Journal of Gerontological Nursing
Vol. 36 No. 2 February 2010
By Stewart M. Bond, PhD, RN, AOCN
EXCERPT
Cancer is a disease strongly associated with aging, and we are an aging population. Currently, 60% of newly diagnosed cancers occur in adults older than age 65. The incidence of cancer in older adults is expected to multiply, so that by 2030, approximately 70% of all cancer diagnoses will be for older adults (Smith, Smith, Hurria, Hortobagyi, & Buchholz, 2009). Because advances in cancer treatment across the life span have resulted in an increased number of older cancer survivors, 60% of the current 11.4 million cancer survivors are age 65 or older (Horner et al., 2009). The future increase in cancer among older adults will create an even larger number of older cancer survivors.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stewart M. Bond, PhD, RN, AOCN is Assistant Professor, John A. Hartford Foundation, Claire M. Fagin Fellow, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, Tennessee.
The author discloses that he has no significant financial interests in any product or class of products discussed directly or indirectly in this activity. Dr. Bond’s research and scholarship are supported by the John A. Hartford Foundation’s Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity Award Program and the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Postdoctoral Program.
doi:10.3928/00989134-20100108-04
