Nurse Explains Mesothelioma Support Team

When you are diagnosed with mesothelioma, you will have a team of medical professionals who will help you through your journey with cancer. After you select your specialist, you will be assigned a large group of cancer experts who will be by your side and available to you throughout your treatments. I will explain to you what kind of team we have where I work.

First of all, you have to prepare for your first appointment. Typically there is a new patient orientation that takes place on the same day as your initial visit with your physician. It can definitely be overwhelming, and there are a lot of things to do and faces to remember. But keep in mind that you can always ask questions, and it is a good idea to bring a list of them with you. In fact, one thing you should bring with you is a notebook or folder – something that is secure and can hold medical records and critical information.

The group that runs the orientation phase of the program is led by our social worker and chaplaincy service. In this brief session, they will review options to help make your journey as smooth as possible. For instance, they may be able to assist with housing options if you are out of state and need assistance. Also, they can help with paperwork filing for disability travel arrangements. If desired, they can connect you with another patient who has already traveled down this road. You will meet other patients and families who are at the same stage of life that you are: shock and disbelief.

Finally, the doctor comes in and gives a brief PowerPoint presentation about his program and explains in detail how the program works. There is time for question and answers, but by no means does this take the place of an individual appointment about your specific case. You will also be given a battery of tests and assessments about your emotional and physical health, and your needs. Do try to remember that the better picture the team has of you, the better they can handle your case. The program really caters to the needs of the individual patient.

The stage of your disease will determine your treatment plan. Possibly you will undergo chemotherapy or surgery. This is where you will be introduced to an oncologist if chemotherapy is the option. A nurse will help with your appointments and help educate you about the process. Palliative care could possibly help to improve your quality of life. If you are experiencing pain or anxiety, this will also be addressed. Many people like to choose alternative therapies and some centers offer support for this as well. Where I work, we have a Reiki specialist that can help alleviate anxiety and help you to relax. There is a chaplaincy that is available as well.

A nutritionist is provided to help improve your overall status whether it is to help you gain weight or to help you choose more nutritious food. Possibly you are having difficulty swallowing, and if so, they can help you choose foods that are easier to consume. There are many professionals that you will be involved with, but remember, this is all for you so take advantage of these resources and make the most of them.

If you have questions about your mesothelioma treatment or any aspect of your mesothelioma case, feel free to contact us.

Proposed Roadmap for Research on Asbestos

By Wade Rawlins

A draft report, prepared by the federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations to protect worker health, summarizes the current state of scientific understanding of asbestos and other mineral fibers and offers a roadmap to explore unresolved questions.

The reappraisal of asbestos and other mineral fibers, written by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, is intended to guide the development of specific research to reduce scientific uncertainties and provide a firm foundation for future policies.

Asbestos has been a prominent public health issue for more than three decades. During the mid- to late-20th century, scientists made advances in the understanding of the serious health effects of inhaling microscopic asbestos fibers.

Yet, questions remain, the report says. For example, due the complexity of asbestos minerals, the scientific literature contains inconsistencies about the definition of the term asbestos for health protection guidelines. And debate continues about whether to include certain non-asbestos mineral fibers under federal asbestos policies.

The results of new research can inform development of new exposure limits and policies for asbestos and other mineral fibers that are based on well-established risk estimates, NIOSH researchers say.

The report sets three goals:

Develop better sampling and analytical methods for asbestos fibers
Develop a clearer understanding of what determines the toxicity of elongated mineral particles
Develop information on workplace exposures to various elongated mineral particles and health risks associated with them.

In the 1970s, federal agencies developed regulatory standards for exposure to airborne asbestos fibers based on evidence of respiratory disease in workers. Since the standards took effect, the use of asbestos has declined substantially and mining of asbestos in the U.S. stopped in 2002. Still, many asbestos products remain in use and new products continue to be manufactured and imported.

Deaths from asbestosis, a chronic disease, increased almost 20-fold from the late 1960s, when NIOSH began tracking them, to the late 1990s, the report says. Since then, they have leveled off at about 1,500 per year in the U.S. and are expected to continue for several more decades.

