The Use of Radiation Therapy in the Geriatric Population

摘要

As the medical community has developed increasingly effectual treatments for illnesses and conditions that once claimed the lives of younger patients, including heart disease, diabetes, and infectious diseases, we have seen the average life expectancy in the United States rise significantly. Such welcome news is accompanied, however, by an increase in the incidence of diseases more prevalent in the elderly population, including cancer. We are therefore faced more frequently with the clinical problem of how best to approach the care of the elderly cancer patient.