Cancer in Older Women

You can get cancer at any age, but it is more likely as you get older. The types of cancer people get and the risk of dying from cancer vary among ethnic groups and between men and women. Here are a few of the most common types of cancer in women and what you can do to help prevent them or detect the cancer early.

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the US. It is the leading cause of deaths from cancer for men and for women. Cigarette smokers are much more likely to have lung cancer.

To help protect yourself:

• If you smoke, quit. If you quit smoking, you are less likely to get lung cancer. Talk to your healthcare provider if you need help quitting.
• Encourage anyone you live with to quit, too.
• Never ignore a cough that does not go away or a cough that brings up blood. Tell your healthcare provider about it.

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. People whose cancers are found early have the best chance of recovery. Four out of five breast cancers occur in women over age 50.

Breast cancer is a treatable and curable disease. Early detection is the key to a cure. To help find breast cancer early:

• Have a clinical breast exam by your healthcare provider every year after the age of 40.
• Get a mammogram as often as your healthcare provider recommends based on your personal and family history for breast cancer. Breast cancer screening guidelines released by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in 2009 recommend a mammogram every 2 years for women 50 to 74 years old. Ask your provider how often you should have a mammogram. Getting advice or counseling from your healthcare provider will help you understand the possible risks and benefits of having this test.
• Tell your healthcare provider if you notice a lump or change in your breast.

If you do get breast cancer, get your treatment advice from a comprehensive breast cancer treatment center. Treatment involves surgery, radiation, and medical treatments. You will need providers who work together to help you make the best treatment choices for your situation.

Cancer of the colon or rectum

Cancer of the colon or rectum usually strikes women over age 50. Women who have a family history of this cancer or who have had ulcerative colitis or other bowel disease are at greater risk of getting cancer of the colon or rectum.

To help protect yourself:

• If you are 50 to 75 years old and have an average risk of colon cancer, you should be screened with 1 of these 3 methods:
  • Have your stool checked for blood with a fecal occult blood test once a year.
  • Have a sigmoidoscopy exam every 5 years with fecal occult blood testing between these 5-year exams.
  • Have a colonoscopy every 10 years.

  Barium enema may be done every 5 years instead of colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy, but there is no evidence that this test is as effective as the tests listed above.

  A virtual colonoscopy (computed tomographic colonoscopy) is a new technique that is being studied to see if it is as effective as the approved screening tests. At this time it cannot be recommended as a known effective screening test.

  Colon cancer screening is most important between the ages of 50 and 75. It is optional between the ages of 75 and 85. It is probably more harmful than helpful after age 85.

• Tell your healthcare provider if you have rectal bleeding or a change in your bowel movements, especially if you have bouts of constipation that alternate with bouts of diarrhea.
• Don’t bother with supplements or aspirin as preventives against colon cancer. Studies have not shown true protective benefits against colon cancer.

Cancers of the uterus (womb), cervix (neck of the womb), and ovary

Cancer of the uterus occurs most often in women during or after menopause. It is uncommon before age 50 and very rare before age 40. Cancer of the cervix is more common in younger women. Cancer of the ovary occurs mostly in women over 50. Women with any of these cancers are more likely to recover if the cancer is diagnosed and treated early.

To help protect yourself:

• Have regular medical checkups, including a pelvic exam and Pap test according to your healthcare provider's recommendations.
  • Screening for cervical cancer with Pap tests is very effective. Ask your provider how often you should be tested based on previous Pap test results and your risk factors for cervical cancer. At the age of 65 to 70, you can stop having Pap tests if you have had 3 normal tests within the last 10 years. Screening also can stop if your uterus, including the cervix, has been removed.
  • No routine screening tests for ovarian cancer or uterine cancer have proven useful. However, with early treatment, there is a good chance for cure of uterine cancer. For this reason, you should have a pelvic exam by your provider every year.
• Tell your healthcare provider about any vaginal discharge or unusual vaginal bleeding.
• Tell your provider if you have bleeding after sex.
• Tell your provider if you have continuing, unexplained abdominal discomfort.

Skin cancer

Most skin cancers appear after age 50. They are more common in people with blond or red hair, blue eyes, and fair skin that freckles easily. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the sun, appears to increase the risk for skin cancers.

Common skin cancers are different from melanoma. Melanoma is the skin cancer that starts in freckles. It is much less common than ordinary skin cancer but much more deadly. Ordinary skin cancers seldom spread. They may damage the skin where they occur, but they are almost never life threatening.

To help protect yourself against both types of skin cancer:

• Cover up or apply sunscreen when you are out in the sun. Try hard to avoid severe sunburn.
• Take advantage of any skin cancer screening programs in your area.
• Check your skin regularly for lumps or areas that change in size, shape, or color.
• Ask your healthcare provider to check areas of skin that are hard for you to see.