Planning for 2020: increasing elderly population poses huge challenges in c...(eatment and sub-optimal practices mean t...),Health

Non-adherence to oral, long-term cancer therapies is emerging as a significant problem in oncology and is set to increase over the next decade because of the increasing availability of oral targeted therapies. Ms Redmond will say: Theres an enormous lack of awareness about the scope of non-compliance in cancer and the fact that this problem will become more prevalent in the coming years. Patients do not comply with treatment for many different reasons key factors are poor patient education and ineffective side effect management. There is a need to train health professionals how best to promote treatment adherence and to recognise when patients are not complying with their treatment. Otherwise, cancer outcomes will be compromised.

The elderly are at higher risk of treatment non-compliance because they are less likely to receive comprehensive information about their treatment, are more likely to have literacy and memory problems, and often lack the social networks that can help promote adherence to treatment. Cancer professionals can learn a lot from specialties that have already had to deal with treatment non-compliance in an increasing elderly patient population. An important first step is for cancer professionals to recognise that a problem exists so they can identify successful strategies and adopt them into everyday clinical practice.

Improved technology may come to the rescue for some of these issues. Over the next two decades innovations in technology, techniques and targeted medicines will revolutionise approaches to cancer care. These advances will enable more cancers to be eradicated and others to be controlled, Ms Redmond will say. Remote monitoring of patients via their mobile phones may become standard, robotics may provide solutions to care in the home and there may be other developments that we cant even imagine at present.