Mesothelioma Help Cancer News
Anxiety Before Followup Mesothelioma Scan
The following post is Part I of an article from Jan Egerton, a long-time mesothelioma survivor. Jan has suffered many setbacks during her battle with mesothelioma, and here she discusses her last struggle with chemotherapy and the anxiety leading up to her CT scan.
After a terrible few weeks leading up to the appointment for my followup CT scan, I had set my mind that no matter what, I was having chemotherapy for the third time. I was dreading the chemotherapy, but with the choice of something that could work against me or only one trial on offer in the UK what choice did I have?
I still class myself as a healthy person, the only thing wrong with me is mesothelioma, and okay, this annoying bile problem that has developed over the years from a mixture of the side effects of chemo and having my gall bladder removed to prove a point. [Jan has been struggling with bile buildup in her stomach.] I have found I don’t ail from the normal things that people without cancer do.
On the eve of my first chemotherapy infusion I started with one of my “sessions”, this is when my mesothelioma is on the warpath and does a kind of growing surge, at least that’s what I say. My temperature drops to around 35.3C [95.5F], I can’t get comfortable and I feel like my adrenalin is pumping. When they took my temperature before commencing the infusion, again showing it was low, I was worried they wouldn’t go ahead, but I told the nurse it would be alright I was having a “mesothelioma growth spurt.”
I knew the minute the chemotherapy started pumping through my veins it would do some damage [to the cancer cells], even at the low dose of 50% of what my body could handle. That night my body hurt, each area where my mesothelioma resides told me it wasn’t happy, I could imagine each tumour opening like a flower to send its seeds out and the chemo creeping in and killing all the seeds. It was a full out war going on inside.
The second infusion wasn’t a good one [November, 2012], my body took a dislike to the carboplatin as it was pumping through my veins, and I found myself in an ambulance being transferred to a hospital with an A & E department. Needless to say that was the last chemotherapy I was allowed.
Now I really dreaded the upcoming CT scan: my aches and pains were worse, my imaginary steel cage that tightens around my left ribs had turned to a solid iron one, each movement feeling restricted, my back ached and I felt dreadful. My bile problem had also increased in intensity, and I was sure when I finally had my CT scan, some two months after my second infusion, it was going to be extremely bad news.
I was giving myself a year at most, so I looked at projects I wanted to get done before I was too ill to complete them. My life with my husband was the most important one, creating a storyboard of our time together, the happy times, the dogs we have poured our love on, the holidays we have had – I wanted it all mapped out and put onto DVD’s so if he wanted to remember me all he had to do was press play.
Read Part II of Jan’s story next week to find out the results of her scan.
Know more about mesothelioma and how we can help.
Presiding Officer Enrolled in Experimental Treatment for Mesothelioma
The leader of the Suffolk County Legislature, William Lindsay, will begin next week an experimental treatment for mesothelioma overseen by the National Institutes of Health, according to Long Island Newsday.
Lindsay, a former electrician and official with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, was diagnosed in 2012 with malignant pleural mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. The cancer diagnosis came soon after he had been elected to a seventh term as the legislature’s presiding officer.
Lindsay worked as an electrician for 15 years and served for 23 years as a business agent and business manager of Local 25 of the IBEW. As an electrician, he had to scrape off the asbestos fireproofing from a beam before attaching electrical conduits to it, according to Long Island Politics. Electricians are among the occupations with a higher risk of occupational exposure to asbestos and higher rates of mesothelioma.
Lindsay has been receiving treatment at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center since undergoing surgery last May to remove a diseased lung. “We don’t realize how lucky we are, being in the New York vicinity, to be near some of the greatest hospitals and physicians, probably in the world,” Lindsay said, according to minutes of a Suffolk County Legislature meeting.
Lindsay is 67 years old. Many victims of mesothelioma are in their 60s and 70s when they are diagnosed with the disease. The symptoms of mesothelioma typically take 20 years to 50 years to appear after exposure. He will receive one week of treatment followed by a 21-day break, then another week of treatment.
More information about New York Mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma Patient Finds Therapy in Making Music
If you’ve read my previous posts, you know that my Dad plays in a bluegrass band called the Dunbar Boys. He had to take some time off from playing during his mesothelioma and treatment, but he is now back playing the guitar and singing with his friends.
Dad loves his band and everything about it – the friendship, being on stage, singing, meeting new people. These are some of his favorite things and being away from them for so long was tough. At the same time, getting back to doing what he loves was great motivation for him during his recovery. Music has been great therapy for so many, and I think it was for Dad, too, maybe just in a different way.
I know that Dad missed making music. During his chemotherapy, and even while going through the clinical trial, he would talk about wanting to play from time to time, but didn’t feel comfortable going back just then. He wanted to make sure that when he made his return, he was ready. When that great return did come, it was at the Dunbar Community Fest, held in my hometown every year. We were doing a fundraiser for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation during the festival and Dad would be playing for the first time back in public.
You have to understand that Dunbar is a very small town where everyone knows everyone. Dad, being a life-long resident, is recognized and loved by the whole community and everyone was so excited to see him healthy and back with the band. The newspaper did a story on him and then we received a call from a Pittsburgh news channel wanting to share his joy. All the exposure was kind of surreal, but Dad and the rest of the Dunbar Boys had a great time!
