The 5 most common cancers in the over-75s from bladder to bowel – and how to spot the early signs

KING Charles’ shock cancer diagnosis makes the Monarch one of around 375,000 people to face the diagnosis this year in the UK.

At 75 years old, Charles’ age means he is more at risk of several cancers – with one in three cancers diagnosed in his age group.

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Cell damage that builds up over time makes older age a risk factor for many types of tumour, even in healthy people.

Buckingham Palace is keeping the King’s type of cancer under wraps, though said doctors found it during a routine treatment for an enlarged prostate – and ruled out prostate cancer.

Spotting the cancer by chance, as the King’s doctors did, suggests it may have been caught early enough that it did not cause obvious symptoms or show up on basic scans.

The most common types of cancer in those over the age of 75 are lung, bowel, breast, prostate and bladder cancer.

Across all age groups half of patients now live for ten years or more after a cancer diagnosis – compared to just one in four 50 years ago.

Professor Lawrence Young, Professor of Molecular Oncology, University of Warwick, says: “Generally, it’s very similar in terms of treatment you have, but so much depends on the stage and grade of cancer.

“Surgery is the first port of call for most. You identify a lump, remove it and surrounding tissue to see if it has spread.

“To make sure it doesn’t spread, you follow with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, both of which have side effects, which are like collateral damage. 

“Some of the intensive treatments can be devastating and sometimes, you need to treat it aggressively which can have long-term problems.

“But it’s always better than the alternative.

“The most sinister thing about cancer is it spreads from its primary site where it develops to other parts of your body. And that’s what that’s what kills.”

The most common symptoms of cancer, regardless of type, are:

• Weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue or lack of energy
• Lump
• Pain
• Night sweats or fever
• Unexplained bleeding or bruising

Here, we put each of the five most common cancers in Brits over 75 years, under the microscope.

LUNG

TOTAL CASES: 48,500 

OVER 75s: 21,400

SYMPTOMS: Persistent cough, chest infections, coughing up blood, ache or pain when breathing or coughing, persistent breathlessness

IN over-75s, lung cancer is the most predominant form of the disease, making up 16 per cent of cases in each gender.

Though a reduction in smoking will improve lung cancer rates, Prof Young says: “35,000 people still die of lung cancer every year.

“That’s the lag between people stopping smoking and the effect of cancer, as sadly cancer takes many years to develop.

“It’s often diagnosed late and there is no early test.”

Lung cancer has one of the lowest survival rates.

Last summer, however, the NHS rolled out a new programme in which people aged 55 to 74 with a history of smoking on their GP record are invited for tests at easy-access locations, such as mobile units in supermarket car parks.

It followed a pilot scheme in which 76 per cent of lung cancers in those tested were caught at the earliest stage.

A long-standing cough that doesn’t go away or get better is the most common symptom, as well as chest infections, coughing up blood and breathlessness.

Less common signs are ends of the fingers becoming larger, difficulty swallowing, a hoarse voice and swelling in the face or neck.

BREAST

TOTAL CASES: 55,900 

OVER 75s: 13,313 

SYMPTOMS: Lump, skin changes (rash, puckering, dimpling), fluid from the nipple, changes in the nipple, change in size of breast

BREAST cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with 99 per cent of cases in women. Some 400 men are diagnosed each year.

One in four cases are in women over the age of 75.

Breast cancer survival has doubled in the past 40 years thanks to improvements in treatment, earlier detection through screening and faster diagnoses.

Prof Young says: “Breast cancer is a real success story.

“Mammography has had a massive impact on the treatment of breast cancer because finding it earlier means there are more lumpectomies than drastic removal of the breast.

“We’ve got a massive shift in survival – which we measure in times of how many people are alive and disease-free five years after their initial diagnosis. 

“That doesn’t mean this isn’t a devastating diagnosis, but it’s so important to detect early so you don’t have to have radical surgery.

“There’s so much you can do for breast cancer, sadly it’s not the case for other cancers.”

Women should check their breasts, armpits and collarbone area at least once a month for signs of breast cancer.

A lump is the most well-known sign, but the disease may also cause skin, nipple or breast changes.

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PROSTATE

TOTAL CASES: 52,000 

OVER 75s: 17,700

SYMPTOMS: Needing to urinate more often, in the night, difficulty starting to pee or straining, weak flow, blood in urine

PROSTATE cancer is the most common cancer in men.

One in eight men will be diagnosed in their lifetime.

It is predominantly seen in old age and accounts for 25 per cent of cancer cases in men over 75.

Prof Young says early prostate cancer is very treatable, adding: “A lot of people live a long and healthy life with it.

“There is something called active surveillance where you are examined over years but nothing needs to be done, because, for a lot of people, prostate cancer won’t spread.

“So most men die with prostate cancer, not because of it.

“The problem with prostate cancer is once it spreads, it does spread quite nastily, particularly to bones and it’s very painful.” 

There is no screening for prostate cancer, but men are encouraged to check their risk on https://prostatecanceruk.org/.

Cancer of the prostate doesn’t tend to show symptoms and when it does, it can crossover with those of an enlarged prostate.

The condition is common in older men and usually harmless, though will need treatment in some cases.

The symptoms of both are needing to urinate more often, including in the night, straining and weak flow.

Men should visit their GP for these symptoms. 

BOWEL

TOTAL CASES: 42,000 

OVER 75s: 18,600

SYMPTOMS: Changes in stool, blood in stool or bleeding from bottom, needing to go more often, tummy pain or a lump, bloating

BOWEL cancer accounts for 14 per cent of cancer cases in both men and women over the age of 75.

Though bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, it is the second deadliest, claiming 16,000 lives per year.

That’s despite the fact there is a national screening programme for adults aged 60 and 74 – a home-test kit sent to people’s doors – and symptoms can indicate the disease early on, including blood in the stool or from the bottom, a change in toilet habits and pain or a lump in the stomach.

Prof Lawrence says: “Any one of those and you should go and see your GP immediately.

“But a lot of people don’t, they just soldier on and that’s one of the biggest problems about bowel cancer.”

He adds that people can be reluctant to do the at-home test kit, in which it is required to send a sample of stool.

Prof Young adds: “Bowel cancer, sadly, once it starts developing, if you leave it too late it can spread very easily, particularly to the liver, and then there is not much you can do.”

BLADDER

TOTAL CASES: 10,300 

OVER 75s: 4,000 MEN

SYMPTOMS: Blood in urine, pain in bones, pain in the tumy, shortness of breath, lump in neck or abdomen, jaundice

BLADDER cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men over 75.

Unfortunately, the prognosis of bladder cancer is getting worse, as charities say research and funding into it has lagged behind other common forms of cancer. 

It has a high mortality rate of around 50 per cent over five years due to often late diagnosis.

Three-quarters of cases of bladder cancer are in men.

Prof Young says: “It’s quite nasty. 

“This is a perfect example of survival being so dependent on stage.

“There are two types of bladder cancer. The earliest type is called superficial, and then there is invasive, which has gone into the muscle layer of the bladder.

“One of the treatments for superficial bladder cancer, which hasn’t spread, is the BCG vaccine for tuberculosis.

“You can treat about 70 per cent of cases with it.”

Chemotherapy can also be directly injected into the bladder as a single dose.

But with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, Prof Young says “It’s a different ballgame”, adding: “Depending on if it hasn’t spread too far, you can surgically remove the bladder and have a bag to collect your urine, or you might need reconstruction.”

Such surgery can come with complications, such as nerve damage that may implicate bladder or sexual function.