Mesothelioma Help Cancer News
Patients Often Deal With Blood Clots
Blood clots are one side effect mesothelioma patients must deal with. Patients with cancers that occur in the lungs and abdomen, such as mesothelioma, are at greater risk of developing blood clots. Although cancers that have spread from their original site, or metastasized, can put patients at risk too. Often physicians look at age, race and ethnicity to determine risk factors, but treatments including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are all contributing factors. The good news is that blood clots can be treated.
A blood clot can also be called a thromboembolism. There several different types that may develop in cancer patients. One type is a venous thromboembolism that develops in a vein. A deep vein thrombus, or a DVT, usually occurs in the leg, thigh or pelvis; whereas, a pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that has traveled to the lung from another area, and can be life-threatening. Thirty eight percent of patients who have had surgery will be diagnosed with a blood clot, but they are treatable.
Blood clot symptoms include pain, swelling and redness in the affected area. Usually these are seen in the calf, leg or thigh. The symptoms of pulmonary embolism are shortness of breath, chest pain, and rapid breathing and heartbeat. Sometimes the person will also cough up blood. If you experience any of these conditions, you need to notify emergency personnel immediately.
Patients who have pulmonary embolisms are usually treated with Heparin for 5-10 days and then are converted to an oral medication. Depending on your treatment, doctors may order a non-invasive ultrasound of your legs, pelvis, arms and neck. It is easy and painless- a warm gel is applied to the affected area, and the ultrasound handle is placed on the area being scanned. Attached to the device is a monitor that will show your vessels and will reveal if there is a clot in one of your extremities or pelvis. If your physician is suspicious that you may have a pulmonary embolus, you will have a CT scan that specifically looks for a clot in your lungs.
Anticoagulants are the drugs that help break up these clots and stop other clots from forming. Compression stockings can also be used (they are a type of support hose). If you are receiving inpatient care, you may receive therapy to get you walking to keep the blood circulating as much as possible. Often times people have pneumatic boots on that help promote circulation while in bed. This is a small machine that has plastic leggings that squeeze your legs intermittently. It is painless, and most patients don’t mind them.
This may all sound overwhelming, but I want to cover information about issues you may have to manage as a mesothelioma patient. Always keep your medical team informed of any pain or symptoms that suddenly appear.
If you have any questions about any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Experience Matters for Mesothelioma Treatment, Studies Show
MesotheliomaHelp encourages patients diagnosed with mesothelioma to seek care at a facility that specializes in treatment of the rare cancer in order to maximize their chances of having a positive outcome, and two recent studies out of the United Kingdom suggest that this advice could help improve patient survival.
One study, published in the journal Lung Cancer, looked at 8,470 cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma reported in the UK. Patients were mostly male with a median age of 73. Median survival was 9.5 months, but survival differed sharply by patient health status and tumor growth pattern. It also differed by cancer network from 209 days to 349 days.
“There is significant variation in care patterns and outcomes that may reflect limited expertise in area[s] with low [mesothelioma] incidence,” concluded the study authors, led by Dr. Paul Beckett of the royal College of Physicians, London.
A second study, published in Colorectal Disease, analyzed 1,200 surgical cases of patients with abdominal malignancy, including 65 peritoneal mesothelioma patients, over a 20 year period (1994-2014). The study period was divided per quartile of 300 patients so that outcomes over time could be compared. Two of the outcomes recorded were patients undergoing complete cytoreduction (removal of all visible tumors) and 30-day mortality (post-surgery).
The proportion of patients per quartile undergoing complete cytoreduction was 60.7%, 65%, 77%, and 80.3%, while patient mortality per quartile was 3%, 1%, 0.7% and 0.7%. In addition, complete cytoreduction in peritoneal mesothelioma patients was associated with a 5-year survival rate of 76%. Typical 5-year survival for mesothelioma patients is between 5% and 10%, according to the American Cancer Society.
Although both of the studies are out of the UK, they underscore the importance of choosing a cancer center with significant mesothelioma experience. Because mesothelioma is a rare cancer in the general population, most oncologists see very few patients with this disease and may not be familiar with how to effectively treat it. The busiest mesothelioma centers also often offer patients the opportunity to enroll in clinical trials that provide access to innovative treatments.
Being treated at a specialized mesothelioma center could very well involve traveling out of town or even out of state. This can mean not only giving up the comforts of home, but also incurring travel charges.
For those who do travel out of town for treatment, the American Cancer Society offers free accommodations at its 31 Hope Lodge locations. Another resource—Joe’s House—doesn’t offer free stays but does help cancer patients find accommodations close to treatment centers. Patients may also be able to find housing through the hospital that is treating them.
For a comprehensive list of top mesothelioma centers that’s searchable by state and zip code, please visit the MesotheliomaHelp Hospitals page. You can similarly search the site for mesothelioma specialists.
