Now there is a way for senior citizens to get coordinated treatment for all of their health care needs. by Ian Gregor Delbert Thomas was worried more about his wife than his prostate cancer when he saw USC/Norris radiation oncologist Oscar Streeter, Jr., M.D., for a follow-up examination last October.
His wife, Frances, had been suffering from progressive memory problems following a 1994 stroke. Thomas mentioned his concerns to Streeter.
Streeter referred the Thomases to Loren Lipson, M.D., chief of geriatric medicine at USC. Lipson, along with internist Jonathan Weiner, M.D., co-directs the new Senior Cancer Care Program at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital.
Lipson identified Mrs. Thomas's problem and prescribed medication to stabilize her memory.
"Dr. Lipson made us feel very, very much at home, very comfortable," says Thomas, 76, of Temple City. "Frances was quite upset and worried, and so was I. Dr. Lipson has really taken all that fear away."
The Senior Cancer Care Program makes it easier for senior citizens to get coordinated treatment for all of their health care needs. It also allows doctors to immediately share information about the patient, which could lead to better treatments and patient care.
The program is one part of a university-wide initiative to coordinate geriatric services, Lipson says. This initiative, which involves more than 20 departments and schools, will link elderly patients with everything from retirement counseling to the most sophisticated medical treatments, he says.
The program goals are to improve treatments; extend life expectancy while improving the quality of life; diagnose malignancies earlier; and conduct clinical research that will lead to better treatments and patient care.
Patients over age 75 are eligible for the program, although people over 65 will qualify if they have one of several health complications, from sleep disorders to memory impairment
The program taps into experts in all fields including oncology, gerontology and geriatric services, support groups, genetic and social service counseling, and occupational and physical therapy. A specific team of oncologists with interest and expertise in the care of seniors also has been formed.
There's little question of the need for such a program.
Last year, physicians at USC/Norris cared for 1,350 cancer patients over age 75. And by 2020, one in five Americans will be over age 65, accounting for an ever-increasing portion of health care services.
Moreover, while 69 percent of cancer deaths occur in senior citizens, much of the knowledge about the disease comes from studies of animals and young people, which often are not applicable to the elderly.
"Elderly patients have many needs that differ from those of other patients," says Manuela Medeiros, R.N., M.S.N., assistant administrator for patient care services at the USC/Norris. "They often need increased levels of support in the hospital and in the community."
