The number of people aged 65 and over living with cancer in the UK is set to treble by 2040, Macmillan Cancer Support is warning today.
According to new research funded by Macmillan and carried out by King’s College London, the number of older people with cancer will increase to 4.1 million by 2040, up from 1.3 million in 2010, due to a number of factors including the ageing population and increasing survival rates.
The research, published on the British Journal of Cancer’s website, predicts that 23% of over 65s will have had a cancer diagnosis in 2040, almost double the proportion in 2010 of 13%.
The figures are almost four times higher than for people in the 45-64 age bracket.
The greatest increase in incidence is expected to be seen in lung cancer in older women.
This is forecast to more than double between 2010 and 2040, from 319 people per 100,000 to 831.
On the other hand, lung cancer prevalence in older men is expected to fall, due to a dramatic decline in smoking among men since the 1970s.
Professor Henrik Møller, one of the study’s authors at King’s College London, said the large increases expected to be seen in the oldest age groups in the coming decades will bring with them increasing pressures upon health services.
Ciarán Devane, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, described the care of older cancer patients as a “ticking time bomb” for society.
He said: “These stark predictions should act as a warning to the NHS and social care providers of the problems ahead if older cancer patients are not offered the best treatment and support.
“We have a moral duty to give people the best chance of beating cancer, regardless of their age. For cancer survival to improve, older people must be given the right treatment at the correct level of intensity, together with the practical support to enable them to take it up.”
Macmillan says that older cancer patients currently face a multitude of barriers to getting the best care and treatment, which include a lack of practical support at home and poor management of non-cancer related health problems.
Macmillan is calling for a more effective way of assessing older people for treatment, more short-term practical support to enable them to take up recommended treatment and training for professionals working with older people within the NHS to promote age equality.
Macmillan, in partnership with Age UK and the Department of Health, has set up five pilots to test new models of older people’s care. They will report in December 2012.
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