My beloved 90 year old nan (30 at heart)

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Betty474
Betty474 Member Posts: 2
edited June 2014 in Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
My beloved 90 year old nan (30 at heart)
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  • Betty474
    Betty474 Member Posts: 2
    edited August 2010

    Does anyone have any advice or experiences relating to breast cancer in older women? My Nan has just been diagnosed with grade 3 cancer and is absolutely broken and terrified. She has been told she has to have a single Mastectomy, and that it has spread to her lymphnodes. My nan is fiercely independent, very fit and active and also extremely glamorous. At 90 years of age she looks and acts more like a woman in her early 70s. We are all so devastated by it, and so afraid that she will be treated differently because of her age- for example she has been told that she will not have chemotherapy. Any advice welcomed.

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  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited August 2010

    Hi, Betty ~ I'm really sorry about your Nan's recent diagnosis, but her prognosis may still be excellent.  None of us likes hearing that our breast cancer has spread to our lymph nodes, but that in itself may not be as bad as it initially sounds.  Hopefully, it means her lymph nodes stopped it from going any farther.  And I actually think it's good that she won't have chemo, which can be extremely hard on anyone, no matter what our age, but perhaps much too hard on a 90-year-old, in spite of her excellent physical condition.  Besides, there is a whole class of drugs, aromatese inhibitors, that work very well in lieu of chemo for many hormone positive breast cancers.  Chances are, this is what will be recommended for her after surgery. 

    The only other bit of advice I can offer is, be sure her surgeon and oncologist have experience treating women her age.  Experience can go a long way when the case isn't a typical one. 

    Glad you've found us, and hope you'll stick around and let us know how she's doing.  She sounds like a remarkable woman!   Deanna

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