Mesothelioma Help Cancer News
Experience Matters for Mesothelioma Treatment, Studies Show
MesotheliomaHelp encourages patients diagnosed with mesothelioma to seek care at a facility that specializes in treatment of the rare cancer in order to maximize their chances of having a positive outcome, and two recent studies out of the United Kingdom suggest that this advice could help improve patient survival.
One study, published in the journal Lung Cancer, looked at 8,470 cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma reported in the UK. Patients were mostly male with a median age of 73. Median survival was 9.5 months, but survival differed sharply by patient health status and tumor growth pattern. It also differed by cancer network from 209 days to 349 days.
“There is significant variation in care patterns and outcomes that may reflect limited expertise in area[s] with low [mesothelioma] incidence,” concluded the study authors, led by Dr. Paul Beckett of the royal College of Physicians, London.
A second study, published in Colorectal Disease, analyzed 1,200 surgical cases of patients with abdominal malignancy, including 65 peritoneal mesothelioma patients, over a 20 year period (1994-2014). The study period was divided per quartile of 300 patients so that outcomes over time could be compared. Two of the outcomes recorded were patients undergoing complete cytoreduction (removal of all visible tumors) and 30-day mortality (post-surgery).
The proportion of patients per quartile undergoing complete cytoreduction was 60.7%, 65%, 77%, and 80.3%, while patient mortality per quartile was 3%, 1%, 0.7% and 0.7%. In addition, complete cytoreduction in peritoneal mesothelioma patients was associated with a 5-year survival rate of 76%. Typical 5-year survival for mesothelioma patients is between 5% and 10%, according to the American Cancer Society.
Although both of the studies are out of the UK, they underscore the importance of choosing a cancer center with significant mesothelioma experience. Because mesothelioma is a rare cancer in the general population, most oncologists see very few patients with this disease and may not be familiar with how to effectively treat it. The busiest mesothelioma centers also often offer patients the opportunity to enroll in clinical trials that provide access to innovative treatments.
Being treated at a specialized mesothelioma center could very well involve traveling out of town or even out of state. This can mean not only giving up the comforts of home, but also incurring travel charges.
For those who do travel out of town for treatment, the American Cancer Society offers free accommodations at its 31 Hope Lodge locations. Another resource—Joe’s House—doesn’t offer free stays but does help cancer patients find accommodations close to treatment centers. Patients may also be able to find housing through the hospital that is treating them.
For a comprehensive list of top mesothelioma centers that’s searchable by state and zip code, please visit the MesotheliomaHelp Hospitals page. You can similarly search the site for mesothelioma specialists.
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
Mesothelioma Help Scholarship – Great Opportunity to Make a Difference
Once again, I was humbled and honored to be a judge for the spring Jan Egerton and Don Smitley Mesothelioma Scholarship contest. Jan was an inspiring woman who I was happy to be acquainted with and, of course, Don was my father. A scholarship memorializing these two amazing mesothelioma warriors seems only fitting.
As I read through each entry, I was astounded at the interest and compassion shown by each student. They really did an excellent job researching the topic and many stated how much they learned through the process. I gain a lot of hope in knowing that teens and young adults are becoming aware of this disease and showing a genuine interest in how they can help.
These youths are the next generation of up-and-coming professionals and philanthropists, and it will be up to them to continue the fight against mesothelioma. I find comfort in knowing that the torch will be passed to such motivated individuals.
Educating ourselves about the dangers of asbestos and mesothelioma is the first step in eradicating this cancer. It is our responsibility as a community to make sure that this is done and done well. I am extremely proud of the scholarship participants for their hard work and commitment to serving others.
I pray that you all continue on your journey to help those with mesothelioma, believing in a cure!
Nurse Inspired by Mesothelioma Survivor Who Comforts Other Patients
Survivors of mesothelioma and their stories are inspirational. From their stories we gather strength and renewed purpose. At a recent conference, a mesothelioma survivor talked about her journey, her leap of faith, and her life today, as well as the everyday challenges she now faces living with mesothelioma. She looked and sounded fabulous.
I watched her speak with and comfort a family member of another mesothelioma patient. Their story was not as positive, but she was powerful with the words that she shared. She left a lasting impression on those that attended the conference. Her road has been filled with challenges, serious issues, and adjustments that she and her family had to make, but she delivered her message with grace, dignity, and gratefulness.
