Running Head: BREAST CANCER WITH AGING

The Effect of Breast Cancer With Aging and

Exploring their Interactions
Margaret B. Bowers
Radford University

Abstract

BREAST CANCER WITH AGING

This paper explores five published articles and two well-known health websites (CDC; Mayo
Clinic). These articles report on results from research conducted on breast cancer from both
younger and older adults, and the treatment routes that can be taken. However, this research will
be focused mainly on the older adult females that were diagnosed with breast cancer by
exploring their physical function and physical activity. This will include looking at how their
age, prior health, and other factors influence their ability to function physically and how it can
increase or decrease their health while receiving cancer treatments. Because these select patients
are elderly the methods of treatment can be much more difficult on them due to certain factors,
such as, late treatment. Along with physical function and physical activity, the research will also
look at how emotional status and the symptoms of older breast cancer survivors play a role in
their health. I feel this is an important topic because older women diagnosed with breast cancer
are often misrepresented in the health system.
Keywords: physical function, physical activity, misrepresents

The Effect of Breast Cancer With Aging and

BREAST CANCER WITH AGING

Exploring their Interactions

Breast cancer is cancer that forms in the cells of the breasts (Mayo, 2014). This is the
second most common cancer in the United States. This type of cancer can occur in both men and
women, but is mostly found in women. (Mayo, 2014) In the United States, over 200,000 women
are diagnosed yearly. Nearly half of these cancer diagnoses occur in women age 65 and older.
(Barginear, Muss, Kimmick, Owusu, Mrozek, Shahrokni, Ballman, & Hurria, 2014)
Experiencing and managing symptoms in older adult cancer survivors is challenging because
symptoms can be caused by late effects of cancer treatment as well as the physiologic declines
associated with normal aging and age-related health problems. (Yeom & Heidrich, 2013, p.
E108) This paper examines older breast cancer survivors by exploring interactions among their
physical function, emotional status, and their symptoms.
Literature Review
Maintaining physical function among older adults is a primary goal. Physical aging
generally becomes apparent in the clinical setting at 70 years of age. Declines associated with
aging, such as declining in physical activity and increasing numbers of comorbid conditions,
may play a more prominent role in decrease physical function than a cancer diagnosis itself
(Bellury et al., 2013, p. 326). Not maintaining physical function can cause persistent symptoms,
unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, long-term side effects of treatment, or psychosocial risk factors.
All of these factors have decreased the quality of older adults lives, especially those previously
diagnosed with morbidity such as breast cancer. (Bellury et al., 2013)
Physical Activity and Survival of Postmenopausal, Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast
Cancer Patients (2014) talked about the best way to maintain physical function. Physical
activity could play an important role in improving survival, maintaining physical function, and

BREAST CANCER WITH AGING

improving quality of life both during and after breast cancer treatment, especially in older
patients. (Glas et al., 2014, p. 2853) This journal studied patients before and after their breast
cancer treatment. Their findings demonstrated that physical activity helps with physical
functioning and life in general.
There are many factors that increase the risks of breast cancer. Being female is one of the
highest risk factors because women have a much higher chance of developing breast cancer than
men. Genetics also play a large role in developing breast cancer (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention [CDC], 2010). If you received radiation treatments to your chest as a child or young
adult, your risk of breast cancer is increased. Other factors are age and obesity because as those
factors increase your risk of breast cancer increases. (Mayo, 2014)
There are five types of treatments for breast cancer, but old age and other health issues
can make them fairly difficult. The first type of treatment is breast cancer surgery. There are
many forms of this, but most involve removing parts of the breast or the entire breast. This can
lead to many complications and the surgery carries a risk of bleeding and infection. The second
kind of treatment is radiation therapy. This treatment uses high-powered beams of energy, such
as X-rays, to kill cancer cells. Side effects of radiation therapy include fatigue and a red,
sunburn-like rash where the radiation is aimed. Swelling may also occur. The third type of
treatment is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. The primary goal is
to shrink the tumor. Sometimes this is given before surgery to make it easier to remove. The
fourth type is hormone therapy. Hormone therapy can be used after other treatments to decrease
the chance of cancer returning, or it could be used to control and shrink the cancer. Hormone
therapy is also known as hormone-blocking therapy. The fifth type is targeted drug treatment.
These drugs attack specific abnormalities within the cancer cells. There are quite a few drugs that

