Brief Description:

Older adults who have survived cancer can find out what to expect once treatment ends in Life after Cancer, the newest topic on NIH Senior Health (www.nihseniorhealth.gov/lifeaftercancer/toc.html). This is the latest topic to be added to this Web site, which is designed to provide health and wellness information to older people.

Transcript:

Akinso: There are more than 11 million cancer survivors in the U.S. and about 60 percent of them are age 65 and older.

Rowland: These figures reflect the progress we've been making in diagnosing earlier and treating more effectively individuals who develop cancer.

Akinso: Dr. Julia Rowland is the director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute.

Rowland: This is a disease that is very prominent in our older population and one therefore great attention to this group.

Akinso: These and many other issues related to cancer survivorship are addressed in Life after Cancer a new topic on the NIHSeniorHealth website.

Rowland: And one of the reasons that we've developed that is because realized that for many individuals who were diagnosed and treated for cancer many questions arrive as treatment ends. What we are trying to do with this site is provide information that will be helpful to individuals in making that transition from being an active patient to picking up their lives and recovering after that history of care.

Akinso: Although many people are living longer following cancer due to better diagnostic tests and treatments, life after cancer can be challenging. Dr. Rowland says the site covers a variety of different topics.

Rowland: So in that site we cover a variety of different topics. For example, who is a cancer survivor, what should follow up care look like after treatment ends, what are some of the physical changes that people experience in the wake of cancer. And also changes in their emotional psychological feelings about having had this disease and its impact on various relationships in their lives. Also included in this site are frequently asked questions and links to more information.

Akinso: The NIH Senior Health website was jointly developed by the National Institute on Aging and the National Library of Medicine for older adults and their families. If you would like to read up on this topic, visit www.NIHSeniorHealth.gov. This is Wally Akinso at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.