Study Shows Older Patients With Breast Cancer Patients Do Follow Drug Therapy

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

Research covering a 7-year period proved that many older women with breast cancer are taking medication to prevent disease recurrence. More than 1,000 women age 65 to 91 years who had estrogen-positive (ER+) breast cancer that had not metastasized participated in the study. The women were taking either an aromatase inhibitor or tamoxifen. Although 51% of the patients discontinued taking the drug before completing 5 years of therapy (the recommended timeframe), only 14% of the women refused to take the drugs at all. The researchers reported that this shows that many women are willing to give themselves a chance for the best outcome possible, regardless of their age.