A study looking at giving extra support for older people having chemotherapy

This study is testing a practical programme to support people over 70 years of age having chemotherapy, and seeing if fitness levels can help predict who may be more affected by chemotherapy side effects.

If you have cancer, you may have chemotherapy either to help control or cure it, or to help you feel better. Like all medicines, chemotherapy has side effects. It is difficult to predict who is likely to get side effects, but older people are more at risk than younger people and may cope with chemotherapy less well. Fewer older people seem to have chemotherapy, either because their doctor may not be keen to prescribe it, or the older person may not be keen to have it.

This pilot study is looking at a practical support programme for older people having chemotherapy. The team will look at how acceptable this programme is and how well it works. They will also continue to develop tools to help predict side effects from chemotherapy.

The aims of this study are to see

If older people wish to have extra practical support at home when they have chemotherapy
What kinds of practical support would be useful
If simple questionnaires asking patients about general fitness can help predict who will develop side effects from their chemotherapy

Recruitment

Start 01/06/2011

End 01/12/2012

Phase

Pilot

Who can enter

You may be able to enter this study if you

Are at least 70 years old
Have either breast cancer, lung cancer, bowel (colorectal) cancer, bladder cancer or prostate cancer
Are due to start a course of chemotherapy (with or without radiotherapy)

You cannot enter this study if you have already started your course of chemotherapy.

Trial design

This pilot study will recruit 150 people.

When you join the study, a nurse will ask you questions about your general health. This will take between 20 and 30 minutes to complete. The study team will also record details about your diagnosis, treatment and side effects from your medical records.

You will be able to contact the study nurse throughout your chemotherapy, should you need to.

If you agree, the team will also send your name and contact details to your local branch of an organisation called Age UK. Age UK will then contact you, and arrange for one of their staff to visit you at home. They will

Ask how you manage at home
Ask who else is around you to help
See if you need any extra help
Organise a volunteer to visit you at home every week while you are on chemotherapy, and to help with shopping and light housework
Come to hospital appointments with you if you would like them to

A member of staff from Age UK will also visit you 9 weeks into your chemotherapy, to see how you are getting on. And to see if any changes need to be made to your support.

At the end of your course of chemotherapy the team will ask how you got on with both the treatment and the extra support.

This support will come to an end once you finish your chemotherapy, but you will continue to see your regular cancer specialist team in the same way as you did before and during the study.

At 6 and 12 months after you joined the study, the nurse will go through the same questions you completed at the start.