnt have the op. No heart probs,blood pressure probs or anything like that
Wondering if should try a different consultant. Mum is now 79 and been taking the femara 3 years. So what happens after the femara stops working.
I’m not sure if I was in at the same time as Seasider, because I also had a lady of nearly 90 in with us having her bilateral, she stayed a second night when the rest of us went home, but only because her carer when she did go home would be her husband and he was over 90 too. They made them tough in those days!
The health service is not supposed to be ageist, but also the need for individual treatment means that what’s best for me might not be best for you, even if we are the same age. Certainly AliceQ, query the doctors closely if you feel they are not offering your mum certain options, but do listen to their replies: cost is not the only consideration and they have to look at factors like, is she probably going to rehabilitate well and be able to manage at home afterwards, or could it result in her having to go into a care-home; that’s possibly much more relevant to her well-being than the ten-year recurrence rate. Is she at raised risk of infection or lymphoedema if she has surgery? Is she likely to make a full recovery from the anaesthetic? What does she herself want? “Better at preventing future cancers” isn’t the only criterion of successful treatment.
Gocat, Would they consider surgery for your mum if the femara was not working (either never had or had but now stoppped) or if the side-effects became intolerable and she decided to quit, that might be a useful question to ask her team. A second opinion could be helpful.
Hope it all goes well.
Hi, my wonderful mum is 92 and was diagnosed approx 15 months ago. At the time the surgical team were happy to go ahead with surgery as like your mum she was otherwise fit and healthy, in fact would put me to shame! As the tumour was quite large they put her on femera to shrink it before surgery,this has worked brilliantly however we discovered in July this year that mum has secondaries in her bones so we are now just fighting to keep it at bay which seems to be going well thus far and managing the issues that have arisen with the bone mets through radiotherapy and medication. I,m full of compliments for the medical team that are looking after her as I know that they are doing all that they can regardless of her age and fitness, hope I have helped o put your mind st ease