Early Detection of Breast Cancer is Key to Survival for Aging Women
Author: Debbie Humphrey
A dear friend of mine, and fellow female business owner in Trinity, had the scare of her life in 2020. It wasn’t COVID. It was a breast cancer diagnosis.
She told me how tumultuous it had been being isolated, having to make critical decisions about her treatment options, getting dropped off and picked up at the curb of Florida Cancer Specialists, and seeing so many women and men who were waiting for cancer treatments. She felt heartbroken.
“It is amazing how many people I’ve already met throughout our community who are facing cancer. They are all levels & types, and there are too many! I have to wait in line when I go to Florida Cancer Specialists, and it’s heartbreaking,” she said.
My 60-something-year-old friend is a survivor because she found a lump in her breast and got a mammogram that resulted in a breast cancer diagnosis. She encourages aging women to get routine mammograms because early detection saved her life.
Mortality rates have improved over the years because early detection of breast cancer is key to survival for aging women.
An article by Brenda Lyle with Florida Today states, “The median age of a breast cancer diagnosis is 62, and nearly 20 percent of women diagnosed are over the age of 75, according to the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results registry. Yet the answer on how and when to screen and treat elderly women for breast cancer remains, ‘it depends.’"
It depends on a senior woman’s risk factors, which include:
- Women who give birth to their first child before age 30 are at lower risk.
- Post-menopausal women who use hormone replacement therapy with estrogen and progesterone have an increased risk of breast cancer.
- Women who drink two or more alcoholic beverages a day are at one to one-and-a-half times greater risk than women who do not drink.
- Women who are overweight or obese are more susceptible to the disease.
- Women who lactate and breastfeed have a lower risk of breast cancer.
“While aging may bring a welcome end to some things for women, the risk of breast cancer is not one of them,” Lyle said.
The decision to get mammograms or not to get them after a certain age depends on the woman and the conversations she has with her primary care provider.
My friend was diagnosed in her early 60s, and she advocates getting routine mammograms, and she will continue getting screened in the event breast cancer returns.
For senior women with cognitive decline, breast cancer will likely NOT be their final cause of death, so mammograms may not be doctor-recommended.
Regardless of age or individual circumstances, mammograms – X-rays of the breasts – are critical for the early detection of breast cancer.
“In 2021, the Journal of the American Medical Association Oncology published new guidelines on surveillance mammography for breast cancer survivors over 75. It stresses an individualized approach that factors in the risks/benefits of continuing mammograms, the individual's overall health status, and life expectancy.”
In terms of treatment options, the article continued, “Some treatments may cause side effects that are difficult for older patients to tolerate. Other health conditions can be present. And access to treatment itself can be influenced by socio-economic factors or be an issue for older women who are caregivers.”
What this says to me is that treatments like mastectomy, chemotherapy, or radiation may cause more harm than good for senior women and aging caregivers, negatively impacting their overall quality of life.
“Age alone cannot be a deciding factor in whether or not women seek screening or treatment for breast cancer,” Lyle writes.
Of course, senior women should have a dialogue with their doctor about the benefits of mammography and specific treatment options if breast cancer is detected, as well as research breast cancer resources to make the most informed decisions.
If I can help provide resources to aid in your decision-making process, do not hesitate to reach out to me or my staff at Home Helpers. I employ amazing, compassionate caregivers who help senior women every day, and each one is ready, willing, and able to help you or someone you love with transportation assistance to and from doctor appointments, mammograms, and treatments for breast cancer.
In addition, caregivers also make life easier by providing personal care, light housekeeping, meal planning and preparation, respite care for weary family caregivers, and so much more.
I welcome the opportunity to meet you or your loved one for a FREE Consultation to identify specific ways we can help. After our discussion, I can develop a customized care plan for our journey together, and my Home Helpers team can begin Making Life Easier℠ for you and your family sooner than later.
We, at Home Helpers® Clearwater, are honored to have been ranked among the Activated Insights Top 100 Leaders in Experience for home care providers in 2025 and to have received the Best of Home Care® Provider of Choice, the Best of Home Care® Employer of Choice, and the Best of Home Care® Leader in Experience Awards in 2025, along with the Caring Super Star 2025 Award.
Home Helpers Clearwater proudly serves male and female seniors, veterans, and differently abled individuals in Bayonet Point, Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, Dunedin, Gulfport, Holiday, Hudson, Largo, Madeira Beach, New Port Richey, North Redington Beach, Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Pass A Grille, Pass A Grille Beach, Port Richey, Redington Shores, Safety Harbor, Saint Petersburg, Seminole, South Pasadena, Tarpon Springs, Tierra Verde, Treasure Island, Trinity, and surrounding areas. Home Helpers®…we are Making Life Easier® 727.942.2539
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