![]() ![]() This dearth of age-specific data has profound implications for clinical care, because older adults are more likely than younger people to be diagnosed with cancer. As a result, he only learned of the potential for toxicity because his daughter-in-law had witnessed the treatment’s severe side effects in the older adults at her clinic. ![]() Older patients are often underrepresented in clinical trials of new cancer treatments, including the one offered to Yeldell. This combination can be extremely effective-at least in younger people-but it can also be “incredibly toxic” in older, frail people, says Elizabeth Kvale, a palliative-care specialist at Baylor College of Medicine, and also Yeldell’s daughter-in-law. In addition, his physician recommended a course of treatment that included chemotherapy, radiation, and a drug targeting a specific genetic mutation. The first drug he tried disrupted his balance and coordination, so his doctor halved the dose to minimize these side effects, Yeldell recalls. In October 2021, 84-year-old Jim Yeldell was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer. ![]() This article was originally published by Undark Magazine. ![]()
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