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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Dementia At The Age Of 93?

my mother is 3 months from being 93.last visit to the Dr -her hemoglobin was very low.BM smears do not show blook in her stool. she has no pain in the abdomon or anywhere else. Her muscle mass has decreed quite a bit in the last 6 months . She has a good appetite and eats well. I have to encouage her to drink more. the Dr gave her iron vitamins to take which of course bungs her up!!! the Dr wants to do a top and bottom scope. She has only had one procedure - when I was a very young girl and only this past xmas took antibiotics for the first time. I am worried that this would be too much for her. She is also showing signs of dementia for the last few months. If I decline the scopes - what could happen? Sj Fesey
Fri, 1 Aug 2014
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
The scopes would check for sources of bleeding including cancer. If she does not have the scopes, these would remain undiagnosed and untreated. They could advance. Given her age, if something like colon cancer is present, nothing may be done anyway. Surgery and chemotherapy might be more of a risk than a benefit. The worst case scenario is she could die from an undiagnosed condition if the scopes are not done. That must be weighed against the risks of treatment for anything that might be detected. Would you pursue aggressive therapies if something like cancer is detected? If so, get the scopes. If not, there may be little benefit in getting them. Perhaps an ulcer might be detected, which could be treated with minimal risk, but she has no other symptoms. Hope this helps.
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What Causes Dementia At The Age Of 93?

The scopes would check for sources of bleeding including cancer. If she does not have the scopes, these would remain undiagnosed and untreated. They could advance. Given her age, if something like colon cancer is present, nothing may be done anyway. Surgery and chemotherapy might be more of a risk than a benefit. The worst case scenario is she could die from an undiagnosed condition if the scopes are not done. That must be weighed against the risks of treatment for anything that might be detected. Would you pursue aggressive therapies if something like cancer is detected? If so, get the scopes. If not, there may be little benefit in getting them. Perhaps an ulcer might be detected, which could be treated with minimal risk, but she has no other symptoms. Hope this helps.