Mesothelioma gets its name from being a cancer of the cells that line many of the body’s internal organs. This protective lining is called the mesothelium. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the pleura, the outer lining of the lungs that also covers the inner side of the chest wall and rib cage. Inhaling asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma so it is understandable that the lining of the lungs would be the most likely place to be damaged from asbestos exposure. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for doctors to treat pleural mesothelioma. Researchers are looking for ways to improve … [Read more...]
Clinical Trials
Low Participation in Clinical Trials May Threaten Progress on New Mesothelioma Treatments
Discovery of new and better malignant mesothelioma treatments that could lessen the impact of the disease and even increase life expectancy is the hope of all mesothelioma patients and their families. At present the options for malignant mesothelioma treatments are limited. Medical research to improve and expand malignant mesothelioma treatment remains crucial. So it was startling to read in an Associated Press article that there’s a crisis in cancer research because researchers can’t get enough people to test new treatments. One of every 10 clinical trials for adults with cancer ends … [Read more...]
National Cancer Institute Now Recruiting For Mesothelioma Clinical Trial
For mesothelioma patients and their families, the possibility of the discovery of new mesothelioma treatments remains a ray of hope. But it can also be a frustrating wait. That's where a mesothelioma clinical trial comes in. In the popular current movie Dallas Buyers Club, a Texas rodeo rider who receives a diagnosis of HIV becomes frustrated with the limited treatments available to him. Instead of waiting for new drugs to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), he drives down to Mexico to seek out experimental unapproved treatments and brings back large quantities to sell to … [Read more...]
Mesothelioma Diagnosis – The National Cancer Institute Needs Your Tissue Samples Now
When you’ve received a mesothelioma diagnosis, it is hard to come to terms with what is happening. Getting that mesothelioma diagnosis challenges you to try to find some meaning in all of it. There are many ways to do that. But one clear way is to put that mesothelioma diagnosis to work by helping to advance scientific knowledge of the disease. Because it is only through accurate unbiased scientific knowledge that mesothelioma can be prevented, treated and maybe even someday cured. To study mesothelioma and get meaningful results requires studying someone with a mesothelioma diagnosis. And … [Read more...]
Mesothelioma Clinical Trial – Do Your Genes Put You at Risk?
As a mesothelioma patient, you know all too well the frustration that persists over the helplessness and many unknown factors that surround the disease. But what if as a mesothelioma patient you could join other mesothelioma patients all across the United States in accomplishing something significant in the fight against mesothelioma? What if you could contribute to scientific knowledge through a mesothelioma clinical trial that could help prevent someone else from becoming a mesothelioma patient in the future? Well, now you can. And if the names Sloan Kettering, Mayo Clinic and Johns … [Read more...]
What is a Clinical Trial and Why Do They Matter to Mesothelioma Patients?
New mesothelioma treatments offer hope to mesothelioma patients and their families. But how do these new treatments emerge? How do they come into medically accepted use so that your doctors know to provide them for you? One of the most important steps a treatment must go through on the way from transforming from an isolated laboratory experiment to an accepted treatment prescribed for mesothelioma is a clinical trial. A clinical trial is just that – a trial. But instead of being found innocent or guilty, a treatment undergoes a clinical trial so it can be proven to be effective or … [Read more...]