|

Virtual Support Group Can Help Mesothelioma Patients Weather Pandemic

ByAlex Strauss
Virtual Support Group

A virtual support group may help mesothelioma patients and families cope with the stress of fighting cancer during the pandemic. 

Virtual groups give patients and their families a place to find emotional support and information when it may not be safe to meet in person. 

Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston is just one of the many hospitals turning to online meetings for mesothelioma patients. The International Mesothelioma Program began holding monthly meetings via Zoom in September.

Multiple studies show support groups can help patients and families enjoy a better quality of life with mesothelioma during and after cancer treatment. Many hope that a virtual support group can help mesothelioma patients connect, even if they cannot get together in person. 

Isolation & Lack of Information Create Stress

Malignant mesothelioma is one of the rarest types of cancer. Many people have never even heard of ‘asbestos cancer’ until they receive the diagnosis. Most do not know anyone else who has it. It is common for mesothelioma patients and their families to feel isolated. Social distancing to protect themselves against COVID-19 compounds the problem. 

Lack of information is another problem for mesothelioma patients and families. An Australian study found most mesothelioma patients want more information than they get from their doctors.

A virtual support group can address both issues. Research suggests that meeting online is a safe way for mesothelioma patients to share support and information. A virtual group can also be bigger than an in-person group since most hospitals only have a handful of mesothelioma patients.

The Mesothelioma Survival Project released in 2017 included nearly 500 patients. Participants were invited to attend weekly sessions online or on the phone for six weeks. A counselor moderated the sessions. Patients who attended consistently gave high marks to the virtual support group concept. 

Finding a Virtual Support Group

A virtual support group allows limitless space for mesothelioma patients and families under stress. If no local group is avilable, there are many new options. 

At the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham & Women’s a licensed clinical social worker and a board-certified chaplain co-lead a monthly online group via Zoom. The group meets on a Sunday evening from 7 to 8 pm, Eastern Time. The next meeting is scheduled for October 18. Among the topics planned are COVID-19, health and nutrition, recovery after surgery, medical research, and meditation. 

The Meso-Connect program through the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is another virtual support group open to all patients and families. Patients can attend regardless of when they were diagnosed or where they live. The Canadian Mesothelioma Foundation also recently announced a private Facebook group for mesothelioma patients. 

Although it is not specific to mesothelioma, The American Cancer Society offers a virtual support group called WhatNext. 

Source:

The American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/

The International Mesothelioma Program, https://impmeso.org/

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, Meso-Connect, https://www.curemeso.org/mesothelioma-treatment-plan/patient-support-and-resources/meso-connect-peer-to-peer-support/

The Canadian Mesothelioma Foundation, https://www.cmfonline.org/cmf-announces-new-online-mesothelioma-support-group

Similar Posts

  • |

    Chemical in Wine May Improve Mesothelioma Treatment

    ByAlex Strauss

    There’s new evidence that a compound found in red wine may help improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Last year, a team of Korean researchers released the world’s first study on the mesothelioma-fighting power of resveratrol, a natural phenol derived from the skin of red grapes and found in red wine and grape juice. Now, the same team says resveratrol also appears to enhance the chemosensitivity of malignant mesothelioma cells. Study author Yoon-Jin Lee and colleagues discovered  a synergistic cancer-fighting effect in mesothelioma cells treated with both resveratrol and clofarabine, a prescription drug often used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Together, resveratrol and clofarabine “induced a strong cytotoxic effect” by influencing levels of the tumor suppressor,…

  • |

    New Prognostic Factor in Peritoneal Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare form of mesothelioma that attacks the membrane that lines the abdomen and surrounds internal organs. The outlook for this rare malignancy, which affects fewer than 500 Americans annually, has been improved by the treatment combination of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). The combination has produced 5-year overall survival rates ranging from 29% to 63%. But not all peritoneal mesothelioma patients are good candidates for CRS/HIPEC. The challenge, for clinicians, is identifying which patients are likely to benefit from the procedure (or even be cured) and which are not. In an effort to help answer that question, French researchers recently tested the prognostic value of the glucose transporter protein GLUT1 as well as…

  • |

    Mesothelioma Symptoms May Benefit from Tuberculosis Drugs

    ByAlex Strauss

    Pleural effusion is the one of most uncomfortable and life-limiting symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. The buildup of fluid in the pleural space around the lungs, which can happen in late stage mesothelioma as well as several other types of cancer, limits breathing and can be painful. Effusion is often one of the primary reasons that mesothelioma patients in the late stages of the disease have trouble taking a full breath and complain of chest pain and fatigue. While pleural fluid can be drained off through thoracentesis or chemically absorbed through pleurodesis, these treatments are painful, risky, and not always effective. Now, a team of researchers in China say they may have discovered a non-invasive method for dealing with pleural effusion caused…

  • |

    Study Lists Factors That Impact Mesothelioma Prognosis

    ByAlex Strauss

    Predicting survival in mesothelioma patients does not have to be complicated. A new Parisian study suggests that simple-to-measure factors such as patient age and the histological subtype of the mesothelioma can be highly accurate prognostic indicators. The study followed 170 patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma between 2000 and 2010 at Saint Antoine Hospital in Paris. Patients in the study were all treated non-surgically. For each patient, a list of parameters was recorded including age, gender, tobacco use, asbestos exposure, type and duration of symptoms, BMI, C-reactive protein levels and white blood cell and platelet counts.  Inflammation of the pleura (pachypleuritis) was also noted, along with the type of diagnostic surgical procedure, histological subtype, the way in which pleurodesis was performed (for…

  • |

    Predicting Mesothelioma Outcomes with Blood Tests

    ByAlex Strauss

    Two separate teams of Japanese researchers are delving into the possibilities of blood serum indicators that could help predict outcomes in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Pleural mesothelioma, a cancer that starts on the lining around the lungs, is the most common form of the disease. It occurs most often in people who have inadvertently inhaled asbestos dust. Mesothelioma is highly resistant to conventional treatments. It is also difficult to predict which patients are likely to do well with standard therapies and which are not, which is referred to as prognosis. But researchers worldwide are continually searching for new ways to diagnose and predict the prognosis of patients with…

  • |

    Green Tea, Vitamin C, Chemo Fight Mesothelioma ‘Synergistically’

    ByAlex Strauss

    Another study has found that the beneficial compounds in green tea may be powerful mesothelioma fighters – especially when combined with other drugs and nutrients. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most abundant polyphenol in green tea and is a potent antioxidant. A number of studies have suggested that it may help the body combat various types of cancer, including mesothelioma. Recently, a group of Italian mesothelioma researchers combined EGCG with Vitamin C and a chemotherapy drug called gemcitabine to create a treatment combination called AND (Active Nutrients/Drug). To test the mixture, they administered AND to various mesothelioma cell lines in the laboratory. The result was a “synergistic cytotoxic mechanism”, meaning the ingredients in AND seemed to increase each other’s cancer-fighting properties…