It is rare that students and residents are exposed to a dedicated geriatric educational experience

It is rare that students and residents are exposed to a dedicated geriatric educational experience
One of William Dale’s healthiest patients was working out three times a week, regularly walking two miles, lifting weights, maintaining a stable body weight of 120 pounds and not on any medications when she was diagnosed with a stage IV ovarian cancer. Dale, MD, PhD, section chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the University of Chicago, said the patient did fine with both surgery and chemotherapy. The fact that she was 89 years old, he said, shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise.
Dizziness is a particular danger among the elderly, but extra care taken by physicians can help ease their problems and help keep older patients functioning, panelists said at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, held here Sept. 26-29.