Category: Mesothelioma
‘Hellos from Heaven’ Keep Me Going
In the middle of the night last night, I woke up and instantly began to cry. My husband asked me what was wrong and I answered, “It was Dad.” In my dream, my Dad was here, but we didn’t know for how long. He was singing with his band. The song was a song about faith, one that I had never heard before, but it was complete in my dream. The image and sounds are embedded into my brain.
I then went in to check on our two month old baby girl and I began to cry all over again. She looks just like Dad and sometimes, when I look into her eyes, it’s like he’s staring back at me. A flood of emotions overtook me; they were a combination of sadness, love, and gratitude.
Even though the sting of losing Dad remains with me at all times, reminders like those I experienced last night reaffirm that he’s always with me. These little miracles tend to bring me to tears at first, but once I regain my strength, I am so grateful to have them.
They always say that God works in mysterious ways, ways that we have no way of understanding. Perhaps it’s the mystery of these unexpected “Hellos from Heaven” that astound me the most. I believe that God provides these gifts to show us His love, that His hand is in everything.
Dad always talked about the beauty of the world and everyday life. What may seem like an ordinary day is full of wonder and miracles. We just need to open our eyes to see them. So many times, we are too busy with the hustle and bustle that we forget to stop and look around. Even when he was feeling his worst, Dad reminded me that there was good in every situation.
Time is not guaranteed to any of us, and it is important to recognize that. Life is too short to spend it being inconsiderate or rude. There are far too many chances to be kind; take them. Find the good, and when you get a “Hello from Heaven” be sure to take a minute and cherish it.
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Nurse Inspired by Stuart Scott’s Strength in Facing Mesothelioma
The mesothelioma community is small, but we all are a part of a bigger group of people and families affected by cancer. This month, a popular ESPN anchor, Stuart Scott, died of cancer. The way he fought his disease inspired his fans and everyone around him. Although his battle was on a very public stage, every day others that have cancer are inspiring their families, caregivers, and medical community with their courage and grace. There are many messages that we can all take from Scott’s battle with cancer. Living with cancer and not giving up, and continuing to live as you want; but when you die, you beat the cancer by the way you lived is the message Scott wanted to be remembered by.
Last August, Stuart Scott was presented with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award. The presentation of the award started 21 years ago – the year Scott started working at ESPN. Jimmy Valvano, a former college basketball coach, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 46. Before he died he started the V Foundation for Cancer Research, along with ESPN, with the dream of eradicating cancer. The V Foundation has awarded more than $130 million to more than 120 facilities nationwide and proudly awards 100% of its cash donations to cancer research. In 1993, Valvano gave a speech at the ESPY awards that has become famous – “Don’t Give Up. . . Don’t Ever Give Up!” Both Scott’s and Valvano’s speeches can be seen on the JimmyV.org web site.
Stuart Scott was a proud University of North Carolina alumnus. On Monday night, January 5, I had the pleasure of attending a men’s college basketball game at UNC. The 21,000 that packed the gym that cool Monday evening, watched a great game of basketball, but also witnessed a memorable tribute to “Stu.” College students identified with his ‘coolness’ and were deeply inspired by him. The way he lived and how he lived was on the public stage.
We don’t all appear on TV or have careers that make us famous- but all of us, and our families, are faced with the same challenges as far as how we choose to live with cancer. Fighting cancer is not done alone – your team, your coaches are working hard to continue the fight. As Stuart Scott, and Jimmy Valvano inspire all of us, look around and you will see the same courage and determination with mesothelioma patients, and other people dealing with cancer.
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Acetic Acid Kills Mesothelioma Cells in Experiment
Japanese researchers have found that acetic acid causes the death of a variety of cancer cells, including mesothelioma cells. Based on this, they say that the application of acetic acid may be a feasible approach for the treatment of mesothelioma.
Following up on prior research that demonstrated the ability of acetic acid (the main ingredient in vinegar) to kill gastric (stomach) cancer tumors in rats when applied topically, a team lead by Susumu Okabe of the Kyoto GI Disease Research Center in Kyoto, Japan designed an experiment to “examine whether acetic acid can directly induce cancer cell death.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25521736
The researchers did this by adding 0.5% acetic acid to petri dishes containing two mesothelioma cell lines obtained from human patients. They also added different concentrations of acetic acid, ranging from 0.01%-0.5%, to cultures of rat and human gastric cancer cell lines. Healthy cells exposed to acetic acid served as a control.
Study results showed that 5% acetic acid for 10 minutes caused marked mesothelioma cell death, while higher concentrations of acetic acid more strongly inhibited gastric cancer cell survival. In addition, the cancer cells were found to be more sensitive to acetic acid than the normal cells.
“The results of the present study, using five different cell lines, demonstrate that acetic acid promptly induces the cell death in a dose-dependent manner,” writes Okabe in an article published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. “In fact, acetic acid used at 0.5% or even at 0.1% for 10 min or even 1 min was able to induce cell death.”
Effect of Acetic Acid on Mesothelioma Cells
Acetic acid used at 0.5% was applied to two mesothelioma cell lines for 10 minutes and almost completely induced cell death of both. “We may suggest,” concludes Okabe, “using acetic acid approach for treatment of this malignancy.” The researchers further suggest that acetic acid may be used alone or together with chemotherapy to treat not only mesothelioma, but also gastric cancer and peritoneal cancer (cancer of the lining of the abdomen).
