Category: For Your Family
Mesothelioma Patients Take the Time to Enjoy the Simple Pleasures of the Holiday
Today, many people across the country are celebrating the holiday season with family and friends. Mesothelioma patients and their families are more than likely taking a little extra time to appreciate the simple pleasures of the day. Whether it is enjoying the lights of the season, a light snow falling, a fire in the fireplace or the bite of a delicious cookie, taking the time to “smell the roses” can ease some of the stress of the season.
Although, when undergoing treatment for mesothelioma, the appointments don’t stop during the holiday season, patients that take the time to forget about their disease for just a day will feel a little more relaxed when they return to their treatment routine.
If you have a friend or a loved one suffering from a serious illness, consider taking the time to send a hand-written card, deliver a homemade treat or simply stop by for a short visit to let them know you are thinking of them.
While many factors determine survival for a mesothelioma patient, such as treatment plan and overall health and fitness of the patient, physicians also believe that a positive outlook and affirming thoughts can result in the improvement in a patient’s health. Mesothelioma patients should use the holiday cheer to help raise their mood and lower their anxiety level.
Happy Holidays.
Mesothelioma Patients Get Holiday Safe-Eating Tips from the American Cancer Society
During this winter holiday season, friends and family members host potluck meals and buffet events, and take homemade meals, cakes and cookies to loved ones who may be too sick to get out. Although many of us look forward to all the delicious food, for mesothelioma patients, eating too many fatty and greasy foods can lead to gastric distress. But, if you are undergoing cancer treatments you don’t have to be left out of the holiday festivities.
To help cancer patients make appropriate decisions during the holidays, the American Cancer Society offers the following holiday eating tips for patients undergoing cancer treatments.
- Keep an eye on foods as they arrive and identify items you think you might be able to tolerate.
- Choose from the inside of the table at a buffet, where little hands, and their germs, are less likely to reach.
- Eat before you leave the house; try a snack with some fiber and protein just in case there aren’t many options for you.
- Start slow and take small portions so you don’t get that “overfull” feeling.
- Look at a potluck as an opportunity to try new tastes and dishes, take advantage of the occasion to identify new flavors that might taste good to you.
Additional tips offered help cancer patients avoid getting sick from the overabundance of food smells or from a food-borne illness.
- If the sight or smell of food is enough to turn your stomach, grab a ginger ale or tea and move out of the area where food is being cooked or served.
- Try chewing a mint gum or drinking a hot beverage to mask the scent of food.
- Steer clear of undercooked foods like homemade eggnog, sushi, or even mayonnaise or desserts made with raw eggs.
- Identify foods, such as cheese and crackers, salsa and chips, snack mix, or mixed nuts, that are able to sit out a little longer.
- Consider bringing foods you know you can eat.
- You can also bring extra serving utensils so people won’t feel tempted to use their hands.
While the holidays can be an enjoyable time of the year, mesothelioma patients and their family may experience additional anxiety and stress during this time. Hopefully, by following some of the tips offered above, anxiety associated with what to eat can be minimized.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lungs, chest or abdomen that is highly aggressive and is resistant to many cancer treatments. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Nearly 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year.
Penn Medicine Receives Grant to Educate Communities About Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos-Related Diseases
The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine announced it has received a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop an educational program “to help empower residents to shape the future of their communities, and explain the potential consequences associated with asbestos exposure.” Residents of West and South Ambler, Pennsylvania are at an increased risk of developing mesothelioma from an asbestos factory that operated in the area for over 100 years.
According to CBS Philly, Dr. Fran Barg says Ambler has been profoundly affected by mesothelioma. Barg is associate professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, and principal investigator for the project.
“I think scientists need to understand the human side of what it’s like to live in a community like this,” said Barg. “City planners want to understand what community members want and epidemiologists want to understand what community residents are still worried about.”
The only established cause of mesothelioma is past exposure to asbestos. The fibers are inhaled or ingested and become lodged in the thin membrane that lines and encases the lungs, heart or abdomen. Mesothelioma has an extended latency, or incubation, period and most cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed 10 years or more after exposure, sometimes taking as long as 60 years for the disease to develop.
The program developed by Penn Medicine, according to the press release, will include:
- Documenting the history of lower-income African-American and Italian immigrant asbestos workers, their families, and their neighbors in West and South Ambler through recorded interviews.
- Developing an accessible repository of documents, photographs, life stories, news accounts, and scientific data about the communities that can be used as resource material for students, researchers, and community activists.
