Author: Nancy Meredith

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.

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

Vasiliki Kampas – Scholarship Essay Contest

• Nancy Meredith
• Scholarship

Essay by Vasiliki Kampas

Cancer has been an insatiable beast claiming lives, and radically changing many lives since the dawn of humankind. Cancer seems to be an inevitable part of life, but does it always have to have so many victims? Many lives have been robbed by cancer and many more have been severely affected and dramatically changed. Some types of cancer develop in old age, and are considered inevitable by many doctors and physicians. However, there are many forms of cancers claiming innocent lives too early, one of which is Mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is an aggressive type of cancer that occurs in the thin layer of tissue that, covers the majority of your internal organs (Mesothelioma, Mayo Clinic). Mesothelioma has claimed many lives, including my grandfather’s.

I never got to meet my paternal grandfather, because Mesothelioma claimed his life many years before I was even born. My grandfather was working with asbestos and back then in the 1960’s-1970’s in Greece they did not know the effects of asbestos on one’s health. After working for years with asbestos, he was diagnosed with pleural cancer which is now referred to as pleural Mesothelioma. My paternal grandparents were very poor and they could not afford treatment, so my grandfather passed away, while being in excruciating pain. My father was 12 years old when his father past away, and because he was the oldest child in the family, he had to drop out of school to help provide for the family and help pay the family’s bills. He never got to finish elementary school, because he had to drop out right before he had the chance to graduate.

The death of my grandfather dramatically changed, and shaped my father’s life and this experience subsequently shaped his children’s lives; my life. My father always likes to tell stories about his father, who passed away too soon from Mesothelioma, and he always makes me wish I had the chance to meet my grandfather. Because my father never got to finish elementary school he made sure, that his children would get the best possible education and therefore he worked two jobs, trying to make ends meet. He loved school and his yearning to go back to school, influenced us deeply making me and my siblings try to strive for the best. My father always wanted to be a doctor, and help save lives, but he never achieved that dream. He did however start working at a hospital as a stoker and handyman, and donated many hours volunteering and spending countless hours with cancer patients and sometimes, he would take us with him. My father says that losing his father so early of cancer, made him realize how precious life is and that we can never take anything for granted. He also taught us that no matter how hard life may get, if you have a strong sense of belief in yourself, you will persevere. Growing up, when we would feel blue about silly things, my father would tell us all the things he went through when he lost his father and that helped put things into perspective.

The hours that we donated with my father to help cancer patients, had a profound impact on my career choice, as I want to become a Social Worker and help children who are battling cancer and other illnesses and diseases. Making a difference in a child’s life who’s battling cancer is very important to me. One of my aspirations is to work with for the Child Protective Services and make sure all children are in loving and caring homes. I would also love to work for the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, and volunteer there as a social worker and help children and their families battling cancer and all diseases, that no child should be battling. Being there to help children and their families during one of their hardest times in life is what I really want to do.

Cancer is racking up victims, and more often than not we can avoid this by taking appropriate measures, and most importantly by raising awareness. According to the National Cancer Center “In 2016, an estimated 1,685,210 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 595,690 people will die from the disease (National Cancer Center)”.  Approximately 3000 cancer cases will be mesothelioma related cases. Every year more than 3000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure. Asbestos is a silent killer, and bringing awareness to this matter may help save thousands of lives.  By making people aware of Mesothelioma and the dangers lurking in asbestos, we could potentially help save thousands of innocent lives.

Mesothelioma caused by asbestos, has taken away too many loved ones. It is high time we prevented to untimely deaths by raising awareness. It is of extreme importance to raise awareness within families, because if one family member is coming in contact with asbestos, then the entire family could get severely impacted by the asbestos particles that may find their way into the home. Another reason for raising awareness is to get people to have their houses checked for asbestos, especially if the houses were build prior to 1990, since asbestos was used in home construction. You can never bee too safe when it comes to asbestos.