Meanwhile, annual deaths from malignant mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos and other mineral fibers, increased 7 percent between 1999, when the disease began being categorized separately on death certificates, and 2004, the most recent year of complete data. In 2004, 2,657 people died of mesothelioma. The disease usually appears 20 to 30 years after exposure to asbestos.

The report says that scientific studies of workers exposed to asbestos have clearly documented increased risk of respiratory diseases, including lung cancer, mesothelioma and non-malignant abnormalities involving the lining of the lung. In addition, researchers have determined that laryngeal cancer can be caused by asbestos exposure and there is evidence asbestos exposure may cause other diseases including stomach and colorectal cancers and immune disorders.

Despite the decline in use, an estimated 1.3 million employees in construction and general industry still face significant asbestos exposure on the job, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates.

Over time, the nature of workplace exposures has changed. In earlier decades, workers were exposed to asbestos that was used in manufacturing processes such as in textile mills and cement pipe fabrication. Today, the primary exposure is during maintenance activities and de-contamination of buildings containing asbestos. Researchers and policymakers need better projections of the number of workers exposed to asbestos fibers now and in the future, the report says.

Initially, researchers concern and workplace safety standards focused on six commercially used forms of asbestos mineral: chrysotile asbestos; and five amphibole varieties: amosite, crocidolite, actinolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos and tremolite asbestos.

As researchers learned more about the link between the dimensions of asbestos fibers and their ability to cause respiratory disease and cancer, they became more interested in other elongated mineral fibers that could be inhaled.

In 1990, NIOSH broadened its definition of airborne asbestos fibers to encompass other elongated mineral fibers, in part because the common method to test for microscopic airborne fibers could not distinguish between the various fibers.

Still, much less is known about other mineral fibers in terms of health effects. More research is needed to determine the toxicity of the elongated mineral fibers, the draft report says.

Populations of special interest include the workers at taconite mines in Minnesota and the talc mines in upstate New York who are exposed to mineral fibers that are non-asbestos.

An ideal outcome of the draft roadmap, the researchers write, would be scientific studies that supported recommendations for exposure limits to elongated mineral fibers to protect workers’ health.

The report currently is being reviewed by The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, the nation’s advisors on science, medicine and engineering. That is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2009.

NIOSH Report

Department of Defense Increases Funding for Mesothelioma Research

It’s well known that veterans are at higher risk of asbestos-related diseases because of the wide use of the dangerous mineral fiber in thousands of buildings and Navy ships from World War II until the 1970s.

Now, the U.S. Department of Defense has announced plans to increase spending on research into new ways to combat the fatal disease linked to asbestos exposure.

The Department of Defense’s effort includes funding of several million dollars for three mesothelioma research projects. The funds will support research into early detection of the disease and the development of new treatments, including clinical trials on a vaccine that could improve the prognosis for patients with mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs, caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. The microscopic fibers become lodged in the lungs and can lead to development of respiratory diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis decades later.

Joseph Belluck, a partner in Belluck & Fox, LLP, a New York law firm that specializes in representing victims of asbestos related diseases, said the increase in research funding must be only the start of an effort to find a cure for asbestos-related disease that has killed thousands of veterans.

“Veterans who were willing to fight for their country now must have their country fight for them,” Belluck said.

The shipbuilding acitivities from before World War II until the 1980s exposed thousands of Navy veterans to asbestos exposure on a daily basis.

During World War II, several million people employed in U.S. shipyards and U.S. Navy veterans were exposed to chrysotile asbestos products as well as other forms of asbestos that were used extensively in military ship construction, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Asbestos was widely used in shipbuilding to insulate boilers, steam pipes and hot water pipes.

Veterans involved in mining, milling, shipyard work, insulation, demolition of old buildings, carpentry and construction, manufacture of brake linings and clutch facings and manufacture of pipes. Veterans may be eligible for health care and disability compensation if the VA determines the asbestos exposure was related to military service.