- Working to inform citizens, scientists and policy-makers on long-term health effects and other potential consequences from living and working near aging, hazardous industrial sites.
The project will also serve as a “case study for other communities that face similar challenges.” The investigators anticipate the information developed will be relevant to community members, policy-makers, health care and public health professionals, business executives, management and workers, university students, school children, and other communities affected by pollution and toxic waste sites.
Penn Medicine is the home of Penn’s Mesothelioma and Pleural Program which, according to Penn Medicine’s website, “brings together internationally renowned experts in medical, surgical and radiation oncology and pulmonology” to collaborate on each case. This multidisciplinary approach, according to Penn Medicine, “provides better outcomes and gives patients access to the most advanced treatment, surgical techniques and clinical trials.”
Sources:
- University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2012/11/grant/ - Penn’s Mesothelioma and Pleural Program
http://www.penncancer.org/patients/cancer-types/mesothelioma/ - CBS Philly,
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/11/23/penn-medicine-receives-grant-for-asbestos-study-in-ambler/
Still Time to Make a Donation for Mesothelioma Research Through the American Cancer Society’s Rappelling Fundraiser
New York mesothelioma attorney Jessica Russell of Belluck & Fox, LLP took the plunge in September in the first-ever “Over the Edge” rappel for cancer event in Jersey City, New Jersey, to raise funds for mesothelioma research. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the event, where participants rappelled nearly 500 feet down the side of a 34-story high-rise, raised over $271,000 for cancer research. The American Cancer Society has announced that this year’s event website is still active, and it is not too late to donate to the cause.
Although Russell, an attorney at Belluck & Fox, LLP who focuses on the firm’s asbestos and mesothelioma cases, was first alerted about the event as a joke from her husband who knew she was “dreadfully” afraid of heights, she took on the challenge after she thought of all of her clients “whose lives were cut short due to a disease that was completely avoidable.”
Pleural mesothelioma, a pulmonary cancer caused by past exposure to asbestos, is aggressive and requires equally aggressive treatments to combat the disease. Nearly 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year. Currently, there is no known cure for mesothelioma, but researchers continue to conduct studies and clinical trials to find a new, effective treatment.
Buoyed by this year’s success, the American Cancer Society is reaching out to this year’s rappellers to repeat their daredevil stunt next year. Using the teaser, “if you have friends who are jealous of you and want to participate next year (or if you want to do it again!), please encourage them to sign up,” the organizers hope to surpass this year’s fundraising efforts.
Once may have been enough for Russell. “While I do not see myself signing up to jump off of any more buildings any time soon, I did appreciate that this event was unique in that it was more of a personal challenge, which drove me to appreciate what we were all working toward,” said Russell.
See the initial article on Russell’s adventure.
Mesothelioma Advocates Invited to Attend the Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Products
DIA and the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) have announced the program for the US Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Products to be held Oct. 22-24 at the Capitol Hilton, Washington, D.C. With the motto, “Shaping the Future Now,” organizers invite all stakeholders – patients, patient organizations, researchers, drug and device companies, investors, thought leaders and government – to come together for three days to focus on rare diseases and orphan product research, development and access. In the United States, there are close to 7,000 rare or orphan diseases, including mesothelioma, thyroid cancer and cerebral palsy, affecting close to 30 million Americans.
The conference, organized in collaboration with FDA, NIH, EURORDIS, and the Duke Department of Pediatrics, will discuss the challenges facing orphan product development and access. In a press release announcing the program, Peter L. Saltonstall, President and CEO of NORD said, “This vital meeting will provide important information for everyone living with a rare disease or working in orphan product development.”
The conference will offer sessions focusing on three primary themes: research and regulation; risk tolerance for the rare disease patient; and special challenges in rare diseases. Topics include the current and emerging drug development environment, reenactment of the Prescription Drug and Medical Device User Fee Act, and an update on NIH’s new National Center Advancing Translational Science.
NORD is a non-profit organization that receives no government funding and relies entirely on private donations. The organization offers vital services to the public through providing information about rare diseases, referrals to patient organizations, research grants and fellowships, advocacy for the rare-disease community, and Medication Assistance Programs that help needy patients obtain certain drugs they could not otherwise afford.
In the United States, an orphan disease status is assigned to a disease or disorder if it affects fewer than 200,000 Americans at any given time. Mesothelioma is diagnosed in close to 3,000 Americans each year, with just as many dying from the disease.
Mesothelioma representatives interested in attending the conference can register on DIA’s website.
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