Aging and Breast Cancer

Abstract

The level of instrumental functioning of breast cancer cases aged 55 to 84 is compared to that of women of the same age without the disease. A total of 571 cases were selected through the Metropolitan Detroit Cancer Surveillance System and interviewed three (n = 463) and 12 (n = 422) months after diagnosis about their needs in transportation, housekeeping, meal preparation, and grocery shopping. A total of 647 controls aged 55 to 84 were selected through random-digit dialing and interviewed twice over the same period (n = 539 and 478). At three months, cases aged 55 to 74 report greater difficulty and less independence than controls in completing instrumental tasks. Little difference is shown between cases and controls aged 75 to 84. Nine months later, functional status is similar for cases and controls aged 55 to 64. In contrast, cases aged 65 to 74 continue to be less independent than controls of the same age.