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Elderly population is expanding at a rate never seen before. The risk of developing cancer rises with longevity. Surgeons will have to learn to deal with rising geriatric cancer burden.The treatment of choice for solid cancers regardless of the age is surgery. Prevalence of co-morbidity in the elderly enhances the risk of treatment related complication. Discriminating fit from frail elderly patients is difficult in the absence of a reliable tool to appraise preoperative functional health. Appraisal of the functional age instead of chronological age facilitates counseling for intervention and titrating therapy. A screening tool to identify the elderly at risk of complications from surgical interventions is urgently needed. A tool which facilitates avoiding under treatment of fit elderly and over treatment of frail patients is needed. In this book preoperative health status of the elderly undergoing major cancer surgery has been tested using comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA).First time ever, association of postoperative outcome with preoperative functional health is tested using CGA among the elderly undergoing major cancer surgery.

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Ramesh Jois, MS, FRCS graduated from University of Mysore, India, 1990.He pursued his research interest to complete higher degree in surgical oncology (M.Phil) from University of Liverpool, UK. He has a special interest in surgical treatment of cancer in the elderly.

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