Learn more about VA health care and disability compensation at http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/benefits.asp.

Also, know more about mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.

Wake Forest Study Shows Treatment to Reduce Fluid Buildup in Patients with Peritoneal Mesothelioma

A new study from cancer researchers at North Carolina’s Wake Forest University reports that undergoing cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) can improve the lives of those suffering from peritoneal mesothelioma by controlling the buildup of fluid in the abdomen.

CRS/HIPEC Offers A More Permanent Solution To Fluid Build Up

The accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity (the space between the lining of the abdomen and abdominal organs) can cause those with mesothelioma a great deal of discomfort. However, according to a recent article in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, undergoing CRS/HIPEC can offer a more permanent solution to fluid build up.

Left untreated, the building up of fluid can cause not only discomfort, but also bloating, disfiguration and shortness of breath as it interferes with diaphragm movement. Although peritoneal mesothelioma sufferers can have fluid drained, it generally accumulates again in time. So, how can treatment help?

Cancer researchers at Wake Forest University studied 299 patients, 15% of whom had peritoneal mesothelioma and the rest of whom had various types of primary cancers that had spread to the peritoneum.

All patients underwent cytoreductive surgery (CRS) to remove as much of the cancer as possible, followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). The procedure involves bathing the abdominal cavity in heated chemotherapy drugs to destroy residual cancer cells. According to the study, 93% of participants had a complete resolution of their ascites after a three-month period. This included some cases in which the cancer itself could not be completely removed.

Authors of the study, published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology, wrote that, “Although complete cytoreduction (the removal of cancerous cells) remains the goal of this procedure, HIPEC can provide palliative value in selected patients with malignant ascites.” This can improve the quality of life for mesothelioma patients, even in cases where it may not necessarily be able to improve survival rates.

Exposure To Asbestos Primary Cause Of Peritoneal Mesothelioma Peritoneal

mesothelioma accounts for 10 to 20 percent of the nearly 3,000 cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in the United States every year. The primary cause of peritoneal mesothelioma tumor is exposure to asbestos. Symptoms may include:

abdominal pain
anemia
blood clotting abnormalities
bowel obstruction
swelling due to a buildup of fluid in the abdomen (ascites)
weight loss.

If you’ve been exposed to asbestos, it’s important to see your healthcare professional immediately to determine whether you may have developed mesothelioma. Many mesothelioma victims were exposed to asbestos fibers and dust particles decades ago and far too many aren’t diagnosed until the cancer is in its later stages.

While life expectancy rates for untreated peritoneal mesothelioma are grim, early detection and effective treatment, such as CRS/HIPEC are available to combat symptoms and may improve prognosis.

Words of Faith and Hope for Mesothelioma Families by Jennifer Gelsick

When asked to write a message for mesothelioma patients and their families, it proved to be rather difficult for me. I racked my brain and prayed for the right words to say. I don’t want to patronize anyone with seemingly meaningless platitudes like, “I know how you feel” or “I’ve been there.” Even though I have been there, I don’t know exactly how you feel, as everyone deals with each situation in a different and unique way. The best thing I can say is that there is hope.

Going through my Dad’s diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma in January of 2012, I ran the gamut of emotions: fear, sadness, confusion, and anger. These turned to thankfulness, faith, and peace after a while. Throughout everything, I found hope.

Hope, for me, came in many different forms. Hope came from Jeff Rzepka who told us about a doctor in NYC who could help Dad. Hope came from this amazing doctor, Dr. Harvey Pass, who performed Dad’s surgery. Hope came from his scans saying he was cancer free. Hope came when the scan wasn’t perfect, but Dad could have radiation. Hope comes with every new day.

Jeremiah 29:11 says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This hope and the future God promises, continue to get me through my toughest times, the moments of darkness when I feel as though nothing is going right. Remember, God has a plan, and everything happens according to His plan and His will.

Please know that there is no problem too small or too large for God to handle. Prayer and faith can move mountains and my family has seen that first hand. Don’t give up hope. God’s plan is perfect.

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