One thing mesothelioma and cancer taught my dad, is that it may steal your loved ones away from you but it can never rob the memories you have made with them. And no matter how hard life gets, no matter how many hardships you go through, we are blessed to have a today. I had to learn the same lesson my father learned, when cancer stole away my maternal grandfather, who was like a second father to me. I was there to witness every moment of the devastating effects cancer had on my grandfather. He died within only two months after this diagnosis of urinary bladder cancer; it was a rapid form of cancer that sucked the light out of him. Within two months he was a shell of his former self, and it was hard on everyone in the family, especially my father who lost a second father from cancer 40 years later. I hated cancer for what it did to my grandfather, but then I realized that I have all these precious memories with him, and that’s how I choose to remember him; not on his deathbed, but as he was when he was enjoying life. To people who are battling cancer I would say “ You are extremely brave, you can do this, and you are loved.” To a family who has lost a loved one to this disease I would tell them to cherish their memories and hold on to the good ones. You may feel like you’ll always feel this way, but you won’t. I was devastated by my grandfather’s death, but I kept on living for him, because that’s what he would have wanted. “Keep going through life, as you normally do, and then one day, it won’t hurt as much. One day, things will be slightly brighter. Life is a worth living, and your loved one will have wanted you to remember them and keep on living. Keep making them proud. That’s what I try to do.

Works Cited:

• “Cancer Statistics.” National Cancer Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.
• “Mesothelioma.” Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

About

Vasiliki Kampas

My name is Vasiliki Kampas, and I am an aspiring social worker. I want to earn my B.A. in social work and then earn a M.A. and Ph.D. My dream is to work with Child Protective Services and make sure children feel safe and cared for. I love children and want to make a difference in their lives. The message I would like to give families fighting with mesothelioma is “You are brave, you are strong, you are loved!”

Seize the Day – Scholarship Essay Contest

• Nancy Meredith
• Scholarship

by Katie Keynton

Mesothelioma. This word never meant anything to me, then it progressed malignantly. In my life, in my families’ life, and in the root of my family – my grandmother. It hurt everything it touched, and never got better. There was little to no cure, just chemotherapy and clinical trials.

But in every second that it spread, it taught me how to take advantage of every minute. “Seize the Day” is a quote my grandmother wrote in a letter to my older brother for his Senior Retreat. This was right before mesothelioma decided to take away her precious gift of life.

I was in the seventh grade when my mom received a phone call from my grandfather saying that my grandmother had only six to nine months left to live. I remember being in the other room just hearing her scream in a way that is just too hard to put into words. It had so much pain behind it, which is what I’ve decided cancer brings whenever it enters into someone’s world. It’s weird how one word can impact so many people. Cancer changes one’s world as soon as they encounter it. I never understood what this word meant until my grandmother was diagnosed with mesothelioma; a cancer in the lining of the lungs. Before reading about mesothelioma on MesotheliomaHelp.org, I still did not fully understand what it was. I learned about the different stages and to what parts of the body it can spread. At the time, I was only old enough to grasp a small concept of what cancer was in its entirety. I was worried about not being able to spend many important moments with my grandmother, that other people would have their grandmothers.

I knew that I wanted my grandmother to be a part of one special moment in my life, and that was my Confirmation in the Catholic Church. My grandmother converted to Catholicism later in life, and ever since, she has been a devout Catholic. Since I knew her time was limited, I wanted her to be my sponsor. It meant so much to her and me. During those last six to nine months, she told me she was going to make the best of everyday. She never let a day go by without it being special. When my Confirmation day came around, she made it a point to make it something that we would both remember. She gave me a silver heart-shaped necklace with Mary, the mother of Jesus, imprinted on the outside that I still wear on special occasions- especially when it is a moment I wish that she were there with me. My Confirmation date was a few months after she had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. She ended up living so much longer than we expected. With her age, being about sixty-seven at diagnosis, the doctors did not have a hopeful outlook on how long she would make it.

