Cancer and Aging: The majority of people diagnosed with cancer are over the age of 65. Further, many who are diagnosed and treated during young or middle adulthood grow into being older cancer survivors. As members of the faculty in Adult Development and Aging in the HDFS Department, Dr. Bellizzi and Dr. Blank have a special interest in the interplay of cancer and aging in the lives of older persons, many of whom have competing health conditions. As a result, they have been in the forefront of a growing but still very under-examined area of psychosocial oncology—cancer and aging. Their research projects focus on 1) examination of age differences, including the interesting finding that many older persons are actually less affected psychologically by having cancer than younger ones, 2) the impact of comorbidity and race on older cancer survivors’ quality of life, and 3) the impact of cancer on pre-existing health conditions and the risk of developing new health conditions compared to older adults without a history of cancer. Their conceptual and theoretical work explores some of the major factors that may lead to successful adaptation to cancer in older age. Those factors include how people change psychologically and focus on different areas of importance as they age and changes in social roles such as work/retirement and parenting. These factors are consistent with the lifespan development and life course focus of human development, but they have been very seldom applied to understanding cancer survivorship. Research on prostate cancer and aging was funded by the National Institute on Aging. They have published articles in Cancer, Generations, Health Care Finance Review, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and other outlets that address cancer and aging from their perspective in HDFS. Dr. Bellizzi is chair of the cancer and aging interest group of the Gerontological Society of America and guest editor of a special issue in Cancer, focused on cancer and aging, to which Dr. Blank contributed an article on treatment issues in older adults. Dr. Bellizzi is now co-editing a multi-disciplinary book that addresses the entire scope of cancer and aging.

Related Publications

Blank, T. O. (2009). Cancer from both sides now: combining personal and research perspectives on survivorship. Journal of General Internal Medicine,24 (Supplement 2), S425-S428.

Bellizzi, K.M., Mustian, K.M., Palesh, O.G., & Diefenbach, M. (2008). Cancer survivorship and aging: Moving the science forward. Cancer, 113 (12) 3530-3539.

Bellizzi, K.M., Miller, S.M., Bowen, D.J., Mustian, K.M., & Resnick B. (2008). Aging in the context of cancer prevention and control: Perspectives from behavioral medicine. Cancer, 113 (12) 3479-3483.

Bellizzi, K.M., Latini, D.M., Cowan, J.E., Duchane J., Carroll, P.R. and the CaPSURE Investigators. (2008).Fear of recurrence, symptom burden and quality of life in men with prostate cancer. Urology, 72 (6) 1269-73.

Smith, A.W., Reeve, B., Bellizzi, K.M., Harlan, L.C., Klabunde, C.N., Amsellem, M., Bierman, A.S., & Hays, R.D. (2008). Cancer, comorbidities and health-related quality of life of older adults. Health Care Financing Review, 29 (4) 41-56.

Clauser, S., Arora N.K., Bellizzi, K.M., Haffer, C., Topor, M., & Hayes, R. (2008). Disparities in HRQOL of cancer survivors and non-cancer managed care enrollees. Health Care Financing Review, 29 (4) 23-40.

Blank, T.O., & Bellizzi, K.M. (2008). A gerontological perspective on cancer and aging. Cancer, 112 (11) 2569-2576.

Rowland, J.H., & Bellizzi, K.M. (2008). Cancer Survivors and Survivorship Research: A Reflection on Today’s Successes and Tomorrow’s Challenges. Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America, 22 (2) 181-200.

Aziz, N.M. & Bellizzi, K.M. (2008). Older survivors and cancer care. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 100 (1), 4-5.

Blank, T. O. (2008). The challenge of prostate cancer: “Half a man or man and a half?” Generations, 32,68-72.

Trask, P. C., Blank, T. O., & Jacobsen, P. (2008). Future perspectives on the treatment issues associated with cancer and aging. Cancer,113, 3512-3518.

Bellizzi, K.M., & Rowland, J.H. (2007). Role of comorbidity, symptoms and age in the health of older survivors following treatment for cancer. Aging Health, 3 (5), 625-635.

Bellizzi, K. M., & Blank, T. O. (2007). Cancer-related identity and positive and negative affect in survivors of prostate cancer. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 1, 44-48.

Blank, T. O., & Bellizzi, K. M. (2006). After prostate cancer: Predictors of well-being among long-term prostate cancer survivors. Cancer, 106, 2128-2135.