As she spoke, one thing that struck me was her inhalation of breath, it was part of her life now with one lung. She spoke with truth about her life before mesothelioma, the diagnosis, the fear and her journey. She blindly put her faith in a surgeon almost ten years ago, when the medical world knew so much less about mesothelioma. She said she had no choice, but her treatment center gave her hope. I am sure it must be difficult to know whether the option you pick is the right choice. Clearly, this woman made the right choice for her.
As part of her legacy, as a young, long term survivor of mesothelioma, she always has her hand extended to help others. When she speaks with someone, she never really speaks about her situation. Instead she listens intently, and she puts her feelings and her journey aside while she puts herself in their shoes.
As a professional nurse, I find it amazing to see these patients think about somebody else when their lives have been turned upside down. She spoke about how community is so important and how that helped her and her family recover.
We all consider her cancer free, but she is still in the nucleus of the mesothelioma community continually giving back. Possibly, that is part of the recipe of a long term survivor.
If you have any questions about any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Dad Continues to Bounce Back From Setbacks During Mesothelioma Treatment
It was time for Dad to start another round of radiation treatment in Philly. This treatment was supposed to relieve some pain in Dad’s side by hopefully shrinking the cancer. He would have 14 treatments, basically most of February minus weekends. There was going to be a lot of traveling back and forth to get treatment since Dad prefers to be at home and not at my place in the city, or the Hope Lodge that is nearby. My mom was able to get a leave of absence from work to drive him back and forth each day because, unfortunately, Dad can no longer drive himself to treatment anymore.
Dad got through the first week of treatment before the nurses at UPenn noticed that something wasn’t right. Each day, while he waited for treatment, one nurse would take his vitals and check in with him. On the fourth day of treatment his vitals were taken and his blood pressure was 80/30. He was immediately admitted to UPenn Hospital and tests upon tests were done.
Dad was found to be in renal failure and was in critical condition. There were a few reasons that his kidneys could have failed: severe dehydration, his blood was too thin, or the cancer was growing and causing a blockage. After countless tests it was determined that it was a combination of his blood being too thin and dehydration. This was a relief that cancer wasn’t causing any blockage. They had also conducted a scan of his brain to be sure that cancer did not spread there. They were concerned about this because he was very disoriented and confused about what was going on.
Dad stayed in the hospital and continued treatment while he was there. At first they were unsure what would happen, would his kidneys come back? Would he come out of the state of confusion he was in? There was a lot of uncertainty and it was scary to not know what would happen.
Despite the uncertainty of his hospital stay, we were glad that he was there receiving the best treatment that he could get. All of his Mesothelioma doctors were close by and would stop in each day, and he was able to be transported over to the neighboring building to receive treatment. My mom was also able to stay in the hospital room with him to keep him company and to feed him since he would not eat on his own.
He gave us a pretty good scare, but once again Dad bounced back. He was released from the hospital 11 days later with fully recovered kidneys and only three days left of radiation.
Dad continues to amaze me with his will to fight against this nasty cancer.
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
Dad Keeps Up the Fight Through More Mesothelioma Complications
While living with mesothelioma there are so many worries on your mind that you do not even think about the small complications that could go wrong. Being focused on how fatigued the person is and how much pain they are in, it’s hard to notice other symptoms that occur.
The first signs experienced by my father are nausea and vomiting and we all knew something was wrong, but he didn’t do anything about it. This happened only one week after he was out of the hospital recovering from blood clots in his lungs. The doctors just told us to monitor him and make sure he was still eating and drinking. This was difficult because he had no appetite and could not keep anything down. One thing I was watching for when I was home on the weekends was if he was dehydrated.
I noticed he was dehydrated as soon as I came home one weekend. I finally got him to agree to go to the emergency room to get checked out because he was not eating or drinking anything and was still getting sick. He was checked into the emergency room and was treated for severe dehydration with multiple bags of fluids.
Another concern the doctors had in the emergency room was if he had C-diff because of the many occurrences of bowel movements. They tested him for that, and held him there until his results came back. Having C-diff would have caused a delay in him starting his next treatment. Thankfully this test came back negative and he could go home that night after being rehydrated and prescribed more anti-nausea medicine.
It is so important to monitor your loved one closely for any small symptom. Something small could turn into something very harmful. If my dad hadn’t gone to the hospital that night, his kidneys could have failed from dehydration and postponed receiving any treatment. With this aggressive cancer there isn’t a lot of time you have to play with in between treatments.
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
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.
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