Category: Family

Lung Cancer Awareness Month Helps Raise Funds for Mesothelioma Research

• Nancy Meredith
• For Your Family

The National Lung Cancer Partnership, with a mission to decrease deaths due to lung cancer and to help patients live longer and better through research, awareness and advocacy,” has once again declared November “Lung Cancer Awareness Month.” Since 2005 the organization has funded over $2 million in research for lung cancer projects, and with a fundraising push in November they hope to fund even more projects. Scientists searching for a cure for pleural mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer that is almost always caused by asbestos exposure, are beneficiaries of some of these research dollars.

Although ongoing research is being conducted to find new treatments and therapies for mesothelioma, keeping mesothelioma researchers funded is critical to the 3,000 Americans diagnosed with the disease each year. Mesothelioma is a rare pulmonary cancer that is highly aggressive and is resistant to many of the current cancer treatments. While there is no known cure for mesothelioma, new research and an increased knowledge among medical professionals has increased the survival time and improved the quality of life for many patients.

Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the United States. Research requires significant amounts of time and money, and without appropriate funding, it can be challenging to start and complete research projects.

Raising awareness of the various causes of lung cancer, with occupational hazards such as asbestos exposure being one risk, is the primary reason for setting aside a full month dedicated to education and fundraising opportunities specifically for lung cancer. According to Regina Vidaver, Ph.D., executive director of the National Lung Cancer Partnership, “If we’re going to catch it early, treat it and give people the best chance for survival, they need to know about lung cancer and its symptoms, take measures to reduce their risk and talk with their doctor about their health history.”

Early detection of mesothelioma can positively influence a patient’s survival by increasing treatment options and improving their quality of life while battling the cancer. Once the disease has reached an advanced stage average survival is often less than one year.

The Lung Cancer Partnership offers the “Free to Breathe” series of fitness events throughout the country as a way for individuals, families, and companies to show their support.

For a list of upcoming events see Free to Breathe.

Quotes for Mesothelioma Patients to Offer Hope and Inspiration

• Nancy Meredith
• For Your Family

Mesothelioma is a serious cancer, most commonly found in the outer lining of the lungs called the mesothelium, that occurs in individuals exposed to airborne asbestos fibers. Mesothelioma is highly aggressive and is resistant to many standard cancer treatments making it a difficult disease to treat effectively.  The prognosis for mesothelioma patients is usually grim: the average survival time varies from 4 – 18 months after diagnosis.

While many factors determine survival for a patient, such as treatment plan, age, overall health and fitness of the patient and the extent of the disease, physicians also believe that a positive outlook and affirming thoughts can result in the improvement in a patient’s health.

If someone you know is battling mesothelioma, offering them some words of encouragement and inspirational quotes from others who have faced cancer can raise the patient’s mood, lower the anxiety level and help them feel better emotionally.

One of the most popular poems often carried by patients to chemotherapy treatments to give them strength is entitled “What Cancer Cannot Do.”

What Cancer Cannot Do (Author unknown)

Cancer is so limited…
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot destroy peace.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot suppress memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot steal eternal life.
It cannot conquer the spirit.

Other popular quotes, such as those offered below, can provide inspiration when mesothelioma treatments seem endless.

Anything is possible. You can be told that you have a 90-percent chance or a 50-percent chance or a 1-percent chance, but you have to believe, and you have to fight. ~ Lance Armstrong

The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.   ~ James Allen (British author and poet)

Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. ~ Christopher Reeve

Never, never, never give up.  ~ Winston Churchill