Category: Nurse’s Corner
Put Your Trust in Your Mesothelioma Medical Team
One of the things we believe is so important when we talk to mesothelioma patients is the importance of putting your trust in your mesothelioma team. Trust that they have your best interests at heart, and that they will do everything possible to ensure that your wishes are respected.
Both the mesothelioma patient and his or her family must be comfortable with the team and communicate with them what their needs are. When things go well this also seems to work well. Unfortunately, mesothelioma is a complicated disease and it does not follow any rules for anyone involved, including the patient, family or the health care team members.
When we meet patients they are usually in the throes of treatment, whether it be surgery, chemotherapy or a clinical trial. When talking with patients and families they often ask countless questions like: Is this normal? Have you seen this before? What do you think is next? Do people recover from this? Will I ever get out of here?
Being treated for mesothelioma requires trust as well as the ability to assess all the information you have, and to keep it in perspective during this stressful time. Recently, a family member of a patient in the ICU, commented to me how helpful it had been to know what to expect while her family member was critically ill. By phoning before she came to visit, she felt better prepared so when she saw her loved one it wasn’t such a shock. Before seeing her loved one in the ICU she heard terms such as intubated, pressure support, diuretics, weaning, but now she saw all this first hand.
How much information about potential problems is enough? What is the balance between possible complications that happen rarely- but do happen- and the course of your individual mesothelioma journey? As the woman visiting her loved one in the ICU continued to talk to me, I was struck, once again, with how important trust and open communication is for the mesothelioma patient and family.
The importance of receiving the information, but putting it in the right context, is critical. For example, sometimes patients get re-admitted after surgery for a variety of reasons, such as fluid balance, nutritional status, infections, or pneumonia. Often it is just for a few days, but some patients require a skilled nursing facility for a period of time to recover their strength. This is often a difficult time for patients and families as it was not in the original plan.
Ask questions, learn as much as you need to for yourself and your loved one, all the while develop a trusting relationship with your team. The journey is a “long and winding road” with the goal for everyone involved being quality time for mesothelioma patients with their loved ones.
If you have questions about your mesothelioma treatment or any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Mesothelioma Nurse Honors American Veterans
November 11 is the day that Americans set aside for honoring our veterans. Today, less than one percent of the people in the United States serve in the military. Mesothelioma makes up less than one percent of all cancers, yet, approximately 33% of all U.S. mesothelioma victims are veterans. Using the often cited number of between 2,500 and 3,000 newly diagnosed mesothelioma cases per year, it would follow that between 750 and 1,000 of those patients are veterans who served our country.
Veterans, like mesothelioma victims, come from all socio-economic backgrounds, faiths, and walks of life. Over the years, it has always been an honor for me to care for our veterans and families that develop mesothelioma. After sacrificing for our country, decades before, they are then afflicted with mesothelioma.
In recent years, improvements have been made in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs system for caring for mesothelioma veterans whose diagnosis is service related. Claims are now fast-tracked, and the VA acknowledges that the condition is service-connected. Reach out and educate a veteran who is also diagnosed with mesothelioma about the possibility of benefits.
Don’t let today go by without remembering a veteran. This year, more so than in years past, there seems to be more public attention to honoring our veterans. Whether it is displaying a green light, or giving veterans free oil changes, it is a day to honor, and thank those few among us who continue to keep us safe by serving our country.
We would like to thank all our veterans, those currently serving in our military, and those attending our service academies. To choose to serve our country, when so many other avenues are open for young adults, is a source of inspiration for all of us.
If you have questions about your mesothelioma treatment or any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
Mesothelioma Nurses are Vigilant of Patients and Their Families
When people are diagnosed with cancer, and specifically, mesothelioma, many emotions come to the surface. Initially, a mesothelioma patient might have many decisions to make regarding treatment, chemotherapy, surgery, and/or radiation. Where to start and continue treatment can be a source of stress for some patients and families. While trying to maintain the best physical health, sometimes the patient’s and the family’s mental health can take a back seat.
There are more than three million cases per year of depression in the U.S. It is estimated that 25 percent of cancer victims will suffer from depression. One definition of depression is the persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in things that you once enjoyed. Some of the signs and symptoms to help recognize depression include: sadness, fatigue, abandoning or losing interest in hobbies or other pleasurable pastimes. Other signs include social withdrawal and isolation, weight loss or loss of appetite, sleep disturbances, loss of self-worth, increased use of alcohol or other drugs, fixation on death through suicidal thoughts or attempts.
Recently, we took care of a mesothelioma patient whose course was not smooth. He had a prolonged hospitalization, but he was eventually discharged after one month in the hospital. Accompanying him was his wife, who suffered from depression before her husband’s diagnosis.
