Too many needless deaths because elderly cancer sufferers are 'written off' New research from the charity and the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) found that tens of thousands of pensioners who have been diagnosed with cancer have survived for at least a decade. More than 130,000 people in the UK have survived for at least 10 years after being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 65 or above, the charity said. This includes more than 8,000 patients who were diagnosed at the age of 80 and over. But the charity said that the figures would be far higher, if many patients in the UK were not being denied treatment because they are deemed to be too old. Survival rates for almost all common cancers are worse in Britain that the European average, international research has found. In December, a study of more than 29 countries compared five year survival for stomach, colon, rectal, lung, melanoma skin, breast, ovarian, prostate, and kidney cancers as well as the blood cancer non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It found that only for skin cancer was survival in this country better than the EU average. For many cancers, survival was on a par with countries in Eastern Europe. The charity said doctors needed to make better assessments of patients' physical and wellbeing, with too many decisions on whether or not to start treatment taken on the basis of age alone. Mr Devane said: "With a proper assessment and appropriate treatment, our research shows that many older cancer patients can live for a long time and can even be cured. While it's good news that so many older people are benefitting from treatment, many thousands more could live longer if our survival rates for over 65s matched those in comparable countries. NCIN's clinical lead Dr Mick Peake added: "It is vital that all patients receive the best and most effective treatment based on the nature of their cancer and their fitness for treatment and that chronological age alone is not the deciding factor. We know that cancer survival rates in older patients in many other countries are better in the UK and ensuring optimal treatment at all ages is the way of tackling this issue. Dr Mark Porter, chair of council at the British Medical Association, said: "It is important that all healthcare professionals ensure that patients are treated on the basis of their clinical need. With an increasingly ageing population, it should be a key part of medical professionalism to guarantee that older patients are treated with the care and respect they deserve.