Month: January 2015
Nurse Inspired by Stuart Scott’s Strength in Facing Mesothelioma
The mesothelioma community is small, but we all are a part of a bigger group of people and families affected by cancer. This month, a popular ESPN anchor, Stuart Scott, died of cancer. The way he fought his disease inspired his fans and everyone around him. Although his battle was on a very public stage, every day others that have cancer are inspiring their families, caregivers, and medical community with their courage and grace. There are many messages that we can all take from Scott’s battle with cancer. Living with cancer and not giving up, and continuing to live as you want; but when you die, you beat the cancer by the way you lived is the message Scott wanted to be remembered by.
Last August, Stuart Scott was presented with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award. The presentation of the award started 21 years ago – the year Scott started working at ESPN. Jimmy Valvano, a former college basketball coach, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 46. Before he died he started the V Foundation for Cancer Research, along with ESPN, with the dream of eradicating cancer. The V Foundation has awarded more than $130 million to more than 120 facilities nationwide and proudly awards 100% of its cash donations to cancer research. In 1993, Valvano gave a speech at the ESPY awards that has become famous – “Don’t Give Up. . . Don’t Ever Give Up!” Both Scott’s and Valvano’s speeches can be seen on the JimmyV.org web site.
Stuart Scott was a proud University of North Carolina alumnus. On Monday night, January 5, I had the pleasure of attending a men’s college basketball game at UNC. The 21,000 that packed the gym that cool Monday evening, watched a great game of basketball, but also witnessed a memorable tribute to “Stu.” College students identified with his ‘coolness’ and were deeply inspired by him. The way he lived and how he lived was on the public stage.
We don’t all appear on TV or have careers that make us famous- but all of us, and our families, are faced with the same challenges as far as how we choose to live with cancer. Fighting cancer is not done alone – your team, your coaches are working hard to continue the fight. As Stuart Scott, and Jimmy Valvano inspire all of us, look around and you will see the same courage and determination with mesothelioma patients, and other people dealing with cancer.
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
Resolve to Support the Mesothelioma Community in 2015
The new year inevitably brings with it New Year’s resolutions. Some people resolve to help others – what a great idea! Here are five ways that you can help the mesothelioma community, advocating for patients and their families, and honoring those who have lost their fight.
- Hold a fundraiser! It can be anything from a collection day to a 5k walk and run; trust me, it doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. Hosting an event raises both awareness and funds for mesothelioma research and support.
- Attend a conference! Each year, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation holds a conference where personal stories, new research information, and general knowledge is shared. This is a great way to connect with others and to learn more about the disease that you can share.
- Talk to people! Tell your story. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to let people know how mesothelioma has impacted your life. This can encourage them to get involved and help the cause as well.
- Write to your local representatives. Find out who your local representative is and write to them, asking for stricter laws regarding asbestos – ask for it to be made illegal as it is in many other countries. Talk to your friends and relatives and urge them to do the same.
- Pray! Prayer is powerful – never underestimate it. Keep those battling this disease and those close to them in your prayers. It means more to them than you know.
Enjoy 2015! Let’s make this the year where a cure is found and this awful cancer can be eradicated forever!
Acetic Acid Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Experiment
Japanese researchers have found that acetic acid causes the death of a variety of cancer cells, including mesothelioma cells. Based on this, they say that the application of acetic acid may be a feasible approach for the treatment of mesothelioma.
Following up on prior research that demonstrated the ability of acetic acid (the main ingredient in vinegar) to kill gastric (stomach) cancer tumors in rats when applied topically, a team lead by Susumu Okabe of the Kyoto GI Disease Research Center in Kyoto, Japan designed an experiment to “examine whether acetic acid can directly induce cancer cell death.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25521736
The researchers did this by adding 0.5% acetic acid to petri dishes containing two mesothelioma cell lines obtained from human patients. They also added different concentrations of acetic acid, ranging from 0.01%-0.5%, to cultures of rat and human gastric cancer cell lines. Healthy cells exposed to acetic acid served as a control.
Study results showed that 5% acetic acid for 10 minutes caused marked mesothelioma cell death, while higher concentrations of acetic acid more strongly inhibited gastric cancer cell survival. In addition, the cancer cells were found to be more sensitive to acetic acid than the normal cells.
“The results of the present study, using five different cell lines, demonstrate that acetic acid promptly induces the cell death in a dose-dependent manner,” writes Okabe in an article published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. “In fact, acetic acid used at 0.5% or even at 0.1% for 10 min or even 1 min was able to induce cell death.”
