Grief and mourning are normal aspects of a mesothelioma diagnosis and treatment. Counseling and mental health professionals can help people who are mourning, carefully guiding them through the bereavement process. Mesothelioma – A Difficult Cancer and a Reason to Grieve Mesothelioma strikes approximately 3,000 people in the United States every year. This rare cancer is
Photodynamic therapy for mesothelioma treatment is a new approach to targeting this difficult cancer. It uses light-activated drugs for more targeted treatment that protects healthy cells. Photodynamic therapy is of limited use for widespread cancer but may be useful as a supplemental treatment for mesothelioma. What Is Photodynamic Therapy? Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a type
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common type of mesothelioma cancer and is almost always caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers.[footnote num="1"] The malignancy begins in the pleural tissue that surrounds the lungs. This cancer is aggressive, spreads readily, and causes symptoms like shortness of breath, coughing, and chest pains.
Asbestos exposure is the biggest contributor to the development of mesothelioma.[footnote num="1"] Most people with a diagnosis experienced asbestos exposure on the job, where they inhaled the small, damaging fibers without knowing the risks. Other potential mesothelioma causes or risk factors include genetics and family history and exposure to talcum powder contaminated with asbestos.
Life expectancy is an estimate of how long a patient will survive after a diagnosis, and it depends on the stage of the disease. The overall survival time for all stages is 15 months. It is longer for the early stages and shorter for the late-stage diagnoses.[footnote num="1"]
A mesothelioma lawyer is a legal professional you need on your side if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Your illness probably resulted from negligent, workplace asbestos exposure, and someone should be held accountable.[footnote num="1"] The right attorney has the knowledge and experience to help you make the best choices as you take legal action.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with no cure and a poor prognosis.[footnote num="1"] Some patients live longer than others, but the median survival time for all types of mesothelioma is just 15 months.[footnote num="2"] Doctors provide a prognosis, the overall survival outlook, for each patient after diagnosis, which is important for informing treatment and also helping patients understand what to expect.
Innovative stem cell research is being conducted by mesothelioma specialists at the Pacific Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. There are hopes that the novel approach may be able to provide new hope for those suffering from this most-serious of asbestos-related diseases, as well as for other forms of cancer including lung cancer and cancers of
A new report published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine indicated that mesothelioma is a risk no matter how high or low the level of asbestos exposure occurs. The information was culled from data gathered as part of the Netherlands Cohort Study, a study that has been conducted since 1986 that involves over
Those mesothelioma patients that have already undergone a chemotherapeutic course course of pemetrexed may gain benefits from undergoing a second course with a different medication known as vinorelbine. Though Pemetrexed and a platinum-based medication called cisplatin are the most traditional first-line course of chemotherapy treatment used in mesothelioma patients, physicians have found that the use