Mesothelioma Help Cancer News
Student of Optometry Places Third in Mesothelioma Essay Scholarship Contest, Encourages Mesothelioma Patients to Maintain a Positive Attitude
Kim Forgione completed a degree at the University of Montana in wildlife biology, and was anxious to continue her education. However, as she looked to earning a doctorate in optometry she knew that finding ways to help pay for her education would be critical in allowing her to focus on her goal. Fortunately, Kim entered the mesothelioma essay scholarship contest sponsored by MesotheliomaHelp.org and placed third for her essay, “Latest Developments in Mesothelioma Treatment Options,” winning $1,250 to apply towards her PhD program.
“I never take for granted people and organizations that are generous enough to help me in reaching my academic goals,” said Kim after learning of her prize. “The scholarship will help me in meeting the financial challenges of attending optometry school, and it strengthens my obligation to always do my best and live up to my full potential.”
Kim’s essay focused on new developments for the treatment of mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer, such as tomotherapy, an advanced form of radiotherapy, immunotherapy and gene therapy. She concludes saying, “The future of mesothelioma treatment options is hopeful, and new findings can only build upon our current knowledge in revolutionary ways.”
Although Kim had heard of mesothelioma prior to writing her essay, she said, “I am privileged for having the opportunity to engage in a scholarship contest that allowed me to learn so much about such an important topic.” She added that she would tell mesothelioma patients, “to maintain a positive and hopeful attitude.” Treatment options have come a long way over the past few years, she said, and she believes they can only become more advanced in the years to come.
The winning essay writers had a second chance to win an Apple iPad Mini by garnering the most “likes” on MesotheliomaHelp.org’s Facebook page for their winning essays. Kim received a total of 460 votes to win the iPad.
“The iPad will allow me to have numerous optometry-related applications at my finger tips. It will also serve as a convenient means to transport notes, textbooks, and other references to class.”
Kim said she was “honored” to be chosen as one of the winners. Now she will help raise awareness of mesothelioma by directing people to MesotheliomaHelp.org and other appropriate mesothelioma resources.
You can read Kim’s winning essay here.
Mother’s Diagnosis Reminds of Danger of Environmental Exposure to Asbestos
A mother of three children said her terminal cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos on the playground when she was a child. Asbestos causes cancer in humans including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs.
Penny Garner, 45, who lives in Manchester, England, was diagnosed with lung cancer caused by asbestos 18 months ago after suffering chest pains and initially being misdiagnosed with a pulled chest muscle and then pneumonia. According to the Manchester Evening News, Garner’s doctors eventually identified the cancer and asked her when she had worked with asbestos.
She recalled in a newspaper article spending playtimes while a primary school student in the 1970s watching builders demolish the historic Seedley baths next to the school, after asbestos was discovered in them. Garner said it was terrifying that she could develop a serious disease from playing in the school yard.
Garner said while her condition is stable at present, she has been told that her illness is terminal and is living in limbo between the tests she has to have every two months. The former seamstress said she tried to carry on a normal routine as much as possible for her children, but is very difficult.
Penny Garner’s tragic story underscores the fact that people may develop mesothelioma and lung cancer as a result of exposure to asbestos fibers in the surrounding environment. And while most people diagnosed with asbestos disease are older workers and veterans, young people also may develop the disease.
Workplace exposure to asbestos is more common than environmental exposure. But families of asbestos workers and people exposed to asbestos in the environment are susceptible to mesothelioma and asbestos disease.
According to the National Cancer Institute, while it’s clear that health risks from asbestos exposure increase with longer duration of exposure, researchers have found asbestos-related diseases in individuals with only brief exposure to asbestos. Asbestos disease has a long latency period of 20 years to 40 years before cancer symptoms appear.
Get to know more about mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
Patient Has Lived Disease Free Since Diagnosis of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Doctors in Japan describe the unusual case of a long-term mesothelioma survivor who was treated with chemotherapy and hyperthermia.
In the Dec. 28 online issue of the Journal of Medical Case Reports, doctors at Gunma University School of Medicine in Japan detail the case of a 61-year-old man who has lived disease free for seven years after being diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the chest cavity caused by exposure to asbestos. The cancer typically has a high mortality rate.
The man was experiencing chest pain and had a history of exposure to asbestos for approximately five years. A CT scan showed a thickening of the pleural lining of his chest. It also revealed tumors had invaded the wall of patient’s chest. Doctors diagnosed the patient with stage 3 malignant pleural mesothelioma based on blood test results and an examination.
The patient was eligible for surgery, but refused to undergo surgery or receive radiation treatment. So doctors administered systemic chemotherapy with hyperthermia, which the medical center used as treatment for patients with inoperable lung cancer. The chemotherapy drugs consisted of cisplatin and irinotecan, an antitumor drug that interferes with how cancer cells multiply.