Effect of Acetic Acid on Mesothelioma Cells
Acetic acid used at 0.5% was applied to two mesothelioma cell lines for 10 minutes and almost completely induced cell death of both. “We may suggest,” concludes Okabe, “using acetic acid approach for treatment of this malignancy.” The researchers further suggest that acetic acid may be used alone or together with chemotherapy to treat not only mesothelioma, but also gastric cancer and peritoneal cancer (cancer of the lining of the abdomen).
Mesothelioma tumors are resistant to chemotherapy, which may be given to patients alone, before primary treatment (neoadjuvant chemotherapy), or after primary treatment (adjuvant chemotherapy). Traditional treatment options for mesothelioma include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy drugs pemetrexed and cisplatin have been approved by the FDA for treatment of malignant mesothelioma, but new treatments are needed given the disease’s resistance to therapy and high mortality rate. Some are being tested in clinical trials, while others—such as the present study—offer new investigative potential.
Okabe and colleagues admit that that “the molecular mechanism by which acetic acid induces the cell death remains unclear” and thus, “further studies are needed to identify the cell death pathway induced by the acetic acid.”
Future studies may look at the effectiveness of acetic acid combined with chemotherapy drugs currently used to treat mesothelioma and other cancers, including cisplatin, mitomycin-C, 5-FU, leucovorin, paclitaxel, S-1, doxorubicin, and irinotecan.
The study, “Acetic acid induces cell death: An in vitro study using normal rat gastric mucosal cell line and rat and human gastric cancer and mesothelioma cell lines,” can be read here.
Give Up the Doubting to Find Peace
My father lost his battle with mesothelioma on October 15, 2013. When he passed away, I instantly started thinking about what more I could have done to help him. Was there another treatment we didn’t know about? Did he need something that we weren’t able to give him? After a long time, I found peace in knowing that we honestly did everything that we could and that Dad knew and appreciated that. Finding a sense of forgiveness in myself took some time.
It’s easy to place blame on yourself when you lose somebody you love to cancer, or wonder whether you could have done more to help them. Could I have recognized the symptoms sooner? Did I do enough research? Was the treatment enough or the right one? Did I do everything in my power to prevent losing him?
Unfortunately, these questions can cause you a lot of pain and heartache, but I think that the “what-ifs” are a natural reaction and part of grief. However, the wondering won’t get you anywhere. It will take time, but it’s important to realize that your love and support were enough for your loved one.
In my Dad’s case, all he wanted was for us to spend time together and to know how much he loved us. We never doubted that love for one second and we know that he felt ours in return. These are the important thoughts and memories that will allow you to eventually look back with a smile and know that your love carried them through and that they will never be forgotten.
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
Funding is Crucial for Mesothelioma Research Projects
The way to unlock the mysteries of diagnosing and treating mesothelioma is through research. Research starts with an idea to be explored. While dedicated scientists have made inroads in the treatment of mesothelioma, with multi-centered clinical trials, funding continues to be an issue. In today’s competitive research environment it is not enough to have a promising idea- funding must be obtained.
Dr. Ritu Gill, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, presented a poster session at the International Mesothelioma Interest Group Conference in Boston in September 2012. Her poster involved measuring the bulk of mesothelioma on CT scans, and the implications for treatment recommendations. She wanted to continue this valuable work, but she had no more funding available for the project.
At a discussion on where to go with these promising results, Mary Hesdorffer of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, approached Dr. Gill and said her foundation could help. In October 2014, at the International Mesothelioma Interest Group Conference in Cape Town South Africa, Dr. Gill again presented the findings of her research. Her and her collaborators’ findings are promising in the assessment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, volume of the disease at diagnosis, as measured by CT scans, and recommending the most promising treatments for the patient.
Without the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation’s support, this valuable research could not have taken place. The Meso Foundation provides seed money for mesothelioma research. The Meso Foundation has funded over $8.7 million in research projects across the globe.
As we look forward to the New Year, and reflect on the progress that has been made with diagnosing and treating mesothelioma, we urge you to check out the reports on the research that the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has sponsored at www.curemeso.org. And, if you are looking for an organization to donate to in 2015, consider helping out the mesothelioma community.
Together we can work towards the cure in 2015.
If you have any questions about any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Free Mesothelioma Patient & Treatment Guide
We’d like to offer you our in-depth guide, “A Patient’s Guide to Mesothelioma,” absolutely free of charge.
It contains a wealth of information and resources to help you better understand the condition, choose (and afford) appropriate treatment, and exercise your legal right to compensation.
Download Now