"Breast Cancer Treatment for over Seventies"

I recently lost my Mum to Leukaemia. She only got 3 weeks from diagnosis to her passing. My Mum was 76 years old and had no health issues until the start of 2020.

In January 2020 my Mum found a lump in her breast. She visited the doctor and was referred for a mammogram and biopsy. It was confirmed as cancer and in March she had an operation to remove the lump and some lymph glands. Her results confirmed an aggressive cancer was present but the surgeon was confident that all cancerous cells had been removed and her Lymph glands were clear. She was then encouraged to have radiotherapy and chemotherapy. At the time I was reluctant for her to have any treatment as I could not find any research for my Mums age group that supported this treatment plan. She went ahead with radiotherapy- it was a new style treatment with larger doses over a shorter period of time.  Within eight months of this treatment she developed AML.

I want to understand why this treatment was offered to my Mum at 76 because I believe that if she did not have the suggested radiotherapy she would have survived longer albeit with the risk of developing breast cancer at a later stage.  I need to know that we are learning from my Mums story and using her case to review how we treat older patients going forward. A full review of her treatment plan would be appreciated.