If asked, everyone would say they want to help mesothelioma patients. We all want to think of ourselves as a good person. But when it comes down to really doing something to help mesothelioma patients, many people may shy away. Mesothelioma is a malignant cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Many people may be unsure of how to offer comfort and support for those coping with this illness. Lung cancer patient Lori Hope understood this. Following her own treatment for cancer, she developed a survey for cancer patients addressing issues they wanted their families, friends, and caregivers to … [Read more...]
mesothelioma patients
20 Things Mesothelioma Patients Want You to Know
You may think that there isn’t much anyone can do to help mesothelioma patients. You may need to think again. There actually are many things you can do to help mesothelioma patients. They may seem like little things but they matter. Because people often feel overwhelmed by the idea of terminal illness and do not know what to say, they may stay away from someone suffering from mesothelioma. This isolation can just compound the suffering. People basically want to be kind and supportive to mesothelioma patients. They just don’t know how. Lung cancer patient Lori Hope – she began using her … [Read more...]
Sun Safety Tips for Mesothelioma Patients
For mesothelioma patients, warmer weather and sunshine can bring much cherished time outdoors. Whether a picnic or barbecue with family and friends or just a chance to sit in a garden or park, it is a time to enjoy the contentment of being surrounded by nature. But mesothelioma patients need to take extra precautions when soaking up the sun and have to be extra vigilant about monitoring their sun exposure. For anyone undergoing cancer treatment, not just mesothelioma patients, too much sun may be unsafe. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, intense sun exposure may further … [Read more...]
6 Ways for Mesothelioma Patient to Manage Your Hospital Stay
Any time spent in the hospital when you are a mesothelioma patient is too much. Time is precious and you want to spend as much of it as possible enjoying it however you choose. Being in the hospital is probably not up there on your list. But here, recommended by Consumer Reports, are some things you can do to try to make sure you’re not in the hospital longer than you need to be. And remember, speak up. As a mesothelioma patient you are entitled to make every day count! (For more tips, see 7 Steps to Take Before Your Mesothelioma Surgery) Find out who's in charge. Your admitting doctor … [Read more...]
15 Upbeat Comedy Films for Mesothelioma Patients and Others to Enjoy
For mesothelioma patients and their families, laughter sometimes can really be the best medicine. Laughter won’t cure mesothelioma. But it can elevate the spirit. And that in itself is a gift. Comedy can give us a shortcut to laughter. Movies always provide us with an escape hatch from our daily lives and well-made comedies give us the bonus of laughter. But something not so funny has happened to comedy films in recent years. Some of them unexpectedly veer into not-so-funny things. Dark humor, it’s called. But it’s not everyone’s idea of a good time. For people like mesothelioma patients who … [Read more...]
Mesothelioma Survival Doubled By Radiation Before Surgery, New Study Reports
Mesothelioma survival is a top priority for all of us involved with this merciless disease. Increasing mesothelioma survival through new better treatments and prolonging the lives of mesothelioma patients is a hope we will not relinquish. That’s why we report to you on new published studies with promising results. An exciting new Canadian study found that treating mesothelioma with radiation before surgery resulted in a three-year survival rate - more than double the rate of treating with surgery first. The study included 25 patients with mesothelioma who underwent five days of radiation … [Read more...]
How Pets Can Make Mesothelioma Patients Feel Better
Mesothelioma patients may often feel alone, whether at a social gathering or isolated at home. How can you help? What if the mesothelioma patient could feel the unconditional love of a pet? The purr and warmth of a contented cat on a lap or the grateful tailwag and lick of a happy dog by their side? The warmth and affection of a pet can add joy to the life of a mesothelioma patient for who so much has suddenly been subtracted. Pets may even provide subtle but significant health boosts for mesothelioma patients. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control states: Pets can decrease: Blood … [Read more...]
Mesothelioma Patients Can Benefit From World Cancer Day’s Key Messages
Mesothelioma is such a unique disease that sometimes we forget that mesothelioma patients are also cancer patients. And as cancer patients, they are connected to cancer patients all over the world. Tuesday, February 4, 2014 was a good day to remember that. February 4, 2014 marked the fourth World Cancer Day, a day for honoring and recognizing people with cancer, including mesothelioma patients. It is a time when cancer organizations try to remind everyone that ending cancer should be a global health priority. This message should be especially poignant for mesothelioma patients and their … [Read more...]
Should Mesothelioma Patients Get Flu Shots?
Winter brings health challenges with it for everyone. But it can be especially difficult for mesothelioma patients and others who are coping with a compromised immune system due to illness. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it is actually freezing cold and wet outside. Here in California we are having one of the warmest driest winters in our history and yet our state is still being hit hard by the flu. In just the San Francisco Bay Area counties, 18 flu-related deaths have been reported. All fatalities involved the influenza A strain H1N1, which the federal Centers for Disease Control and … [Read more...]
Mesothelioma Prognosis May Be More Predictable From Testing Different Lymph Nodes
As a mesothelioma patient or the family member of a mesothelioma patient, you constantly seek out new information to help understand this challenging illness and how best to cope with it, predict it and as much as possible treat it. For you, the slow careful wheels of scientific investigation cannot turn quickly enough as you eagerly await any new developments. Yet it is important to make sure that the information you find meets the highest scientific standards. The new study we are going to discuss here may be considered preliminary because it has not yet been published in a professional … [Read more...]