With all the planning and travel necessary to get to our mesothelioma center, she focused on her husband and his needs, but she only brought a limited supply of her anti-depressants. As this stressful time went on, it was apparent that she was alone, frightened, and without her medication.
Her behavior became cause for concern for all of us. She was isolating herself in her hotel room, was often angry at the staff for her husband’s lack of progress, stayed in bed, and visited erratically. It was apparent that she needed help. With her cooperation and consent, her doctor was notified and arrangements were made to get her medication. Her husband was eventually discharged, and she was again able to be a loving, supportive presence to him.
Mesothelioma patients come with families, and they are a very important part of the team. In order to successfully treat the patient, a functional, supportive family is critical. We are all working towards the same goal, and sometimes we may need a little help along the way.
If you have questions about your mesothelioma treatment or any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
Competitiveness Can Benefit Mesothelioma Patients
What motivates someone to push himself through his recovery? I think we all have a competitive edge to us for something. It could be to be the best salesman, homemaker, parent, or to be the best at our job, in our home or any other area we want to improve. For some, competition is all encompassing, for others it is a healthy motivator.
I took care of a patient the other day who was observing another patient’s recovery. He said, “Oh, he looks better than I do when he’s walking.” I explained the other patient had a different set of circumstances, and that no two mesothelioma patients are alike. He nodded in agreement. Knowing what a competitive person he was, I knew he was noting this and thinking how he was going to improve. His verbalizing that the other patient looked better walking was actually motivating him to push himself.
Reflecting on this, it reminded me of how fortunate we are in the U.S. to have dedicated mesothelioma centers. Now, as there is more collaboration between the researchers, and various centers than in the past we can ask, “What motivates these researchers?”
I think it is more about them wanting to do their best. Without competition, what would motivate these researchers and future researchers to dedicate their lives to a disease that many others have thrown their hands up at? These scientists, doctors, nurses and others would not keep working to improve the outcome for mesothelioma patients, if they were satisfied with the status quo. They would be satisfied like many other medical professionals before them, saying there is nothing we can do.
As for my patient, the next time he walks, he may walk farther just because he saw somebody else do the same. When the competitor in us helps us achieve more, we should embrace it. Sometimes we need to motivate ourselves by pushing ourselves so we can grow and get more information, research, ideas, or maybe just walk a few more steps in after surgery.
Take a few more deep breaths, and count our blessings that we are able to do it.
Nurse Sees Diversions As A Good Way to Cope With Mesothelioma
When I decide to write a blog it is usually based on an interaction that I have had, or something I’ve seen that I thought was different, or just something that will help others on their journey with mesothelioma.
I recently took care of someone who was in recovery after surgery for his mesothelioma. Despite the size of his tumor and length of his surgery, he was doing remarkably well. He had a supportive family who were in and out throughout the shift I spent with him. But the one thing I think that surprised me, was that he was involved with starting up a business. This business had been a thought, a dream, before he got sick – but now it was becoming a reality. He and his wife had decided to stick with the plan and go for it.
As I cared for him, it was clear that his health was his and his wife’s priority, but this business gave them something else to think about. It provided a healthy diversion during which he was not the patient and she was not the caregiver. It is important to focus on your health, but it is also good to have a diversion.
Diversions or hobbies can help you pass the time during recovery, and keep you from worrying about every single pain, and decision that is being made. Not everyone is going to start a business, but having seen firsthand the important role it was playing in this patient’s successful recovery, I started thinking about other things that could help other patients.
Everyone’s lives are different and the options are just as different. Maybe a wedding is coming up in the family, a new baby, or just the desire to learn something new – like social media. You could tell the story of your journey, your life before mesothelioma. People are very interested in hearing how people are dealing with their illness and recovery. No one better than you can tell what is like. If you are not into that, possibly you can find a class that interests you. Something low key, like knitting, or an online class about something you have always been interested in, maybe even take the time to learn a foreign language.
Diversions are not about passing the time. An unknown author once said, “Recreation’s purpose is not to kill time, but to make time live; not to keep people occupied, but to keep them refreshed; not to offer an escape from life, but to provide a discovery of life.” Everyone’s journey is unique – as are their coping skills.
Mesothelioma might offer you the chance to do something you have always dreamed of doing.
Free Mesothelioma Patient & Treatment Guide
We’d like to offer you our in-depth guide, “A Patient’s Guide to Mesothelioma,” absolutely free of charge.
It contains a wealth of information and resources to help you better understand the condition, choose (and afford) appropriate treatment, and exercise your legal right to compensation.
Download Now