When he got on stage that Friday night, it was an emotional time for my family and friends who were present. They gave a wonderful performance and everyone was elated for Dad. Dad was happy, too. He was beaming because he was able to get back to his music.
Dad is still playing every chance that he gets, and the Dunbar Boys are all finally back together again!
Know more about mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
World Health Organization Reiterates All Forms of Asbestos Cause Cancer
The World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer issued a joint statement Feb. 19 stating that all forms of asbestos cause cancer in humans and stopping the use of all forms of asbestos is the most efficient way to eliminate diseases caused by asbestos such as mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest and abdominal cavities.
The joint statement came in response to an article published this month in The Lancet medical journal raising questions about the IARC ‘s participation in a conference in Kiev, Ukraine and potential conflicts of interest. The IARC is participating with the Russian Scientific Research Institute of Occupational Health in a study of cancer among chrysotile workers in Asbest, Russia. The lead author of the research is Evgeny Kovalevsky, who is a promoter of chrysotile asbestos. The IARC is providing epidemiological expertise for the study.
Several prominent American health researchers including Richard Lemen, retired U.S. Assistant Surgeon General, sent a letter to the IARC saying it was unacceptable that a scientist who is a promoter of asbestos should be a lead investigator on an IARC research project. The authors of the letter noted that the World Health Organization had previously withdrawn the Russian Scientific Research Institute’s designation as a WHO collaborating center because of the institute’s conflicts of interest with the Russian asbestos industry.
In the joint statement, the WHO and IARC said the study on cancer among chrysotile asbestos workers in Asbest, Russia will provide important scientific data to quantify the risk of cancers known to be related to chrysotile, the most commonly produced asbestos fiber. In addition it may be useful in quantifying the risks of additional cancers suspected to be related to chrysotile asbestos exposure. The IARC acknowledged receiving a number of emails urging the agency not to participate in the conference.
The IARC and WHO said they take conflict of interest seriously and use a rigorous process to protect research.
According to the Lancet article, the timing of the IARC attendance at the conference and decision to collaborate in the study are particularly sensitive on the eve of an upcoming meeting of countries participating in the Rotterdam Convention. The attendees at the conference will discuss the listing of chrysotile to the Rotterdam Convention, which would require countries that import chrysotile asbestos to give prior informed consent of the health hazards it poses. Russia which has an active asbestos industry, may try to block the addition to chrysotile to the list of hazardous substances.
The heaviest burden of asbestos cancer is currently found in the United State, European countries, Australia, Japan and South Africa, according to a 2012 article in the British Journal of Cancer. The highest consumption of asbestos is in China, Russian, India, Ukraine, Thailand, Brazil and Iran, signaling that those countries will have increases in mesothelioma and asbestos-related cancer deaths in the future.
Approximately, 2,500 to 3,000 people in the U.S. die each year of mesothelioma. It is a devastating disease. Most people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma were exposed to asbestos in a workplace or during military service decades ago.
Sources :
- Lancet article
http://secure.jbs.elsevierhealth.com/action/cookieAbsent - joint statement
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2013/response_lancet_20130219/en/
Researchers Assess Safety and Effectiveness of New Mesothelioma Drug
Medical researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York have treated the first patient with a new experimental vaccinia virus-based cancer therapy designed for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma or non-small cell lung cancer. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the chest cavity caused by exposure to asbestos.
Genelux Corp., a biopharmaceutical company that develops vaccinia virus-based cancer therapies, announced in a Feb. 6 press release the treatment of the first patient in the Phase I clinical trial designed to evaluate a drug known as GL-ONC1.
Vaccinia virus cancer therapies are part of an emerging area of medical research that utilizes modified viruses to target and destroy malignant cancer cells. Vaccinia virus produces a potent immune reaction to help destroy tumors. The virus was used extensively during the campaign to wipe out smallpox.
Through the current trial, the New York mesothelioma treatment researchers want to learn more about the safety and effectiveness of the new drug at different dosage levels on cancer patients with malignant pleural effusion. The accumulation of fluid between the thin layers of tissue lining the lung is known as pleural effusion. When the fluid contains cancer cells, it is known as malignant pleural effusion. A buildup of fluid is a complication that occurs in many patients who have pleural mesothelioma or lung cancer.
The clinical trial, which is recruiting patients, will assess the safety and tolerability of GL-ONC1 and the severity of side effects. The primary goal is to assess a safe dosage level. The trial may enroll up to 54 patients.
Dr. Valerie W. Rusch, a leading thoracic surgeon and expert on mesothelioma, is the lead researcher in the clinical trial sponsored by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
“We are very pleased that researchers at MSKCC have initiated this important trial, “Dr. Aladar A. Szalay, founder and CEO of Genelux Corp., said in a press release. “For the first time, this will allow us to examine the feasibility and effects of administering GL-ONC1 directly into the chest cavity to some of the most aggressive cancers of the thoracic cavity—including mesothelioma and non-small cell lung cancer.”
Szalay said the drug has been well-tolerated and shown promising results in early trials involving human patients against a number of solid tumor cancers.
Mary Hesdorffer, executive director of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, an advocacy and support group, said novel therapeutic approaches based upon new scientific strategies may lead to more effective treatments and eventually a cure for mesothelioma.
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