When we know that 2 out of 3 cancers occur in people aged 75 and over, the issue is real.
On the sidelines of the 9th Monaco Age Oncology – a conference for oncologists and geriatricians with the aim of discussing the medical and clinical care of elderly patients with cancer – the head of the gerontology center at the CHU de Nice is sounding the alarm: “our health system is degraded and this is only the beginning. »
“Cancer is an age-related disease”
For Olivier Ghérin, the increase in needs, correlated with a drop in the number of carers, constitutes a real problem which can be solved through two levers: prevention and digital technology. It is no longer true to say “the day I am sick, I will be well cared for”thinks the specialist, especially in the Alpes-Maritimes where the population is particularly aging: 340,000 people are 60 or older.
Doctors are unanimous: age is the main risk factor for almost all cancers. So the number of cancers will increase significantly, and “nearly three-quarters will be diagnosed in people over 75 within a few years. However, as always on issues related to age, we have the impression that the authorities in the broad sense have difficulty taking this phenomenon into account. »
Vitamin D: miracle cure?
You should therefore avoid getting sick at all costs. For this, vitamin D is our ally. “People with high levels of vitamin D have a decreased risk of developing cancer”, assures Olivier Ghérin. Avocado, oily fish, dairy products… If vitamin D is found in our diet, it is also and above all found in sunlight (10% against 90%).
Except that, “with its sedentarization, human beings are sorely lacking in sunshine and therefore in vitamin D. And a day on the boat is not enough”, he says. Advice from the specialist: go to your doctor or pharmacist to ask for supplementation, in the form of ampoules, for example. The trick is valid at any age, but particularly when one gets older. “Seniors are less able to manufacture this hormone, and therefore are deficient when they have the Not needed anymore. »
Not to mention the vaccination, “the most powerful preventive strategy”, but also spirituality, sexuality, sleep or even social ties. Because for Olivier Ghérin, “if we want to be good at prevention, we have to be holistic, and take into account all those factors that generate results as important as those we already know well, such as physical activity or diet . »
Ever more efficient means
On the question of the lack of caregivers, “we have to find other ways of responding, such as digital”, projects the health professional. It is still necessary that our seniors tame the digital… But there is no doubt for Olivier Ghérin.
“Those who will be 80 in ten years will know how to use a smartphone perfectly, they already use it. I think we no longer have that generational effect of numerical discrimination. And then, at the same time, technology means that humans hardly ever intervene in digital services, as the latter have become autonomous. » A not so pessimistic vision, which, we hope, will allow us all to live old, and in good health!