Mesothelioma Help Cancer News
Mesothelioma Nurse Encourages Patients to Find Their Strength
Most patients who have mesothelioma will need to go to rehab facilities after surgery, or at different points on their journey. These experiences are as varied as the patients themselves. Recently, while visiting a patient in rehab, I noticed a sign that read, “Find Your Strength.” Having been to this rehab many times, it struck me that I had never noticed this sign before.
Reflecting on the message, and the mesothelioma patient I was visiting, it struck me how much physical and emotional strength is required to deal with mesothelioma. The physical strength can be quantified by how the patient is breathing, his oxygen level, how well he is walking, appetite, pain level, and generally how they are feeling. The physical strength to deal with mesothelioma often comes with time, therapy, and patience.
The strength to deal with mesothelioma on an emotional level, however, can be daunting. What are your coping mechanisms? Are you a talker? Do you exercise, run, swim, walk, and did that help you to deal with stress before your diagnosis? Do you know what your emotional strengths are?
During crises in your life, you deal with things that you never thought you had the strength to get through. Your support system may be helpful at this time, but you need to let them know what you need.
The mesothelioma patient that I was visiting seemed to have found his strength. Tucked away in a sunny corner of his room, with his eyes closed listening to his wife reading to him, I found it hard to believe he was the same person that had left the mesothelioma hospital one week ago. He had been weak physically and emotionally withdrawn. He had reluctantly agreed to rehab.
Now, the scene in front of me was of someone at peace. His wife was reading from a book of spiritual readings. He appeared to be reflecting on the message and her voice. As the visit progressed and we talked of all they had been through, he made a request: “Say a prayer for me.” As I responded yes, the sign at the entryway came to mind.
“Find Your Strength.” This patient and his wife found theirs together.
During Asbestos Awareness Week Daughter of Mesothelioma Victim Reaffirms Commitment to Educating Others About Asbestos
“You worry too much about asbestos.” That’s what I’ve been told. To hear that I worry too much about the presence of the substance that killed my father is insensitive, cold, and inherently wrong. There is not enough concern about asbestos, which is why mesothelioma is a problem in the first place. Speaking these words to someone who has felt the snare of this disease is like pouring salt in a wound. It is painfully indescribable.
How can I explain the hurtfulness of their words? I can’t see a way, because they don’t know how I feel. They don’t feel the overwhelming sadness when I look at my daughter, knowing that her grandfather never got a chance to meet her; or the burden I carry silently to make sure that she knows everything about him that she possibly can.
They haven’t seen the countless times I’ve cried when no one was looking, just because I heard a song that brought back a treasured memory. They never picked up the phone to call my Dad to tell him something that would make him so proud, only to realize that no one is going to pick up. They haven’t noticed all the times I’ve needed them, but they just weren’t there.
They don’t understand my commitment to the mesothelioma community, and how many stories that have been shared with me, causing me to need to do more. These kinds of comments break me, but motivate me at the same time; it’s an odd juxtaposition.
No matter what, mesothelioma and its root cause will always be on my mind and the minds of those who have been impacted by this torturous cancer. We’ll pick up the slack of worrying for now…but we hope and pray that you’ll learn to care, too.
Mesothelioma Research May Benefit From Discovery That Silences Metastasis
Mesothelioma cancer cells thrive by splitting and dividing, resulting in metastasis of the cancer to other organs. Stopping tumor growth and preventing metastasis, especially in mesothelioma and lung cancer that are both highly aggressive and resistant to many cancer treatments, is critical for increasing survival in patients. Now, researchers report they have found a key molecule in lung cancer cells that can halt metastasis.
Researchers at Imperial College London report, in a March 21 press release, the MARK4 protein enables cancer cells to split off from its tumor of origin and move to other parts of the body. However, they also found that the miR-515-5p molecule interferes with the production of MARK4. In effect, the molecule “silences” the production of MARK4, preventing the cancer cells from migrating.
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcollege/newssummary/news_21-3-2016-14-56-5
“The ability of a cancer to spread around the body has a large impact on a patient’s survival,” said Professor Justin Stebbing, senior author of the study from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial. “However, at the moment we are still in the dark about why some cancers spread around the body – while others stay in one place. This study has given important insights into this process.”
It is cancer metastasis, and not the original cancer diagnosis itself, that is the cause of nearly all cancer deaths. In fact, according to various studies, 90 percent of all cancer deaths are due to metastasis. The American Cancer Society reports lung cancer can spread to almost any organ of the body, but most often it will spread to the adrenal glands, liver, bones, or brain. It can also spread to the other lung.
The Imperial College researchers looked at breast and lung cancers and found that reduced miR-515-5p and increased MARK4 levels in both of the cancers correlated to poor patient prognosis. They then increased the amount of miR-515-5p in mouse models using human breast cancer and lung cancer cells and found the higher level of the molecule prevented the spread of cancer cells.
The researchers next step is to assess if the MARK4 protein or the silencer molecule (miR-515-5p) should be anti-cancer drug targets. In addition, the team is investigating whether developing a test for the miR-515-5p molecule could provide a tool to indicate the likelihood of metastasis.
“These findings could have profound implications for treating breast and lung cancers, two of the biggest cancer killers worldwide,” said Dr. Olivier Pardo, lead author of the paper, also from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial.
Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, can spread throughout the body by entering the blood stream or the lymphatic system. Due to the aggressive nature of the cancer, it is rare that mesothelioma cells remain confined to the site of origin and have not invaded neighboring tissue through metastasis. Research of this type brings hope to the mesothelioma community that new, effective treatments will soon be available.
