In my last blog I did not chose just one disease, illness or complication. My fear was not having the strength, ability(resources) or fight if anything was to happen to me. If I had to choose one illness or disease, I would choose cancer. Cancer, although a disease that can happen at any age in one’s life, I feel a child or older adult experience would be harder to fight due to age. Physically, I feel I would be weaker and have less energy. Emotionally, I would be drained, angry, and scared of what could come next. Socially, I would not want to talk to many people about my situation in fear of being judge or having people feel sorry for me. Financially, I would be spending all my money on treatment and research for alternatives cures.

My initial feeling would be confused or scared. Just hoping I caught it earlier enough to stop it or treat it quickly. Confused because I would want to know what caused the cancer, why it’s happening now or could it have been prevented.  Scared because this a disease with high death rates a lot of physical demand, and could progress quickly, so time would be counted closely.

Compared to how I originally imagined myself and life as an older adult, if I became ill my life would but different in a few areas. I would not be as physically active as would have hoped. Most of time would possibly be spent in hospitals or seeing doctors about progressing and treatment. I would still be spending a lot of time with my family and friends. The time spent would be more than usual due to circumstances. I would not be volunteering as much as I would like or perhaps not at all. Might not retire depending on how much money is needed to help with paying doctor’s bills, treatments, and medicine.

There are a few GRRs that could help reach resilience, if cancer became a disease I had to deal with.  I would start with housing and resources. Might need to be in a home for older individuals in need of around the clock assistance or have a help aid come to my personal home to assist. I would need to try find the best resources and insurance policy, so money is not an issue when getting cured. Knowing me, I would spend some time in church and getting closer with my God for guidance, understanding and protection. The biggest thing would be trying to stay away from anything or anyone that may trigger certain emotions or cause stress.

The article I chose focuses on GAM (geriatric assessment and management) for older adults with cancer. The GAM is a process where a geriatrician would evaluate an older adult with cancer, to help determine the type of care, treatment, needs, rehabilitation or advance care plans needed. The article shows the increased effectiveness of cancer-directed treatments and estimates the success rate for older adults with cancers in future cases.

As stated previously, one thing I feared not having the ability(resources) to fight. The article confirmed this will continue to be a concern with older individuals with cancer. Yes, the research and experiments confirmed that there are many factors that could improve living with, coping, and treating cancers. Some of these factors are, diet and exercise, willingness to speak to or consult with a doctor about concerns and /or questions, chemotherapy treatment effectiveness and necessity. But I realized while reading everything came back to resources and help. The results from the article show positive outcomes and different options for treatments were addressed but, these individuals tested were from wealthy communities where resources, money and medical insurance was not a concern. If I had ever had to deal with a disease like cancer, I would hope I would have the means to afford it financially, physically, mentally and emotionally.

Reference:

Loh, K.P., et al. “Adequate assessment yields appropriate care—the role of geriatric assessment and                           management in older adults with cancer: A position paper from the ESMO/siog cancer in the Elderly                     Working Group.” ESMO Open, vol. 9, no. 8, Aug. 2024, p. 103657,                                                                          https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esmoop.2024.103657.