Celebrating Mesothelioma Awareness Day
Mesothelioma Awareness Day is on September 26th each year. This day has helped to raise awareness about mesothelioma, the asbestos-caused cancer. This day is supported by patients, loved ones, caregivers, researchers, doctors, and survivors. There are many groups working towards a mesothelioma cancer cure. Many of these groups often provide social and financial support to patients. Participating in this day will help to spread information about mesothelioma. This helps raise funds for research on mesothelioma treatments. People can show their support and get involved in many ways. Check to see if there are any Mesothelioma Awareness Day events in your area. The mesothelioma community also comes together on this special day to connect and share their experiences. What Does a Mesothelioma Diagnosis Mean? Mesothelioma is … Continue reading Celebrating Mesothelioma Awareness Day
Localized Mesothelioma Successfully Treated with Chemotherapy and Surgery
A patient with a rare, localized malignant pleural mesothelioma has been successfully treated. The patient received chemotherapy and surgery and has been disease-free for 12 months. Many believe that a localized form of pleural mesothelioma might have a better survival outlook. This is compared with patients who have the more common, diffuse variety. This latest report comes from a Japanese team of thoracic surgeons. Local vs. Diffuse Mesothelioma Malignant mesothelioma is a rare cancer affecting an estimated 2,500 Americans annually. All forms of mesothelioma have been linked to asbestos exposure. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of malignant mesothelioma. Most pleural mesothelioma patients have a type of cancer that tends to spread quickly. It spreds across the thin membrane … Continue reading Localized Mesothelioma Successfully Treated with Chemotherapy and Surgery
New Techniques for Diagnosing Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma
Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is caused by asbestos. It is among the most difficult forms of the disease to diagnose with any accuracy. A study published in AJSP: Reviews & Reports reveals that a GATA3 protein may be useful in distinguishing this rare disease. Patients who are diagnosed with sarcomatoid mesothelioma face a much poorer outlook than those with the more common epithelioid form of the disease. This is the least common form of this already rare cancer. It includes only about 10 percent of the 2,000 to 3,000 mesothelioma cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year. It is also the most aggressive type of this disease. Studies find that patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma survive for an average of five to six … Continue reading New Techniques for Diagnosing Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma
Understanding the New Multimodality Prognostic Score (MMPS) in Mesothelioma
The Multimodality Prognostic Score (MMPS) is a new tool for evidence-based mesothelioma treatment. It has given clinicians and surgeons a new guideline in multimodality treatment. The treatment options for mesothelioma are many. Often, one treatment alone cannot control cancer so many treatment types are required. Multimodal therapy can be tailored to each patient’s case. The Multimodality Prognostic Score (MMPS) has an update. It is a tool in the clinician’s toolbox for outlining a treatment plan. Surgical Options Surgery is a common treatment option for malignant pleural mesothelioma. There are two surgeries that are most common. The first is pleurectomy and decortication (P/D) surgery. The second is an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). Pleurectomy and decortication surgery (P/D) is a common pleural mesothelioma … Continue reading Understanding the New Multimodality Prognostic Score (MMPS) in Mesothelioma
Treatment Combination for Younger Pre-Treated Mesothelioma Patients
There are many systemic therapies recommended for mesothelioma patients. Different therapies may work best for different patient populations. Different therapies may work better for older versus younger patients. Or, patients who have received treatment before. An international team of clinicians published a new study on this topic. They found a treatment strategy that works best for younger pre-treated patients. The Young (65 years or younger) and Pre-Treated Patient Mesothelioma patients who have received treatment once before, are often called “pre-treated.” Clinicians often have more personalized data available for these patients. This affects the clinician’s treatment strategy. A new study compared the data from nine different mesothelioma clinical trials. These clinical trials spanned standard and experimental treatment options. The results are … Continue reading Treatment Combination for Younger Pre-Treated Mesothelioma Patients
