{"id":7805,"date":"2024-10-07T09:14:59","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T13:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=7805"},"modified":"2024-10-07T09:14:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T13:14:59","slug":"what-makes-older-achievers-tick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2024\/10\/what-makes-older-achievers-tick\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes Older Achievers Tick?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent years, oncologist Philip Salem, MD, has done some of the best work of his career. Using new combinations of existing cancer therapies\u2014personalized immunotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy\u2014he\u2019s getting remarkable results for patients with advanced lung, pancreatic and other cancers, many of whom were out of options. In August, he presented a research poster on his innovative approach at the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) Breakthrough meeting in Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of which is impressive, but even more so considering that Salem, the director emeritus of cancer research at St. Luke\u2019s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, is 83 years old. He has no plans to retire. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t come to work because it\u2019s an obligation \u2026 or because I want to make more money,\u201d he said. \u201cI come to work because I love what I do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Salem\u2019s example is significant at a time when the capacities of older people have been questioned in public debate. The 2024 presidential election has focused on age more than any other. Joe Biden, the oldest person to serve in office, ultimately bowed out due to concerns related to his age. Now, Donald Trump, 78, is the oldest presidential nominee in US history.  <\/span><\/p>\n

The debates surrounding the candidates\u2019 ages have exposed ageist stereotypes, as well as legitimate questions about how age affects a person\u2019s stamina, judgment and abilities. But there\u2019s little attention on the many people who have accomplished great things in their 60s, 70s, 80s\u2014and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are plenty of models from yesterday\u2014and more and more each day\u2014who came into their own at the stage of life when society would have had them packing it in,\u201d writes Mo Rocca in his new book, <\/span>Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs<\/span><\/i><\/a> (2024, co-author Jonathan Greenberg). <\/span><\/p>\n

Mary Robertson Moses was 78 when she took up painting and became famous as Grandma Moses.<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book profiles people like author Laura Ingalls Wilder, who published her first book at 65; architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed the Guggenheim Museum in his late 80s; and Diana Nyad, who swam from Cuba to Florida at 64. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing everyone in this book has in common: a belief that late life is no time to surrender,\u201d he wrote. <\/span><\/p>\n

That unwillingness to surrender led some artists, authors and innovators to do their best work in their later years.<\/span><\/p>\n