Cancer and ageing

This post combines my interest in cancer awareness with my concerns about the absence of the elderly from most cancer charities’ agendas. I suggest two things. That 1) the single issue cancer charity sector should cast a properly self-critical eye on their role in ‘cancer awareness’ and 2) that it is now obvious that there is such a thing as the wrong kind of cancer patient - and that’s an old one.

Today’s the day I rush up to Barclays and jab my mighty right forefinger in their corporate rib cage and bellow “Oi! Barclays! No! What are you thinking?”

Apart from ‘ooo….. money’ and ‘cooo….. profit’ that is?

This was originally attached to the previous post, but I've cut it adrift to form a new one. It seems at least semi coherent - which is good enough for me in my patch of blogosphere. There's no disguising it though - it's still a stream of unsought and, I imagine, unappreciated advice to cancer charities.

Let’s start with this really big overarching far too iFAQ. How should the cancer charity sector develop its role in support, information and campaigning on behalf of elderly men and women, to both augment and challenge the current cancer policy agenda?

I know this is a bit old hat now, but bear with me. It gives a frame of reference. Chapter Six of the Cancer Reform Strategy (CRS) highlighted specific equality target groups who experience inequality and established the National Cancer Equality Initiative (NCEI) which still exists, to investigate and reduce inequalities in implementing the CRS.

How’s it going with old people and cancer then? Not terribly well, I respectfully suggest. Despite the magnitude of demographic upheaval, substantial engagement by single tumour cancer charities with the issues around cancer in old age isn’t obvious.

I’d like this to change please. Thank you.

We? I mean women, mostly; and people who work in cancer charities. That, in a nutshell, is my response to Lea Pool’s documentary Pink Ribbons Inc. shown in London as part of the recent Human Rights Watch Film Festival. 

I was at an interesting but somewhat passionless National Cancer Equalities Initiative (NCEI) event on 12 March, on oncology decision making in older age. It wasn’t a particularly revelatory set of results – the researchers showed ageist clinical decision making, by oncologists and haematologists.

Who'd have thought it?

I found the following on The Prostate Cancer Charity website, about a party marking the current Awareness Month. I’ve lifted it as posted, and added my own comments.

It is the usual muddle of half baked wishful thinking which manages to imply certainty and health advice, without actually containing any of either. You'll learn about their celebrity supporters and the fundraising, but any actual facts about prostate cancer come courtesy of me! 

… this follows on from the previous post and should be read with an exasperated and another thing tone to your internal voice. To re-cap – the breast cancer lobby was advanced by Radio Four’s Women’s Hour as a great model for other health lobbies to copy….in particular, the prostate cancer one.