She had been exposed to asbestos as a child from her father. Working in the shipyards in Virginia, he was exposed to asbestos everyday, in which he unknowingly brought home on his clothes for his children to breathe. She also had worked at a bank where construction workers did not take proper precautions to protect against asbestos. Inhaling asbestos fibers everyday at the bank did not help her case later on in life. Because of these two types of exposure, she developed mesothelioma. Her father had passed away from mesothelioma as well, which is what helped the doctors determine what she had. It was kind of funny when we all found out that she was the one to get cancer because she was the healthiest one out of all of the family. There was no way she could get sick unless it were an outside force such as cancer. She ate mostly fruits and vegetables everyday. She would treat herself to ice cream on the porch after dinner some days and just enjoy the sunset. She knew how to take in every moment of life. Although she had an illness, she did not let that affect her from living her daily life.

A couple of years passed by and she was still doing great. She was outliving her expectancy rate given by the doctors and battling hard against chemotherapy and clinical trials at NIH in Bethesda, MD. Her youngest son had gotten married, and with a baby on the way, life seemed to be looking up. Everything seemed to be so joyful, until we found out that the cancer had moved to other parts of her body. She started to get progressively worse, and this time, we knew it was coming. When she passed away, I was a freshman in high school. We all went to visit her because the doctors had said that the time was coming. She talked to each one of my siblings and I in private. She told me to enjoy every moment because you do not know how much time you have left on Earth. She also advised me to eat healthier because all I ever ate was sugar, which was one-hundred percent true. The number one rule she told me was to make a difference in as many lives as I could and do what makes me happy. Ever since that day, I have lived each day in memory of her.

She impacted my life so much more than the words in this essay could express. She still helps me live life to its full potential, without her humanly being present. I began to do a lot of volunteer work in nursing homes and in preschools, while keeping her in mind. Without her final words, I may not have found my true calling. By doing mission work and learning Spanish, I have found the two things I am most passionate about. These two influences motivated me to get involved in a mission trip to Ecuador. The objective of this mission trip was to build a house for a family in need, in which the mother had AIDS. Making a small difference in any life that I touch, through mission work or daily life, helps me give back to those who are going through a similar situation as my grandmother. Because of her illness, I have decided to do something in the medical field in which, being able to help others, creates an immediate positive repercussion in the world. My goal is to become a doctor or Physical Therapist and travel for a month or two every year to a Spanish-speaking country and do mission work. I want to reciprocate the love and care that the other doctors had done for my family. These were the words she wanted me to live by and that influenced the career path I chose, and so I do it in memory of her.

I know it sounds cliché trying to tell anyone who knows someone with mesothelioma, or someone who has it, that it is hard and that it is a journey, but it also has its benefits, because it teaches you how to savor the most beautiful moments in life. There are often moments that you miss by paying attention to your phone instead of spending time with your family. There are also moments that you miss by not looking at the overall beauty of the most simplistic components of life itself. Take advantage of every second God gives you with the people you love, because you will one day regret not doing so. It is hard, but you can make it through and become stronger from it. You should never give up fighting, because the people around you need you and love you. If you give up, then you are letting the cancer beat you, instead of you beating the cancer. Give yourself that chance to create more memories with the people you care about.

Raising awareness for this is important because no one else should have to go through what my grandmother had to. Mesothelioma is preventable just by taking proper precautions when tearing down old buildings or breaking apart cement. There should be proper precautions when doing so. If awareness were raised about this, those precautions would be met. Knowing that the suffering of my grandmother could have been prevented just makes me want to promote awareness even more. Overall, cancer is one of the most difficult obstacles that today’s society has to deal with, but we can get through it, and we can promote awareness to make cancer less widespread.

• Works Cited “Causes of Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure.” Mesothelioma Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.
• Flaccus, Q. Horatius, and David West. Horace Odes I: Carpe Diem. Oxford: Clarendon, 1995. Print.
• “Mesothelioma Prognosis Can Vary Depending on the Stage.” Mesothelioma Help. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.

About

Katie Keynton

I am a Freshman at the University of Kentucky. I love to travel and do volunteer work. I have gone to Ecuador to build houses for those in need , and I went to Spain to visit my exchange student. I love spending time with my friends and family and helping others. I knew about mesothelioma because both my grandmother and great grandfather died from it.