BREAST CANCER WITH AGING

are used for this type of treatment, including: Trastuzumab (Herceptin), Pertuzumab (Perjeta),
Ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla), Lapatinib(Tykerb), Bevacizumab (Avastin). (Mayo,
2014)
Having breast cancer is hard enough, but imagine it with other health problems. Everyone
experiences health problems as they age; it is a part of life. Treatment takes a toll on ones body,
especially one that is over 65. In Breast cancer and aging: results of the U13 conference breast
cancer panel (2014), it was found that older women with breast cancer are underrepresented. The
article, Breast cancer and aging: Results of the U13 conference breast cancer panel (2014),
discusses how the health system misrepresents the elderly population of women because they
feel their chance of survival is minimal. To bridge the gap between the younger and older
diagnosed women there was a conference grant called Geriatric Oncology Research to Improve
Clinical Care. This grant helps provide money to begin a Cancer and Aging Research Group.
(Barginear et al., 2014) This helps accurately represent the elderly women and help provide them
with the treatment they need. Older women deserve better care, treatment, and representation.
Just because they are old does not mean they do not deserve a fair chance at increasing their
survival.
The Effect of Aging and Cancer on the Symptom Experience and Physical Function
of Elderly Brest Cancer Survivors states: In conclusion, the current findings
indicated that physical function in older breast cancer survivors was significantly
impacted by social support, emotional status, comorbidities, and symptom bother.
These findings support a gero-oncology survivorship paradigm, the need for a
conceptually integrated research agenda, and a comprehensive approach to health
policy and clinical care for older cancer survivors (Bellury et al., 2012, p. 6177).

BREAST CANCER WITH AGING

Discussion

A majority of the studies showed that people think differently. Some articles showed that
some people do not believe older adults can bare the pain and struggles of breast cancer, while
others talked about techniques that have proven to help older adults overcome breast cancer. In
Physical Activity and Survival of Postmenopausal, Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer
Patients (2014), the authors looked at physical activity of elder adults. It talked about how
effective it was at assisting older adults physical function. Where as, Breast cancer and aging:
results of the U13 conference breast cancer panel (2014) discussed how doctors and people do
not think older adults can handle therapy and are misrepresented.
Conclusion and Future Study
It seems the health systems do not support elderly adult women who have been diagnosed
with breast cancer as much as they should, but these patients are in need of more help with their
lifestyle than most. By introducing physical functioning into their every day lifestyles, it can help
increase their everyday lives. If they supported them more by assisting them physically, it would
increase their emotional aspect of their situations as well. The better they feel about themselves,
the more positive outlook they will achieve, which would help with their healing process. The
patients must have the full backup of the health community or else they will enter their treatment
with a pessimistic attitude awaiting failure. Their physical functioning can increase their physical
health, emotional state, and general outlook on their treatment process. Overall, I do believe that
physical function helps with the healing process of breast cancer.

References

BREAST CANCER WITH AGING

Barginear, M. F., Muss, H., Kimmick, G., Owusu, C., Mrozek, E., Shahronkni, A., Ballman, K.,
Hurria, A. (2014). Breast cancer and aging: Results of the U13 conference breast cancer
panel. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 146, 1-6. doi: 10.1007/s10549-014-2994-7
Bellury, L., Pett, M. A., Ellington, L., Beck, S. L., Clark, J. C., Stein, K. D. (2012). The effect of
aging and cancer on the symptom experience and physical function of elderly breast
cancer survivors. Cancer, 6171-6177. doi:10.1002/cncr27656
Bellury, L., Ellington, L., Beck, S. L., Pett, M. A., Clark, J. C., Stein, K. (2013). Older breast
cancer survivors: Can interaction analyses identify vulnerable subgroups? Oncology
Nursing Forum, 40(4), 325-336.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Breast Cancer. Retrieved November 2,
2014 from http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/
Glas, N. A., Fontein, D. B., Bastiaanneet, E., Pijpe, A., De Craen, A. J., Liefers. G. J., Nortier, H.
J., Haes, H. J., Velde, C. J., Leeuwen, F. E. (2014). Physical activity and survival of
postmenopausal, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients: Results of the
tamoxifen exemestane adjuvant multicenter lifestyle study. Cancer, 2847-2854. doi:
10.1002/cncr.28783
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2014, August 15). Breast Cancer. Retrieved November 2, 2014 from
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/breast-cancer/basics
Yeom, H. E., Heidrich, S. M. (2013). Relationships between three beliefs as barriers to symptom
management and quality of life in older breast cancer survivors. Oncology Nursing
Forum, 40(3). E108-E118