Mesothelioma Help Cancer News

VA Secretary Wants to Use Funds for Budget Shortfall

• Nancy Meredith
• Veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs is facing a $2.6 billion financial shortfall that it says is caused by increased veteran demand for healthcare. Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson plans to ask Congress for permission to use money from the Veterans Choice program to cover the funding gap, a measure that could hurt veterans with mesothelioma who seek treatment at a non-VA care facility.

The Veterans Choice program is the centerpiece of a $16.3 billion VA reform law approved by Congress last year in response to a VA scandal over long patient wait times and falsified records. Of the $16.3 billion, $10 billion was put into a fund that allows veterans who are unable to secure an appointment at a VA medical facility within 30 days or who live more than 40 miles from the nearest VA facility to seek care at a private hospital.

More recently Congress amended the legislation to define the 40-mile rule as actual driving distance, not “as the crow flies” distance. And the House is currently considering another amendment to the Choice program that would allow veterans living within 40 miles of a VA facility to seek care at a private facility if their local VA hospital does not offer the specific services they require, such as mental health or cancer treatment services. This would be very beneficial to veterans with mesothelioma who are only able to receive the specialized care they need at a handful of VA mesothelioma centers as well as those unable to get an appointment with a VA oncologist within 30 days.

Secretary Gibson, according to The Columbus Dispatch, says that the program got off to a rocky start, but has expanded significantly in recent months and is likely to expand even more. The ability of the program to meet the health needs of veterans with private care, however, whether they live in rural areas or simply cannot secure a timely appointment, would be hampered by the appropriation of $2.6 billion to other VA health care costs.

That’s more than one-quarter of the entire budget of the Choice program, which runs through August 2017 or until the $10 billion is used up. Using up $2.6 billion of that budget to adjust for what some are calling yet another example of VA mismanagement doesn’t add up for veterans helped by the Choice program.

While Gibson attributes the budget shortfall to increased demand at VA medical facilities—which he says has increased by 7 million appointments in the past year—others have been more critical of the VA.

“The VA’s problem isn’t funding—it’s outright failure,” said House Speaker John Boehner at a news conference. “Absolute failure to take care of our veterans.”

Wait times longer than 30 days for VA appointments have gone up by 50 percent in the last year, a clear sign that, whether due to bureaucratic missteps or more veterans seeking care, the Choice program is needed now more than ever.

Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, says that he is prepared to give the VA Choice program funds to pay for daily health care expenses, according to Stars and Stripes, but in return will demand changes to the way the VA manages its finances.

Veterans who need help paying for mesothelioma medical services at a non-VA facility are encouraged to contact Belluck & Fox, LLP for a free case review. A lawsuit against the companies responsible for your asbestos exposure could provide funds for medical care, lost wages and other expenses related to your illness.

Veterans may also be available for monthly compensation from the VA. Use our VA Benefit Tool to find out whether you qualify.

Sources:

• The Columbus Dispatch
  https://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2015/06/25/0625-va-budget-shortfall.html
• Stars and Stripes
  https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/house-panel-supports-closing-va-s-2-6-billion-funding-gap-1.354590

Determining the Appropriate Time For the Flu Shot in Mesothelioma Patients

• Nancy Meredith
• Featured News

For many, fall brings with it the vibrant color of the leaves, pumpkins, cinnamon and the anticipation of the holidays. It also brings with it flu and cold season. Thanks to the widespread availability of the flu shot, however, keeping the flu at bay is easier. Although for mesothelioma patients, that may not be the case.

According to an article from MD Anderson Cancer Center, home to the Mesothelioma Program that cares for more patients with mesothelioma than almost any other center in the U.S., when it comes time to get the flu shot, cancer patients should time it around their chemotherapy treatments. Specifically, the author suggests getting the flu shot two weeks prior to the first chemotherapy treatment or between chemo cycles, if treatment has already begun. Mesothelioma and cancer patients should not take the flu mist form of the flu since it contains an active virus.

“Your family members should also get the flu virus injection instead of the nasal mist,” says Shobha Pai, a physician assistant at MD Anderson in The Woodlands. “By protecting themselves from the flu, they’re also protecting you from getting it from them.”

Mesothelioma patients may still be susceptible to developing the flu due to their weakened immune system caused by the cancer and the chemotherapy treatments. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports in  “Frequently Asked Flu Questions 2017-2018 Influenza Season” that even after vaccination it is still possible to get sick with the flu. “Flu vaccination is not a perfect tool, but it is the best way to protect against flu infection,” the CDC notes.

The CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October, if possible. However, getting vaccinated later can still be beneficial.

Pleural mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive form of cancer primarily caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, that affects the lining of the lungs. Mesothelioma symptoms include a persistent cough, and over half of the pleural mesothelioma patients suffer pain in the lower, back and sides of the chest. If a patient gets the flu, these symptoms will worsen and the patient may need hospitalization.

It is especially important for cancer patients to stay away from sick people and to wash their  hands to reduce the spread of germs. Mesothelioma patients who develop the flu should contact their oncologist immediately to determine if they need medical care.

Close to 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. There is no known cure for the disease.