Hyperthermia is a type of cancer treatment in which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures of up to 113 degrees. According to the National Cancer Institute, high temperatures can damage and kill cancer cells, causing tumors to shrink, usually with minimal injury to normal tissues. Hyperthermia also may enhance the effectiveness of some anti-cancer drugs. It’s usually used in conjunction with other cancer treatments. The patient underwent hyperthermia treatment immediately after receiving the irinotecan drugs.
A month after the first cycle of mesothelioma treatment, the patient had a follow-up CT scan which showed that the thickening of the pleural lining had disappeared. He still has some fluid in his chest cavity, which is common for mesothelioma patients. The patient underwent three sessions of hyperthermia and a single course of chemotherapy. Another CT scan six years after the end of treatment revealed no evidence of a return of the cancer.
Patients diagnosed with mesothelioma typically have a poor prognosis because of the cancer’s resistance to conventional treatments. Many survive less than two years. As a result, medical researchers continue seeking more effective treatments for mesothelioma to extend the lives of patients and improve their quality of life.
The authors of the case report conclude that hyperthermia and chemotherapy may be a new and safe therapeutic option for treatment of pleural mesothelioma. They say that additional clinical studies of the combination of chemotherapy and hyperthermia are needed to further assess the effectiveness of the therapy.
Family Shares Approach to Fundraising for Mesothelioma Research
Many people wonder what they can do to help with mesothelioma research. The answer is simple… DONATE or FUNDRAISE! The next question is often, “How?” That answer is also simple: Do what you can.
I have done several fundraisers over the past few months. Some have been more lucrative than others, but all are worthwhile. For instance, I am an independent consultant for a direct selling company. I have done two open houses and donated half of my commission to the charity of my choice, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. That was a simple fundraiser, as I set it up as I would any open house for a customer of mine. I invited family and friends and was able to send a nice donation both times.
Another fundraiser that we’ve done took a lot more time and planning. My hometown hosts a community festival every year. We spoke with the people in charge, and did a raffle table at the event where we raffle off gift baskets, gift certificates, Broadway show tickets, and even a tree stand. We started several months in advance, asking family members, friends and businesses if they would be interested in donating an item or items to our cause. People were very receptive and happy to help out, and we ended up with 31 different baskets!
We sold tickets all day at the festival and were overwhelmed with how generous people were. They purchased tons of tickets and even made extra donations to help with mesothelioma research. Everyone knew Dad’s story just from living in the town (Dad knows everyone) or by seeing the story in the newspaper or on TV on the local news. The hard work was definitely worth it.
We are currently starting to work on our next event and plan to continue our efforts. If you are interested in doing a fundraiser, I would be happy to talk with you. I am by no means an expert, but I’ve had a little experience this past year that I would be glad to share. The Meso Foundation is an amazing organization, and I am so happy to be affiliated with them and to be able to help them by fundraising and making donations. No donation is too small, as is no prayer!
Best of luck to you. Please know how grateful all those impacted by mesothelioma are for you and your efforts! God bless you!
Experimental Therapy Targets Mesothelioma Cancer Cells to Commit Suicide
A frontier in treatment of mesothelioma and other cancers is the use of a type of gene therapy that induces cancer cells to self-destruct.
In a recent article in the Journal of Genetic Syndromes and Gene Therapy, Dr. Marek Malecki of the University of Wisconsin and Phoenix Biomolecular Engineering Foundation reports that cancer suicide gene therapy while not without risks remains one of the most promising experimental therapies for treating many types of cancer. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the chest cavity caused by exposure to asbestos.
The success of the gene therapy hinges on delivering the suicide genes to the cancer cells. That is accomplished by identifying unique or overabundant proteins that serve as flags of the invading army of malignant cancer cells, giving away their location. Researchers have identified a number of biomarkers that may serve as chemical signals of malignant mesothelioma cells.
The identification of biomarkers allows doctors to deliver therapeutic drugs with more precision, avoiding collateral damage to healthy cells. Chemotherapy drugs by comparison affect all cells and have side effects including nausea and toxicity. Surgery to remove operable mesothelioma tumors inevitably removes healthy tissue as well as cancerous tissue and affects a patient’s quality of life.
That is why targeted therapies such as suicide gene therapy hold promise. To induce cancer cells to self-destruct, doctors inject a genetically modified virus into the tumor to deliver the suicide genes which prompts them to produce a special enzyme. The patient then receives another drug that transforms the enzyme into a toxic compound that prompts the rapidly dividing cancer cells to commit suicide.
Researchers have observed promising results of suicide gene therapy in initial clinical trials involving mesothelioma and other types of cancer. While the treatment has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it holds the potential to eliminate cancer cells without harming healthy cells, minimizing side effects suffered by patients.
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