With the right treatment, over 65s can survive for many years after cancer - yet UK survival rates in older people are among worst in Europe as many are 'written off', new research has found.
130,000 people diagnosed at 65 or over survive cancer for at least a decade
More than 130,000 people in the UK have survived for at least 10 years after being diagnosed with cancer at 65 or over, according to the research by Macmillan Cancer Support and the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN).
This figure shows that, with the right care and treatment, over-65s in the UK can live for many years after cancer.
However, if UK survival rates in this age group were not so poor this number would be even higher. Macmillan believes too many older patients in the UK are being assessed on their age alone and not their overall fitness.
The research also revealed there are more than 8,000 people alive today2 who have survived for at least 10 years after being diagnosed at 80 or over.
There are almost twice as many long-term (10-20 years) female survivors who were diagnosed at 80 or over as there are male (5,481 compared with 2,995).
Ciarán Devane, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: 'It's wrong to write off older people as too old for treatment. With a proper assessment and appropriate treatment, our research shows that many older cancer patients can live for a long time and can even be cured.
'While it's good news that so many older people are benefitting from treatment, many thousands more could live longer if our survival rates for over 65s matched those in comparable countries.
'The barriers to getting treatment - which include age discrimination and inadequate assessment methods - must be tackled now so more older people can survive cancer and live for many years.'
