Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. The disease is always considered fatal. It moves swiftly, robbing patients of what they had thought would be their golden years. A study published in BMC Palliative Care provides insights into how nurses and other caretakers can help cancer patients manage the realities of their situation.
Mesothelioma Caretakers Can Benefit from Study Exploring How Terminal Cancer Patients Manage Their Feelings
The study was conducted by researchers in Japan, where the government encourages patients dying of terminal diseases like mesothelioma to take advantage of palliative care and home hospice. Noting the lack of symptom assessment scales used to assess these patients’ mental states, the researchers set out to “explore how patients who have not clearly expressed a depressed mood or intense grief manage their feelings associated with anxiety and depression.”
Though mesothelioma patients and others with cancer face a grim future, they can benefit from special interventions on the part of palliative care teams, and even from other caretakers, including family members. The study’s authors set out to provide guidelines for providing appropriate nursing assistance in helping patients manage their emotions as their physical symptoms increase, their disease advances, and they experience more and more problems.
Need for Acceptance is Critical
The researchers found that patients were frustrated and angry about having developed their cancer, and this emotion is extremely common in mesothelioma patients, who are generally sickened as a result of an asbestos company’s negligence. Beyond this anger, the study identified five common themes among patients with terminal cancer: “I have to accept that I have developed cancer,” “I have to accept the undeniable approach of my own death,” “I have to accept my need for assistance,” “I have to accept this unsatisfactory circumstance” and “I have to accept this as my destiny and an outcome of my life.”
Caretakers and loved ones of mesothelioma patients can benefit from the researchers’ conclusions: They indicate that understanding and approving these expressions can help terminal patients manage their anxiety and depression.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, it can be difficult to accept the eventual outcome of the disease. For resources and support, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608