I Wish I Could Have Frozen Time Without Mesothelioma

• Joseph Belluck
• Faces of Mesothelioma, Uncategorized

I can’t believe that the lives of my family have been affected by mesothelioma for over five years. It’s impossible for me to believe that Dad has been gone for four of them. Where has the time gone?

Over these past 5 ½ years, my family has undergone many changes. Life continues on even though it feels as though time is stagnant. I remember in the days immediately following my father’s diagnosis walking through the halls of the hospital. I watched people smile, wondering how they could be happy in the same time that my life was falling apart. Patients were being discharged onto a full recovery; as happy as I was for them, I couldn’t help but wonder what shape my Dad’s life was going to take.

Knowing what I do now, I would have liked to fast forward time to three months later and freeze it with Dad at that point. He had a clean bill of health; no evidence of disease on his scans, and getting stronger every day after the ravaging effects of chemotherapy. He was happy, and hopeful that life would go on as if meso had never entered his life. If I could have kept him that way forever, I would have. But we all know that’s not possible.

Don Smitley and Jennifer Gelsick

Looking at things from a rational point of view, we have to find a way to understand that, although time marches on, our memories, these moments frozen in time, can stay with us forever. We can choose to focus on the best of times instead of our hardest struggles. Keep those memories close to your heart; it is how I am choosing to remember my father, just the way he would have wanted.

Creative Scientists May Eventually Find a Simple Way To Monitor Mesothelioma Symptoms

• Nancy Meredith
• Featured News

MesotheliomaHelp has covered breakthrough technology that may seem more appropriate for science fiction articles, such as the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition to design a handheld device to help diagnose health conditions, than for mesothelioma care. In another seemingly science fiction approach to medical care, scientists report a tattoo with “smart” ink could help monitor chronic health conditions.

Scientists from Harvard and MIT partnered in a “proof of concept” experiment to determine whether biosensitive inks could become a reliable standard as a biomedical monitoring device. The team wanted to find a way to check blood glucose levels, for example, without requiring a skin prick or wires, sensors and batteries, that are needed with today’s devices.

With mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer primarily striking older patients, one issue with managing the disease is the co- conditions from which many of  the patients also suffer. According to data, about three out of four people with mesothelioma are older than 65 years, and nearly half them may have medical problems, such as heart disease and diabetes, that also need to be monitored.

In seeking to find the “next generation after wearables,” the researchers determined they could use biosensors directly on the skin. Dubbing the project “Dermal Abyss,” the researchers turned to pig skin for their initial testing. Tattooing the inks onto segments of the skin, the researchers watched as the colors of the ink changed based on biomarkers. In one case, a green ink changed to brown indicating increased levels of glucose. In another, they shined a blue light on a green ink that intensified in color as sodium concentration increased indicating dehydration.

Mesothelioma patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation are also vulnerable to infection, dehydration and exhaustion from the harsh drugs. Finding a way to more closely monitor these symptoms could help get the patients back on their feet more quickly. Nearly 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.

The researchers point out that this tattoo is still in the very early stages and “The purpose of the work is to light the imagination of biotechnologists and stimulate public support for such efforts,” said Nan Jiang, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“These questions of how technology impacts our lives must be considered as carefully as the design of the molecular sensors patients may someday carry embedded in their skin,” said Jiang.

Photo Credit: Harvard Medical School

“Grand Gestures” After A Mesothelioma Diagnosis

• Lisa Hyde-Barrett
• Nurse's Corner

Anyone with a diagnosis of cancer knows how it can make you look at your life and how you are living it a little differently. Some cancer patients make radical changes – such as quitting a job, finding more meaning in spirituality, or taking on something that they always wanted to do and doing it. These changes can sometimes be life changing. In the July 28 issue of Cure, the article “Patients With Cancer Find Purpose in Radical Feats,” highlights people who have been diagnosed with cancer and have then done something new, something that they wanted to do now that their life may be ending. The cancer diagnosis allowed them to find the inner strength they needed to take on these challenges. One patient climbed Mount Everest, another started a major fundraiser for metastatic breast cancer.

In addition to making big changes and undertaking grand gestures, for some people, it is finding the joy in everyday tasks. All of our life’s journeys are uniquely our own, all are experiences that affect the unique way we our lives. Part of living is facing our own mortality. As uncomfortable as it is to think and talk about, we are all going to die.

Recently, I was talking to a survivor of malignant pleural mesothelioma. He was in his late 60’s and had been diagnosed 18 months ago. Since then he had surgery, chemotherapy, and was back for a possible reoccurrence. Before his diagnosis, he had been working, avoiding retirement, unsure if he ever would retire. He was fearful that he would retire and have too much time on his hands, and end up doing a lot of things he did not want to do in order to keep his wife happy. He did not see retirement as an event to look forward too.

Now 18 months later, he has put his diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma in a positive light. He is grateful for every shared trip to the grocery store, doing errands together, going out with friends. For him, being diagnosed with cancer gave a different meaning to his retirement. He has a new sense of purpose, enjoying every minute of his life. The cancer diagnosis has put work and living in perspective. As he said, “What I feared about retirement is now what I enjoy and live for.”

For some people, a cancer diagnosis can spur major changes, for others it can make them appreciate what has always been in their lives. It can change your outlook on what is and is not important. Everyone’s response will be as unique as they are. Facing our own mortality will do that to us!