See the Feb. 10 issue of the journal EMBO Reports for the full results of the study.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.15252/embr.201540970/suppinfo
UK Researchers Identify Drug To Target Mesothelioma Cell Death
Mesothelioma is known to be a resilient cancer due to its aggressive nature and its ability to fight off the very drugs meant to halt its progression. Its resistance to drugs is attributed to its apoptotic defect, which prevents the medicines from killing the cancer cells. Now, researchers report a new drug can bypass that defect and induce cell death.
Researchers from the University of Bradford, in collaboration with researchers from University of Surrey, report cancer cells should die when signals from the immune system and healthy cells tell them to do so. According to the researchers, though, cancer cells have a variety of strategies to ignore those signals and elude death.
“We already know that it’s [mesothelioma] resistant to available drugs, which is why we need entirely new treatments,” says Professor Richard Morgan, from the University of Bradford’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, in a March 14 press release.
The drug, known as HRX9, however, works by preventing the cancer cells from avoiding apoptosis. HRX9 targets the HOX gene family that helps to determine cell identity during development. These genes “are significantly dysregulated in malignant mesothelioma,” according to the researchers. When dysregulated, in effect the gene “switch” remains on allowing cancer cells to grow. This drug impacts that switch, and leads to the cells’ death.
“There’s a range of drugs which try to force apoptosis in different cancers, but this is the first one to work in mesothelioma, ” says Morgan.
In the study, the researchers found that human mesothelioma tumors in mice models stopped growing after just three weeks of treatment with HRX9. The tumors had “a complete loss of tumour blood vessels and widespread cancer cell death.”
“People living with mesothelioma often tell us that among their first reactions to diagnosis is despair at the lack of treatment available,” said Ian Jarrold, Head of Research at British Lung Foundation. “We hope that the progress being made in research we fund will soon provide new treatments and new hope for patients.”
The study was published in the Feb. 11 issue of BMC Journal.
Based on Results of Prostate Cancer Study, Specialist Centers Most Likely Offer Best Mesothelioma Care
Due to mesothelioma’s relative rarity among the general population, it is recommended that patients seek out a mesothelioma specialist center. Mesothelioma specialists are aware of the latest research and they are able to develop a more informed treatment plan than would a physician who does not specialize in the disease. Researchers at one of the most prominent mesothelioma centers in the world tested this theory on prostate cancer patients and found that those treated at a high-volume radiation center see better survival rates.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital looked at records of nearly 20,000 high-risk prostate cancer patients who received radiation at over 1,000 facilities. The data showed that when treated at “higher-volume facilities,” i.e., the top 20 percent by prostate radiation volume, patients consistently had better survival rates than those treated at lower-volume facilities.
“Our paper shows that experience counts,” said Paul Nguyen, MD, a physician researcher in the department of Radiation Oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and corresponding author of the new paper, in a March 14 press release. “For men with aggressive prostate cancer, survival is improved if they receive their radiation treatments at a high volume facility as opposed to a lower volume facility.”
In the case of mesothelioma care, a mesothelioma specialist will develop the treatment protocol and will supervise its implementation, while the patient still meets with his or her personal doctor. Mesothelioma has a unique set of treatment requirements and specialists serve a key role in interpreting and defining the best approach for caring for the patient.
The Medical Team
At a mesothelioma treatment center, several types of physicians can be involved in the treatment of mesothelioma. Often physicians’ specialties will overlap and several doctors may be available to offer treatment and support in the same discipline. Types of specialists that may be included on a team are:
- Oncologists. Medical professional specializing in cancer.
- Thoracic surgeons. Thoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in the surgical treatment of diseases affecting the thorax or the chest including the lungs, chest wall, and diaphragm.
- Pulmonologists. Physicians specializing in the treatment of diseases of the lungs and the respiratory tract.
- Chemotherapy (oncology) Nurse. The RN or team of nurses responsible for patient assessment, chemotherapy administration and supportive care during the chemotherapy treatment.
- Radiation Therapist. The radiation therapist develops a treatment plan in conjunction with a radiation oncologist, explains the treatment plan to the patient, and administers the radiation.
In addition to the above specialists, many other medical professionals will be supporting the patient’s needs such as nutritionists, pharmacists, and the primary care physician.
“At a higher volume facility, not only will the radiation oncologist will have more experience at designing and delivering the appropriate treatment fields, but the multidisciplinary team of pathologists, radiologists, urologists, and medical oncologists will have greater expertise in making accurate diagnoses and tailoring the systemic therapy regimen to ensure the best-possible outcome for the patient,” said Dr. Nguyen.
The researchers report other cancer datasets are being planned for review “to corroborate the strong effect seen here.”
Brigham and Women’s is home to the International Mesothelioma Program. Managing over 300 mesothelioma consultations per year, the International Mesothelioma Program is the largest program of its kind in the world. The Program has a mission “to offer state-of-the-art treatment to patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.”
Find the full study in the March 15, 2016 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.
http://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016%2815%2926845-9/abstract
Sources:
- International Mesothelioma Program
http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/surgery/thoracic-surgery/mesothelioma/default.aspx - (Brigham and Women’s Hospital ) March 14 press release
http://www.brighamandwomens.org/about_bwh/publicaffairs/news/pressreleases/PressRelease.aspx?sub=0&PageID=2299
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