Mesothelioma tumors are resistant to chemotherapy, which may be given to patients alone, before primary treatment (neoadjuvant chemotherapy), or after primary treatment (adjuvant chemotherapy). Traditional treatment options for mesothelioma include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy drugs pemetrexed and cisplatin have been approved by the FDA for treatment of malignant mesothelioma, but new treatments are needed given the disease’s resistance to therapy and high mortality rate. Some are being tested in clinical trials, while others—such as the present study—offer new investigative potential.
Okabe and colleagues admit that that “the molecular mechanism by which acetic acid induces the cell death remains unclear” and thus, “further studies are needed to identify the cell death pathway induced by the acetic acid.”
Future studies may look at the effectiveness of acetic acid combined with chemotherapy drugs currently used to treat mesothelioma and other cancers, including cisplatin, mitomycin-C, 5-FU, leucovorin, paclitaxel, S-1, doxorubicin, and irinotecan.
The study, “Acetic acid induces cell death: An in vitro study using normal rat gastric mucosal cell line and rat and human gastric cancer and mesothelioma cell lines,” can be read here.
Comprehensive Meso Center Established at West Los Angeles VAMC
The Comprehensive Mesothelioma Center (CMC) at the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) provides veterans stricken with asbestos cancer access to specialized services and an unprecedented high standard of care. There’s just one problem: most veterans have never heard of the Center.
There is no mention of the Center on the VA website and even many doctors in the VA system aren’t aware that the Center exists.
The Comprehensive Meso Center in West Los Angeles specializes in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), an aggressive and incurable cancer of the pleura (the lining of the lungs) caused by exposure to asbestos. Approximately one-third of the 3,500 Americans diagnosed each year with mesothelioma are former military members, and yet the US Government has never fully funded a medical program dedicated to veterans with asbestos cancer.
Advocates of the Comprehensive Meso Center in West LA are hoping to obtain $5 million in annual funding to expand the Center through a petition aimed at VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. Supporters ask that it be called the “Elmo Zumwalt Comprehensive Mesothelioma Treatment & Research Center” in honor of Admiral Elmo A. Zumwalt, Jr., the youngest-ever chief of Naval Operations, who died of mesothelioma in 2000.
Son of Veteran Killed by Meso Says VA Has Failed to Publicize Specialty Center
One of the most outspoken advocates of VA-funding for the Center is Michael Johnson. Michael lost his father, Marine Corps veteran John Johnson, to mesothelioma in 2012. John received treatment at VA hospitals in North Las Vegas and Long Beach, but by the time his family learned of the Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program in West Los Angeles, his cancer was beyond treatment.
Michael says that his goal is to prevent something similar from happening to another veteran. He believes that his father would be alive today if John had access to mesothelioma specialists and has been lobbying the VA to provide better information about the services available at the West LA Center through letters. He’s also been getting the word out to the public through his website.
“Despite multiple requests and promises, the VA has yet to perform the simple administrative task of updating its website about the existence of the [mesothelioma] program,” Johnson said in a recent video. “There is no effort to educate our war heroes stricken with this cancer. There is no effort to publicize or build the program. That’s negligent, and that’s wrong.”
How Veterans With Mesothelioma Can Receive Treatment at the CMC
Veterans who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma should seek treatment at a mesothelioma center.
A list of such centers is available on the website of:
https://www.mesotheliomahelp.org/mesothelioma-hospitals-doctors/
If you are treating with the VA health system, the team of doctors and nurses at the West LA VA Medical Center have extensive experience diagnosing and treating MPM and are available to care for all veterans stricken with mesothelioma—not merely those residing in the Los Angeles area. In fact, if you are able to secure a referral to the West LA VAMC, the VA will pay for all of your travel expenses.
In order to receive the best available mesothelioma care, veterans treating in the VA health system who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma should take the following actions:
- Let your doctor know about the specialty mesothelioma services offered at the West LA VAMC.
- Ask for an “inter-facility” consult through the VA’s “TeleHealth” program.
- Undergo a “virtual consult”.
If deemed eligible, you may be referred to the West LA VAMC for treatment.
Don’t Forget the Spirit of Christmas and the Hope It Brings
It’s hard to believe that 2014 is already coming to a close. This year saw my first full year without my Dad. As we come to the Christmas season, it is, once again, a time to reflect on the memories and love that he left behind.
Last year, the pain of losing my father was excruciatingly fresh. I was still in shock and unsure about how I would carry on without having him here with me. Now, the pain still remains and I often question how it is possible to live a “normal” life after losing Dad, but this year I realize that I have had some time to reflect on the entire journey that he had with mesothelioma.
Dad’s mesothelioma story is one of sadness, followed by a miracle and joy. It is a tale riddled with highs and lows, but always full of love and hope. This love and hope is what Christmas is all about. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, it is important to also hold our loved ones close and remember all of the good that is in this world. It is easy to get caught up in the commercial side of the season, but remember the true reason.
Dad was so much more than this terrible disease. He embodied the Christmas spirit every day of his life. Spreading happiness, being generous, and loving with his whole heart, my father lived this message. Enjoy this beautiful time of year and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!
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