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Mesothelioma Help Scholarship – Great Opportunity to Make a Difference
Once again, I was humbled and honored to be a judge for the spring Jan Egerton and Don Smitley Mesothelioma Scholarship contest. Jan was an inspiring woman who I was happy to be acquainted with and, of course, Don was my father. A scholarship memorializing these two amazing mesothelioma warriors seems only fitting.
As I read through each entry, I was astounded at the interest and compassion shown by each student. They really did an excellent job researching the topic and many stated how much they learned through the process. I gain a lot of hope in knowing that teens and young adults are becoming aware of this disease and showing a genuine interest in how they can help.
These youths are the next generation of up-and-coming professionals and philanthropists, and it will be up to them to continue the fight against mesothelioma. I find comfort in knowing that the torch will be passed to such motivated individuals.
Educating ourselves about the dangers of asbestos and mesothelioma is the first step in eradicating this cancer. It is our responsibility as a community to make sure that this is done and done well. I am extremely proud of the scholarship participants for their hard work and commitment to serving others.
I pray that you all continue on your journey to help those with mesothelioma, believing in a cure!
Nurse Inspired by Mesothelioma Survivor Who Comforts Other Patients
Survivors of mesothelioma and their stories are inspirational. From their stories we gather strength and renewed purpose. At a recent conference, a mesothelioma survivor talked about her journey, her leap of faith, and her life today, as well as the everyday challenges she now faces living with mesothelioma. She looked and sounded fabulous.
I watched her speak with and comfort a family member of another mesothelioma patient. Their story was not as positive, but she was powerful with the words that she shared. She left a lasting impression on those that attended the conference. Her road has been filled with challenges, serious issues, and adjustments that she and her family had to make, but she delivered her message with grace, dignity, and gratefulness.
As she spoke, one thing that struck me was her inhalation of breath, it was part of her life now with one lung. She spoke with truth about her life before mesothelioma, the diagnosis, the fear and her journey. She blindly put her faith in a surgeon almost ten years ago, when the medical world knew so much less about mesothelioma. She said she had no choice, but her treatment center gave her hope. I am sure it must be difficult to know whether the option you pick is the right choice. Clearly, this woman made the right choice for her.
As part of her legacy, as a young, long term survivor of mesothelioma, she always has her hand extended to help others. When she speaks with someone, she never really speaks about her situation. Instead she listens intently, and she puts her feelings and her journey aside while she puts herself in their shoes.
As a professional nurse, I find it amazing to see these patients think about somebody else when their lives have been turned upside down. She spoke about how community is so important and how that helped her and her family recover.
We all consider her cancer free, but she is still in the nucleus of the mesothelioma community continually giving back. Possibly, that is part of the recipe of a long term survivor.
If you have any questions about any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Dad Continues to Bounce Back From Setbacks During Mesothelioma Treatment
It was time for Dad to start another round of radiation treatment in Philly. This treatment was supposed to relieve some pain in Dad’s side by hopefully shrinking the cancer. He would have 14 treatments, basically most of February minus weekends. There was going to be a lot of traveling back and forth to get treatment since Dad prefers to be at home and not at my place in the city, or the Hope Lodge that is nearby. My mom was able to get a leave of absence from work to drive him back and forth each day because, unfortunately, Dad can no longer drive himself to treatment anymore.
Dad got through the first week of treatment before the nurses at UPenn noticed that something wasn’t right. Each day, while he waited for treatment, one nurse would take his vitals and check in with him. On the fourth day of treatment his vitals were taken and his blood pressure was 80/30. He was immediately admitted to UPenn Hospital and tests upon tests were done.
Dad was found to be in renal failure and was in critical condition. There were a few reasons that his kidneys could have failed: severe dehydration, his blood was too thin, or the cancer was growing and causing a blockage. After countless tests it was determined that it was a combination of his blood being too thin and dehydration. This was a relief that cancer wasn’t causing any blockage. They had also conducted a scan of his brain to be sure that cancer did not spread there. They were concerned about this because he was very disoriented and confused about what was going on.
Dad stayed in the hospital and continued treatment while he was there. At first they were unsure what would happen, would his kidneys come back? Would he come out of the state of confusion he was in? There was a lot of uncertainty and it was scary to not know what would happen.
Despite the uncertainty of his hospital stay, we were glad that he was there receiving the best treatment that he could get. All of his Mesothelioma doctors were close by and would stop in each day, and he was able to be transported over to the neighboring building to receive treatment. My mom was also able to stay in the hospital room with him to keep him company and to feed him since he would not eat on his own.
He gave us a pretty good scare, but once again Dad bounced back. He was released from the hospital 11 days later with fully recovered kidneys and only three days left of radiation.
Dad continues to amaze me with his will to fight against this nasty cancer.
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