Author: Lisa Hyde-Barrett
Nurse Explains Cancer Staging
Staging of a person’s cancer is done for many different reasons. According to the American Cancer Society, staging is defined as: “The process of finding out how much cancer is in the person’s body and where it is located. It’s how the doctor determines the stage of a person’s cancer.” For mesothelioma, there have been various different staging systems put in place over the years at different institutions. This sometimes leads to confusion regarding the language, a patient’s prognosis, and for scientists hoping to speak a common language when collaborating.
Most cancers are staged using the TNM classification system. T stands for the primary tumor, N stands for the lymph nodes- whether the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, M stands for metastasis, whether the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body. Each of these three classifications- T, N, M – is then broken down with more descriptive information. Once the extent of the T, N, M classifications have been determined, they are then assigned an overall stage. There are also other factors that affect the stage, including the grade- how the cells look under the microscope, cell type, location, and tumor marker levels. Once cancer is staged it always remains the same. If you are diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer, it will always be referred to as Stage 2 even if it goes into remission, or metastasizes to other organs.
For many years, mesothelioma experts did not have a defined staging system exclusively to describe mesothelioma. A mesothelioma expert once said mesothelioma is so rare just having the diagnosis of mesothelioma, at an earlier point in time, would have gotten you into a mesothelioma clinical trial.
As testimony to progress, a group led by Dr. Valerie Rusch of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in conjunction with the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, and other organizations has defined a new staging system for pleural mesothelioma. The importance of mesothelioma staging system is uniformity in describing the disease. The effect of various treatment options can be studied and perfected for the different types of pleural mesothelioma.
More evidence that the treatment of mesothelioma is being advanced on many fronts and further work towards a potential cure!
If you have questions about your mesothelioma treatment or any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Remembering Loved Ones Lost to Mesothelioma
Each spring a Memorial Service is held for families that have lost loved ones to mesothelioma. It never gets any easier to see the personal toll that this deadly cancer has taken. Remembering patients and families that have dealt with the death of a loved one from mesothelioma is sobering. Every year a member of the mesothelioma medical team talks about the progress that continues to be made toward a cure. Although not fast enough for these families and loved ones, the update always helps everyone in attendance, by offering hope. Hope that no other patients and families will have to go through what they have been through and suffer the losses that they have.
The service is a testimony to the generosity of the human spirit. Although their loved ones are gone, the families and loved ones are their representatives on earth. By putting a face to the patient, and showing the whole picture of the victims of this disease, researchers can take this snapshot of their relatives back to the lab with them for inspiration in the coming year. Each year there is progress to report and each year there is appreciation for the continuous support of these brave families, and continued support of the work needed for a cure.
There is a lot of ambivalence about attending a memorial service like this. From our experiences over the years, when the service is over families feel better. By acknowledgment that their loved one’s fight is over, and that they have potentially helped other patients in the future, does provide some comfort for the families. For some it is difficult to come back to a place that holds painful memories.
One family member acknowledging that she almost did not come, spoke of coming back to a place that had offered her and her family hope when they could not find it anywhere else. Although her family member had died, she was grateful for the quality time they did have together.
The reasons for attending are as varied as the patients. Stories and memories are shared,and a grateful community leans on each other to continue on to a day when there will be no need for an annual Memorial Service for mesothelioma patients.
Resilience Can Help Patients & Families Come Back Stronger
In life, things can happen that shake us up and change the way we look at the world. Trauma, accidents, crimes against us or an unexpected diagnosis of mesothelioma for you or a family member, for example, can change your world in minutes. It is said that how we respond to these events is what makes us stronger. Through these events we often hear the word resilience talked about. What exactly does that mean?
According to Psychology Today, resilience “is that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes.”
In the book, “Option B Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy,” by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant, resilience, grief, and moving forward, are explored. Ms. Sandberg’s sudden loss of her husband and her coping with her young children’s grief, as well as her own, is documented. In collaboration with Adam Grant, a psychologist and professor at Wharton, who has studied how people find motivation and meaning, Sheryl tells her story. Adam fills in the research on dealing with these issues.
This is an excellent book, easy to read, and is bound to help you at some point in your life. One of the interesting takeaways from the book is that, “more than half of the people who experience a traumatic event report at least one positive change, compared to less than 15% who develop PTSD.” The authors say, “If you don’t see if growth is possible, you’re not going to find it.”
With malignant mesothelioma, unfortunately, loss happens. Everyone’s life and circumstances are different, “Option B” is just one person’s story. We all have our own stories, but it is reassuring to know that others who have endured loss are eventually able to experience joy again. We are not alone as we journey through our lives adventures and challenges.
Memorial Day to Remember US Veterans
Today, in the U.S. we celebrate Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a holiday that was first observed in 1868, to mark the sacrifices of the Civil War, when participants decorated the graves of more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers. General John A. Logan is credited with issuing the proclamation.
In the Civil War, 620,000 soldiers were killed. For many years, what is now Memorial Day was known as “Decoration Day.” It was used to commemorate those killed in the Civil War and was observed on May 30. After World War I, however, the tradition was expanded to honor those killed in all wars.
In 1971, the last Monday in May was declared to be Memorial Day and a national holiday. For many years, led by the late Senator Daniel Inouye, of Hawaii, who was a decorated World War II veteran, legislation was reintroduced to change it back to May 30, to reemphasize that the meaning of the holiday is to honor the nation’s war dead, not the first long weekend of the summer.
Approximately thirty percent of all U.S. mesothelioma victims are military veterans. For many, their exposure can be traced back to asbestos exposure from service to our country decades earlier. On Memorial Day, we honor their sacrifice. Not all soldiers are killed on the battlefield, or in combat – some suffer their fate decades later in the form of a rare, fatal cancer.
When you Google Memorial Day, some of the first items to come up in the results include the best Memorial Day sales of 2017 on refrigerators and washers, and the 10 most popular Memorial Day travel destinations for 2017. In order for all of us to enjoy these luxuries, recognize that those before us sacrificed to make it possible.
On this Memorial Day, remember it is a holiday to reflect on those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good. Remember and honor and find time to ensure that the true meaning of Memorial Day is acknowledged.
Mesothelioma Information in Proper Context
When patients and families are diagnosed with mesothelioma it introduces them to a whole new world with a different language, different people in different roles, and sometimes this all plays out in a different city, away from home. Basically, the mesothelioma patient‘s world is turned upside down. It can feel like you have lost control of your life in a foreign land.
Over the years I have taken care of mesothelioma patients in many different places, during diagnosis, in the hospital, out of the hospital, follow up after treatment, and there are quite a few observations that I have made. Information transfer and assumptions often happen when what is said is taken out of context. This can easily happen because this is a stressful time, and the information is complex.
Mesothelioma information can be confusing. Whether you are listening to your medical team explaining procedures, or you are trying to understand what you have read about the disease, it is vital that you weigh the information in the context that it was presented.
The other important fact to consider is that everyone’s mesothelioma is different. Support of other mesothelioma patients and families is important, but remember everyone is on their own unique journey with this disease. What they say or do may not be something you will need to do.
Recently, when talking with a family member of a mesothelioma patient she repeated what she had read about survival statistics for her loved one’s mesothelioma. She had the number in her head and was focused on it. Not only was the statistic taken out of context, but it was referring to a different cell type of mesothelioma. I was able to clarify the information and explain how this information was not pertinent to the patient. Reassured that it was not accurate in her loved one’s case, they were relieved and could now turn their focus away from a number and to making the most of every day.
Information is complex in a rare cancer. Take it in context, and reach out if you need clarification.
If you have questions about your mesothelioma treatment or any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
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