Is a lumpectomy the appropriate cancer treatment for a woman past the age of 95?

Greetings Kaylo:

I do not have a physician's qualifications or training but I would
venture a comment that radical surgery might endanger the life of a 95
year-old woman as the anesthesia process may be overtly risky for that
elderly an individual.

I did locate these facts from
http://www.healthandage.com/PHome/PHome/gm=0!gc=30!gid2=1285 that may
be of interest to you:

"Axillary node dissection, as a means of further defining the extent
of breast cancer involvement, is often not performed in elderly women.
Studies appear to indicate that axillary lymph node dissection in the
elderly can be omitted."

"The use of tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen, as adjuvant therapy in breast
cancer in elderly women has been demonstrated to be effective. 
Tamoxifen for primary prevention of breast cancer among women age 60
or older produced a nearly 50% decrease in invasive breast cancer.
Elderly women tolerate tamoxifen well, with over two-thirds of
patients reporting minimal or no adverse effects. The duration of
therapy with tamoxifen seems to favor two to five years of use over
less than two years because of higher overall and recurrence-free
survival."

"Elderly women should be offered modified radical mastectomy or breast
conserving therapy consisting of limited surgery, followed by
radiation and adjuvant tamoxifen, based on their clinical presentation
and staging. Adjuvant tamoxifen should be considered for all high-risk
node-negative and all node-positive women. The benefits of
chemotherapy as an adjuvant have not been shown to outweigh the risks
for elderly women."

Were I you, I would inquire of a licensed surgeon or physician if this
treatment is advisable.

Best regards,
journalist-ga

PS  Here are some percentages regarding cardiac surgery in
nonagenarians (I realize this is not the procedure you seek
information on but you may be interested in the methods and results):

"METHODS: We have performed a retrospective analysis of 42
consecutive nonagenarian patients who underwent open-heart procedures
over a
10-year period (1993 to 2002) at our institution. Their demographic
profiles,
operative data, perioperative results, and long-term outcomes were
recorded and
analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-two women and 20 men with an age range of 90
to 97
years (mean, 91.4 years) had open-heart surgery over the study period.
The
complication rate was 67% overall, consisting of 7% respiratory
(pneumonia,
respiratory failure, reintubation), 7% hemorrhagic or embolic
(postoperative
bleeding, cerebral vascular accident), 12% infectious (wound
infection, sepsis),
and 31% new arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter,
ventricular
tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation). Despite these complication
rates,
average hospital stay was 17.5 days (median, 11 days), with an
intensive care
unit stay of 12.0 days (median, 5 days). Thirty-day survival was 95%
and
survival to discharge was 93% (three deaths total; one cardiac arrest
at
hospital day 134 and two perioperative deaths; one ventricular
arrhythmia, one
cerebral vascular accident). The only statistically significant risk
factor of
mortality was emergency surgery. Currently, 81% are still alive an
average of
2.53 years since surgery (range, 0.16 to 7.1 years). CONCLUSIONS: With
improving
techniques and greater attention to detail, the select nonagenarian
can safely
undergo cardiac surgery."
From http://perfline.com/topten/tt0403.html - appearing about 3/4 of
the way down the page.

Best regards,
journalist-ga

Hi,

Excellent article at USNews.com
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/030811/health/11cancer.htm

Health & Medicine 8/11/03 
Treating the elderly badly
Cancer 

tlspiegel