Who is Taking Care of Senior Citizens With Cancer?

Over 65 and Alone

I am in my 40's and recently had cancer and went through chemotherapy - and it is definitely not a cake walk. I was very fortunate to have a strong support network of a husband, grown kids, and lots of family and friends living in the same town I live in. I kept a journal and over a 4 month period, I was at the doctor's office for one reason or another over 70 times. I was either getting chemo or having blood work done or getting a checkup. I do not know how I would have managed with my support network.

Having said all that, I am amazed at the number of people I met at the cancer clinic (and still meet) who are 65 and over and have no family around to care for them. A number of them drive for miles to get treatment and have other health problems besides the cancer. They have noone at home to help them clean their house or cook their meals. Noone to drive them to and from doctor visits if they don't feel like driving - or simply don't need to be driving. Trust me, there are definitely times when a person on chemo does not need to be behind the wheel of a car.

They need help remembering to take their medication, keep track of all the doctor appointments, keep track of their medical bills, review and understand their bills, understand their treatment and tests. As I said, I had a myriad of support during my treatment. I'm also a computer hound and technology gadget girl and kept meticulous records, journals, charts, graphs, etc of everything. A lot of older people do not have computers and do not want to learn to use one.

I have completed my chemo and since then have been trying to help out as many of those older folks as I can. I take them to the grocery store, to get their medications, to doctor visits, etc. I can not fathom how they have managed to do all of this on their own. I was very sick during my treatment and can not imagine having to cope with all they are coping with, and I am at least 20 years younger than they are. It makes me very sad and I do not know how else to help or what government agency to contact to get them assistance (if such an agency exists).