Mesothelioma Help Cancer News
Mesothelioma Patients Are Not Statistics
Mesothelioma. Most people have heard the word, either from ads on the television or on billboards. Fortunately most of the U.S. population are not touched by the disease. Just 3,000 patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the U.S. each year. It is approximately one percent of all cancer diagnoses. Most of the victims of this asbestos-caused cancer are male.
Those are some of the facts. The people and their families affected by a mesothelioma diagnosis are not statistics. They are people living their lives until this time bomb of a disease explodes, and takes them and their families and friends with it.
Over the years, it seems the patients are being diagnosed at a younger age. Two women were diagnosed within three months of giving birth. Another young mother, an avid runner, was diagnosed after she noticed when she ran she got short of breath. Yet another young woman was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma after her surgeon had removed her ovary for another condition.
A firefighter, one year from retirement, was diagnosed with sarcomatoid mesothelioma. A man in his 60’s in excellent health fell off his bike and fractured his ribs, and six months later he was diagnosed with mesothelioma.
The numbers do not tell the story of patients living with the disease. Living less than a year, longer than a year, or even longer than five years with the disease, the lives of the patients and of their families are still forever altered.
Most know the word- but not the disease. Those families and patients that know the disease also know it does not define them any more than the numbers or the name mesothelioma does.
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
SMART Protocol Shows “Encouraging Results” for Mesothelioma Patients
Researchers report that treating late-stage mesothelioma patients with a high dose of radiation prior to performing radical extra pleural pneumonectomy surgery results in “encouraging results” and should be further studied.
According to an article in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, a study conducted by researchers from the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto with 25 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, who were deemed candidates for EPP, underwent SMART treatment [Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy.] The patients had a three-year survival (72%) that was more than double the survival (32%) of patients who underwent other treatment protocols.
Mesothelioma, a terminal form of cancer caused by exposure to airborne asbestos fibers, often has a complex growth pattern making complete surgical removal a very difficult task. The goal of surgery is to achieve a macroscopically-complete resection, which refers to the removal of all visible tumor cells. There has been an ongoing debate among mesothelioma physicians as to the best surgical approach for improving the survival of mesothelioma patients.
Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) is a radical and complex surgery that features the removal of the affected lung and parietal pleura, as well as the possible removal of the diaphragm, the pericardium and other extra pleural tissue. The alternative surgical option, pleurectomy/decortications (P/D) strips away the diseased membrane lining the lung and visible mesothelioma tumors, but spares the lung.
The research, led by Marc de Perrot, MD, Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto, included giving the previously untreated mesothelioma patients five doses of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy. IMRT enables the radiation oncologist to conform the radiation beams to tumors that are actually wrapped around other structures. Within one week of receiving IMRT, the patients underwent EPP.
According to an article in MedPage Today, de Perrot reports an additional 20 mesothelioma patients have undergone SMART treatment and their three-year overall survival is approaching 90%.
The researchers concluded that the results support “future studies looking at long-term outcome in patients with epithelial subtypes [of mesothelioma].”
Mesothelioma is diagnosed in approximately 3,000 Americans each year. The average survival time varies from 4 – 18 months after diagnosis.
Sources:
MedPage Today
Finding Comfort in Stories After Losing a Loved One
Words are powerful things. They can lift spirits, they can bring comfort, they have the ability to calm us. When you are talking with someone who has lost a loved one to mesothelioma, or any reason for that matter, words need to be chosen with care.
For me, I found a lot of comfort in stories that people shared with me about Dad. I love hearing how he did something nice for someone, how he played a joke on someone, or how he fell for a joke that someone played on him. A relative even brought 50 cents to the viewing. It was from someone who owed it to Dad for a bicycle he sold to him 50 years ago. These things brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart.
Seeing how many people cared about Dad was overwhelming to me. Each person had something to share and just wanted to show our family that they support us and are here for us. Sometimes, just the presence of friends and loved ones says more than you could ever articulate with words.
A lot of people aren’t really sure what to say in this type of situation. Some said nothing, which is fine. Others simply told us that they didn’t know what to say! I appreciated these people who assured us of their prayers. After all, it’s what we needed (and still need) the most.
When you talk with a person who has lost someone dear to them, be genuine. It will be appreciated and treasured more than you can know!
ADAO Sponsors First Ban Asbestos Conference in Pakistan
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization has announced its support of the first ever one day national stakeholder’s conference Ban Asbestos Pakistan in Karachi, Pakistan on February 1. The event, with the theme “Awareness, Health & Safety,” is the result of years of research, persistence and collaboration between a Pakistani family and an international team determined to ban the toxic substance in the country.
Although the harmful effects of asbestos have been documented extensively, and the World Health Organization estimates over 100,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, asbestos use is banned in just 55 countries, according to a tally maintained by International Ban Asbestos Secretariat. Asbestos use remains legal in the United States.
However, the Ahmed family, determined to prevent other families from losing a loved one to the hazards of asbestos, have shown that with diligence and resolve, they can make a difference. When Syed Mezab Ahmed and Syed Haroon Ahmed lost their father and brother, respectively, to cancer in 2007, they feared his death was due to asbestos exposure at his job at Dadex in Karachi, Pakistan. Dadex, which operates three factories in Pakistan – in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sunder Industrial Estate (near Lahore) – boasts on its website that it “has been manufacturing Chrysotile Cement (CC) pipe systems for over 45 years in Pakistan.”
