Category: Nurse’s Corner
Cultivating the Next Generation of Mesothelioma Researchers
The study of mesothelioma is led by passionate scientists, doctors, researchers and advocates who have dedicated their lives to making progress leading to a cure. Once a year, at the annual Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation conference, they get re-charged by meeting the victims and their families and by putting faces to the patients and families struggling with mesothelioma.
How does the next generation of researchers find out about mesothelioma and become impassioned to study towards a cure? There are several initiatives that are aimed at college students to gain the opportunity to learn and study about mesothelioma.
One is through the Jan Egerton and Don Smitley Mesothelioma Scholarship open to all U.S. college students, sponsored by MesotheliomaHelp. The scholarship is designed to spread awareness of mesothelioma, by having college students research and write about mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos. Increasing awareness of the facts regarding mesothelioma, also increases the number of young people who become knowledgeable about the history of the disease. Spreading the word to a younger generation, and encouraging them to get involved with the mesothelioma community, expands the community in a very positive direction.
Another initiative is a fellowship by the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators Union, named for their General President, The “James A. “Jim” Grogan Endowed Fund for Excellence” at Notre Dame University. Three students from Notre Dame, will be funded as a student intern in asbestos-related medical research, focusing on early detection, effective treatment and cure of asbestos diseases including mesothelioma and lung cancer. The start of their fellowship is attendance at the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma. Hearing patients’ journeys firsthand gives the students a very personal perspective before they head to the lab.
As a new generation is learning and researching towards a cure – and the current researchers continue to make groundbreaking discoveries – we hope and pray, that together they will be successful in their research!
Know more about Mesothelioma and how you can deal with it.
Nurse Suggests Ways Mesothelioma Patients Can Manage Insomnia
Before starting chemotherapy for cancer patients, nurses take the time to explain all the possible side effects to the patients. However, what the patients hear and their own expectations of how they are going to handle the treatments, are sometimes at odds. Chemotherapy for mesothelioma patients involves some side effects, like neuropathy, that not all patients experience, but a significant number do.
While talking with a patient who had recently started chemotherapy for breast cancer, I discovered that she had some interesting points that I had not really considered about cancer treatments in general. Her major complaint was that the side effects of the chemotherapy – losing her hair, nausea, exhaustion – had all been explained, and she thought she knew what to expect. What she didn’t anticipate was her inability to plan and get things done, and that was really bothering her. She had planned to keep working through the chemotherapy, but she was disappointed that she needed to take more time off than she originally thought. She was experiencing insomnia, a problem that she had never had before.
Difficulty with insomnia, the inability to fall and stay asleep, is reported in 30% to 50% of all cancer patients, according to one study. Other studies say the rate might be as high as 75% of all cancer patients. The circadian rhythms are disturbed during cancer treatments. This is the internal biological clock located in the brain that helps regulate our body’s normal rhythms, including temperature, and hormone levels to maintain the natural sleep- wake cycle, during the 24 hour day. There is also some research that shows that circadian rhythm disruptions may even contribute to cancer itself.
What can help with insomnia?
- Relaxation exercises before bed, such as breathing, guided imagery, meditation, and relaxing your mind and body.
- Lifestyle changes like watching what and when you eat and drink might help. Limiting caffeine intake after a certain hour.
- Exercising and being more active also may help.
Are you anxious or depressed? These emotions are real and important to recognize. Cancer has upset your world and your family’s. Are you sleeping and napping in the day because you are tired or because you are depressed? Let your care team know about this problem. There are medications that might help. Don’t let this go- you need your strength to fight cancer and to give the chemotherapy a chance to work. There is treatment for insomnia- reach out.
If you have questions about any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Mesothelioma Nurse Encourages Others to Reach Out After a Tragedy
Isolation is a problem in the society we live in – we are all busy and we lose touch with each other. Being buried in our day to day lives is overwhelming, and at times, too much. Loss and grief can overtake us.
Last month a tragedy occurred at Brigham and Women’s Hospital when a man killed a young, brilliant, father and surgeon. How can something like this happen?
