[Oncogeriatry and psychology: an other glance at the elderly]

Medicine, as well as the whole society, should cope with a society getting older and older. Yet, to what extend are the peculiarities of elderly assessed and taken into account? And what about relationship and communication? Are elderly offered similar therapeutic projects and are they equally informed about them? Do they have, themselves, the same needs? Oncologists and the nursing staff encounter several peculiar difficulties while coping with elderly. These difficulties are not only due to a complicated medical situation of a multi-treated patient with along history of many other diseases, but also to strongly anchored received ideas that "it's easier to die when one is old" and that "it's better to preserve the patient by hiding his disease to him, and by lying to him about it, because it is worthless to tell him the truth". Yet, these ideas are not of any help. Wrong ideas, lack of information, means and trained manpower and sometimes of interest affect often negatively the patient's treatment outcome, and highlight, more than in any other patients, psychological, relational but also ethical thorny stakes. By focusing on the elderly peculiarities, while considering them as patients on their own, it would be possible to highlight these stakes and to better assess these touch by situations. This would help enhancing a better use of neuropsychology and psycho oncology and by that better tailor the therapeutic and nursing decisions as well as communication fashions in oncogeriatry.