The Ahmed family filed a criminal complaint in 2009 against the factory saying Mr. Ahmed’s cancer was caused by the “polluted environment of the industrial unit.” Although the case is still pending, the action spurred local and global anti-asbestos organizations into action to help raise awareness of the far-reaching dangers of asbestos in Pakistan and to rally others to urge the government to ban the product.
Through a report commissioned on the petition of the Ahmed’s, over two million residents in Karachi were found to be at danger of exposure to asbestos. According to the ADAO, in 2012, Pakistan National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Resource Development “recommended a complete ban on the import and use of dangerous chemical ‘asbestos’ in 22 industries of the country to safeguard the health of workers.”
Linda Reinstein, co-founder and President/CEO of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, wrote in an article announcing the conference:
“The Ahmed family wants the same treatment for Pakistanis that other countries have fought for and won. They want the company that exposed people to deadly asbestos to be responsible for their medical care. They want the company to take action and to dispose of asbestos debris safely to prevent future asbestos exposure to workers, children and nearby residents of Karachi. And above all, they want Pakistan to ban asbestos.”
Ms. Reinstein and Lou Williams, a mesothelioma sufferer who lives in Australia and is the Asbestos Awareness, Information and Support Officer of the Bernie Banton Foundation, will be presenting to the attendees, including Pakistani dignitaries and experts in the field of mesothelioma and on the dangers of asbestos, via Skype.
“I am very, very proud of what they are doing with their conference and with the global support of everyone – it will be a good success and a start in the right direction,” said Lou in an email to MesotheliomaHelp.
The International Commission on Occupational Health, the world’s leading international scientific society in the field of occupational health, along with many other global organizations, calls for a global ban on the mining, sale and use of all forms of asbestos and the elimination of asbestos-related diseases. To accomplish the elimination of asbestos-related diseases the Commission urges “each and every individual country to implement a total ban on production and use of asbestos.”
The World Health Organization supports this position and reports that “the only way to prevent mesothelioma is by eliminating exposure to asbestos.” WHO is calling for a ban of asbestos use throughout the world.
See the ADAO website for more information about taking action to ban asbestos to prevent millions of cancer deaths.
Sources:
- Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
http://www.cvent.com/events/2012-annual-asbestos-awareness-conference/archived-e6277e3d443b4c059bed43fc0937b530.aspx - ADAO website
http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/archives/19485 - International Commission on Occupational Health
http://www.icohweb.org/site/news-detail.asp?id=83 - two million residents in Karachi
https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/631672-two-million-karachiites-face-cancer-threat - Dadex
http://www.dadex.com/product_services/pipesystems_and_roofings/chrysotile_cement.shtml - International Ban Asbestos Secretariat
http://ibasecretariat.org/alpha_ban_list.php
Nurse Encourages Mesothelioma Screening for Family Members
Mesothelioma is difficult enough to deal with when your loved one has been diagnosed with the disease. But if that is not enough to deal with, there is one more thing to think about: could it be possible that you are also susceptible to developing mesothelioma? Many people know where they were exposed to asbestos, but others may be unaware that they were exposed at all. Some people were exposed to asbestos after their parents or grandparents inadvertently brought the asbestos fibers home on their clothes from their jobs where asbestos was present. It is possible to develop mesothelioma from this secondhand exposure.
Although it may only be one offspring that demonstrates mesothelioma symptoms and seeks medical attention, my advice would be that all other family members be tested for mesothelioma. I recently ran into a patient who was diagnosed with mesothelioma, after her sister was diagnosed. Unfortunately, it does not stop there; another sibling has subsequently been diagnosed with the asbestos cancer.
Researchers have done a lot of work in this area. They have found that some people have an inherited gene that makes the patient predisposed to developing mesothelioma once exposed to asbestos. Not everyone exposed to asbestos will develop the disease, but if someone in your family has it is imperative to get yourself tested. Now, it is possible to be diagnosed early and without any symptoms evident. If you are not feeling symptomatic and you are diagnosed with mesothelioma, it could be in the early stages where you have the most favorable outcome.
Although this can be very scary, it is in the best interest of you and your family to know. It is hard to wrap your head around this, that you too could be affected with mesothelioma, but it may save your life.
Diagnosis with mesothelioma is usually confirmed with a biopsy. Every cancer center does testing differently, but it usually starts with a biopsy where a tissue sample is collected and sent to the pathology lab. When someone develops fluid around the lung, and has to have it drained or tapped, a sample of the fluid can also be sent off for pathology.
Tissue and fluid samples are the most common means of diagnosing mesothelioma, but a blood test can also help doctors identify the disease. The presence of molecular indicators called “biomarkers” can aid not only with diagnosis, but also with predicting disease aggressiveness. A mesothelioma biomarker test looks for a certain blood protein that is released by mesothelioma cells.
The protein is called SMRP, or soluble mesothelin-related peptide. The meso-marker measures the amount of SMRP in a person’s blood. Abnormally high levels may indicate the presence of mesothelioma. (The sarcomatoid type of mesothelioma tumors does not release this protein.) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends physicians use this meso-marker assay in addition to traditional biopsies.
If you have questions about your mesothelioma treatment or any aspect of your mesothelioma care, feel free to contact us.
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