By all reports the shooter’s family was just as shocked as everyone else – something that was totally out of character for him. Grief seemed to have played a part in this senseless tragedy. Dr Michael Davidson had operated on the shooter’s mother in the late fall. She was being transferred to a rehab facility when she became ill and was admitted to another hospital where she then died.
What drove the man to blame the doctor who had tried to help his mother to kill him and then himself? We will never know what happened in his mind to lead to the events of that cold January morning, but the effects of this act have shattered a young family and left a toll on all that knew the 44-year-old doctor.
When diagnosed with mesothelioma, you and your family have to confront what none of us want to- the fact that we are all mortal. The people who have dedicated their professional lives to finding a cure, advancing treatment and studying are here to help. Although treatment does not always go the way we want, it is not someone’s fault when it fails.
Look around at your family and friends. Reach out to someone who you think might be having a hard time. Sometimes people just need someone to listen to them.
A young family is now without their beloved husband, father. His children will grow up without him. A senseless and tragic loss.
Could Your Fatigue Be An Early Warning Sign of Mesothelioma?
One of the first things that Mrs. T noticed was that she was tired. She was not used to being tired, she had a busy life, family, work. At first she thought she was just over doing it- burning the candle at both ends- working too hard. After all, she was getting older. Mrs. T is a 65 year old wife and mother of three grown children. She had always had a lot of energy so when she started to feel tired she didn’t pay much attention to it.
Being tired can be a sign of a hectic a lifestyle, or it can be a sign of a serious health problem. One of the common signs of mesothelioma is fatigue. It is difficult when you are feeling “just tired” to pay a lot of attention to it. Experts suggest that if you are tired all the time that you make some lifestyle changes and then monitor how you feel. Eat more wholesome foods, drink more fluids, get more sleep, cut back on caffeine and alcohol, and give it two to three weeks. After this time, if you are still feeling inexplicably tired, consult your doctor. Sometimes subtle things like being tired are warning signs.
Mrs. T also started having shortness of breath and didn’t feel right. She went to her primary care physician, and after testing to rule out common causes, she was diagnosed with early stage mesothelioma. In retrospect, Mrs. T remembers just “feeling tired all the time.” Luckily for Mrs. T, she did not ignore how she felt and went to her doctor who ran the appropriate tests.
Diagnosing mesothelioma can be a clinical challenge as the symptoms can be vague and often follows the diagnosis of pneumonia or a recurrent issue. The most common symptoms of mesothelioma can be chest pain, painful cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, and weight loss. All of these symptoms are much more common in other conditions. Diagnosis can be a challenge.
If you have been feeling tired for an extended period of time don’t ignore it. Pay attention and visit a medical professional – it could help to save your life.
If you have any questions about any aspect of your mesothelioma care, please email me at [email protected].
Register for a Conference This Spring for Mesothelioma Support
Mesothelioma patients and their families often need support. Sometimes it is found in the small community of other mesothelioma patients, other times leaning on your own family and friends is all that is needed.
But this spring, mesothelioma patients and their families have two opportunities to learn, draw support, and empower each other at conferences from two of the leading organizations and brings breakthroughs and hope to the mesothelioma community. Both of these conferences are excellent ways to meet other people on the journey of mesothelioma, to increase your knowledge of the disease, and to listen to experts in the field.
2015 International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma
March 2-4 • Bethesda, MD
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and The National Cancer Institute
For more information and to register, visit curemeso.org.
11th Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
April 17-19 • Washington, DC
“More than 30 renowned experts and asbestos victims from ten countries will present the latest advancements in disease prevention, global advocacy, and treatment for mesothelioma and other asbestos-caused diseases. Patients and families will also look back at our accomplishments over the past eleven years and ban together in hope for a future free from asbestos disease.”
For more information and to register, visit asbestosdiseaseawareness.org.
Wherever you might be in your journey with mesothelioma, it helps to have support and to know you are not alone. These learning opportunities offer all of us a chance to empower ourselves with the latest knowledge and to maybe think of our journey in a different way.
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.
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