New Drug Targeting Fibrosis may Help Mesothelioma Patients
Targeting fibrosis has therapeutic benefits in mesothelioma. Most drugs have limited effects in difficult-to-treat cancers such as mesothelioma. Often this is because not enough of the drug can get into the tumor to generate an anti-tumor effect. Fibrosis is a common element of mesothelioma. It causes the area around the cancer to stiffen. Fibrosis acts as a barrier, stopping drugs from getting into the cancer tumor. This limits the immune system’s ability to detect and access the tumor to kill it. A new study is looking at how a family of proteins called lysyl oxidases can help solve this problem. These proteins are associated with fibrosis in many cancers, including mesothelioma. Oncologists targeting fibrosis and this protein family may improve … Continue reading New Drug Targeting Fibrosis may Help Mesothelioma Patients
Top Three Factors Predicting Mesothelioma Survival are Age, Histological Type, and Surgery Status
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive malignancy with a dismal prognosis. A new study is predicting mesothelioma survival among male and female patients in the United States. Identifying factors “associated with mesothelioma mortality is important research given the poor prognosis” according to Dr. Bian Liu from the a Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. A new study applied a machine-learning algorithm to 12,210 patients to predict survival. The top three factors were age, histological type, and cancer-directed surgery status. Analyzing Over 12,000 Mesothelioma Patients Scientists from the New York State Department of Health included 12,210 mesothelioma patients. They involved only malignant pleural mesothelioma patients. They excluded cases with unknown diagnostic confirmation and unknown survival … Continue reading Top Three Factors Predicting Mesothelioma Survival are Age, Histological Type, and Surgery Status
How To Get Mesothelioma Compensation Even If You Were Born Outside The US… Or Other Law Firms Turned You Down
When first diagnosed with Mesothelioma, many people from other countries are surprised to learn that their case is rejected by a law firm. This is because compensation is mostly available to people who lived and worked in the United States and were exposed to asbestos there. Luckily, there are other options available to help you get compensated. Here are some ways you can apply for Mesothelioma compensation even if you were born outside the US. Why isn’t Mesothelioma compensation available for everyone? Many law firms in the US will not help foreign mesothelioma patients. One reason is because there is a lot more work involved when trying to get compensation for people who were born overseas. In addition, if … Continue reading How To Get Mesothelioma Compensation Even If You Were Born Outside The US… Or Other Law Firms Turned You Down
Historic Timeline of Asbestos Exposure in Denmark: Predicting the Next Decade
A historic timeline of asbestos exposure in Denmark has been created. This is the first known attempt to compile asbestos measurements in Danish workplaces. The Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment released a new report. It indicates that historical asbestos exposure measurements are valuable for current risk assessment. Asbestos Measurements and Concentrations This work shows the airborne fiber concentration ranges in specific work tasks. And it is divided into different industries over time. The historical asbestos exposure database contained 9,236 records. Of these, 5,869 data entries contained high-quality measurements of asbestos concentrations. The database includes data from 1971 to 1997. These historic reports can identify specific work scenarios with high asbestos exposures. There had not been any previous … Continue reading Historic Timeline of Asbestos Exposure in Denmark: Predicting the Next Decade
Lung-Sparing Surgery and Mesothelioma Survival
Italian researchers say lung-sparing surgery can lead to long-term mesothelioma survival, even if surgeons take a more conservative approach. Lung-sparing surgery for mesothelioma is also known as pleurectomy with decortication (P/D). P/D surgery is less extensive than the other main surgical approach for mesothelioma but it is also less risky. Now, doctors at Venice-Mestre Hospital say that, as long as it is performed early enough and combined with other treatments, lung-sparing surgery saves lives. Their report in the Journal of Thoracic Disease details the outcomes of 155 mesothelioma surgery patients tracked for a median of a year-and-a-half. Extrapleural Pneumonectomy & Lung-Sparing Surgery Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) is the most radical operation for pleural mesothelioma. In addition to removing the mesothelioma tumor … Continue reading Lung-Sparing Surgery and Mesothelioma Survival
Get your free copy of
“Surviving Mesothelioma” Today!