Mesothelioma treatments can be painful and arduous. An enormous amount of effort and thought are put into creating the appropriate protocols for each patient based on the location of the tumors in their body, how advanced their disease is, and their personal wishes. Traditionally, less attention has been paid to what happens when treatment is over. A group of researchers in the United Kingdom recently conducted a study to help guide best practices.
Mesothelioma Study Finds Patients Need Attention After Treatment is Over
Interviews with mesothelioma patients as well as the various caregivers and health professionals who’ve attended to them revealed a lack of information, input, and continuity. Because the asbestos-related disease is always considered terminal, patients who have completed treatment are expected to relapse. Additionally, they face the continued impact of the treatments’ side effects.
Because the survey revealed the significant need for monitoring by professional staff, the scientists created a guide to best practices specifically for mesothelioma patients’ follow-up care. The outlined steps, which include attending regular check-up appointments, ordering diagnostic scans, counseling, and rehabilitation, will provide medical and emotional support, as well as monitor for tumors as they return.
Study Points to Central Role Mesothelioma Nurses Play in UK Follow-up Care
The mesothelioma patient study was conducted by Zoe Davey and Catherine Henshall of Oxford Brookes University, and among other conclusions it reaches is the essential role that mesothelioma specialist nurses play in follow-up care in the United Kingdom. Writing in BMJ Open, they write, “Recommendations for mesothelioma follow-up care…highlighted the importance of continuity of care, the provision of timely information, and the central role played by mesothelioma specialist nurses, supported by the wider multidisciplinary team,” write
The two hope that improvements in follow-up and timely aftercare will prevent mesothelioma patients from “falling through the cracks” after treatment.
Though care models in the United Kingdom are different from what is offered in the United States, practitioners here can gain valuable insights from this type of study. If you need information on the resources available to you, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
