Mesothelioma New Treatments and Therapies for Cancer Patients Future Cancer Care Choices for Mesothelioma Patients - Health - Skin Care

Mesothelioma and asbestosis treatment has been undergoing renewed interest with projections of an increasing number of patients diagnosed with these asbestos created diseases. Medical researchers are looking beyond traditional treatment to gene therapy, phototherapy and immunotherapy.

Mesothelioma prognosis looks dark under the probes of statistics. Under the microscope of clinical trials, however, the prognosis for a longer and more enjoyable life while living with Mesothelioma looks significantly brighter. Medical research on asbestos causing diseases and scientific evaluations of combination drugs and therapies continue to bring hope and promise to the cancer patients that wonder what their future holds. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy now have to make room in the science lab for therapies developed from gene research, principals of the immune system, and the lights from the lasers of phototherapy. Even the mice had to move over in March of 2008 for the mesothelioma mice that are being praised by scientists as a key to finding a cure for mesothelioma.

Medical research on tumor filled mice can produce significantly faster results than clinical trials with participating human patients and studies on mice are often a first step to developing a clinical trial. Finding isolated genes in mice that are unique to the disease enables cancer researchers to test gene therapies that could potentially eliminate the need for drugs by replacing bad genes with good genes, or simply by eliminating the trouble-causing gene. A cancerous cell is basically a body part with the wrong ingredients. An incorrect gene is a wrong ingredient that causes many cancerous cells. Putting in the right ingredients, the correct genes, can potentially create the right body part (a good cell).

Good genes are not the only way to fight cancer cells though and gene therapy is extremely new. A healthy body naturally fights sickness with low levels of BMR biological response modifiers. Immunotherapy multiplies the BMR level to raise the fighting abilities in the body. The goal is to raise the level high enough to knock out the cancer cells. Unfortunately, immunotherapy often comes with side effects that come with sickness, such as flu-like symptoms - but the side-effects are based on dosage amount and of course the unique composition of the patient, and they do go away when treatment is stopped. Side effects are also reported with phototherapy, primarily sun and skin sensitivities, however new, experimental photodynamic therapies used in combination with surgery surfaced three mesothelioma patients who had no recurrent tumors almost a year later.

Anti-angiogenic therapy is a new biological cancer therapy that focuses on the blood vessels. The cancer cells from asbestos diseases need blood to grow. Research has shown that patients with mesothelioma have higher levels of a natural bodily chemical VEGF a chemical that controls blood vessels. Anti-angiogenic therapy focuses on blocking the VEGF that supports the blood vessels that encourage the cancers growth. Bevacizumab is a cancer drug used for this purpose, and clinical studies combining Bevacizumab, Gemcitabine and Cisplatin are currently being evaluated.

Mesothelioma and asbestosis treatments are available that go beyond simple radiation and chemotherapy. New drug combinations and cancer therapies are available to cancer patients through clinical trials. Clinical trials are also available to patients suffering from asbestosis and other diseases. For now, these new therapies are experimental - but because of these experiments, new traditional treatments for cancer can be seen over the horizon.

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Chemotherapy Effectiveness Studied for Mesothelioma Patients - Health

Although mesothelioma cancer has no current cure, many medical professional believe that chemotherapy can be a successful treatment of symptom control of the condition, however, this continues to be debated, according to a study from The Lancet, a British Journal.

Researchers studied 409 patients all of which were suffering from malignant pleural mesothelioma in different parts of the world. The patients were randomly assigned an active symptom control treatment or a treatment that included an active control treatment with one of two chemotherapy medications. According to the study, "the active symptom control treatments included steroids, bronchodilators, analgesic medications and palliative radiotherapy."

Following the study, the patients with both treatment options were compared and, according to researchers, "the addition of chemotherapy to active symptom control presented no significant benefit or advances in survival rates or quality of life" among mesothelioma victims.

Diagnosing and Understanding Chemotherapy, Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a disease in which malignant cancer cells develop in a thin layer of tissue that lines the chest cavity covering the lungs, which is also known as the pleura, or the peritoneum, which is the tissue lining the abdomen and most of the organs, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The American Cancer Society (ACS) describes chemotherapy as a treatment for cancer; it is often given to a patient when cancerous cells spread rapidly to healthy cells.

Doctors must adequately evaluate a patients age, health and stage of cancer prior to administering chemotherapy. For mesothelioma patients, chemotherapy is not a curative method of treatment, but is actually administered to mesothelioma patients for several reasons including the following:

* stop growth and spreading of a cancer, to control the cancer

* minimize or shrink tumors - this method is also known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy

* palliative chemotherapy in which pain and other symptoms are meant to be reduced

* the destruction of microscopic disease that remains after a surgical procedure, also known as adjuvant chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is administered either as a catheter placed into a large vein in the body or a catheter attached as a port that is placed into the chest area under the skin for a period of time.

Living With Mesothelioma

Unfortunately, victims of mesothelioma continue to receive setbacks for their life-threatening condition, as there are currently no successful treatments for the deadly cancer.

However, an individual has the opportunity to participate in an array of clinical trial treatment groups as well as the opportunity to develop a mesothelioma lawsuit to derive monetary compensation as a means of repayment for the condition, which is often associated with extremely expensive medical bills.

Speaking with a qualified medical attorney who can offer a free legal consultation as to the creation of mesothelioma litigation can offer a mesothelioma victim peace of mind and insight into overcoming the financial burden of their condition.

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mesothelioma patient - Health - Cancer

A mesothelioma patient is any patient who is suffering from the rare form of cancer known as mesothelioma. This disease is usually caused by either direct or indirect exposure to asbestos and is sometimes known as asbestos disease or asbestos poisoning.

Smoking is not a direct cause of mesothelioma but a combination of smoking and asbestos exposure can increase the likelihood of mesothelioma in the lung area.

Symptoms of mesothelioma can include breathing difficulties and coughing, chest pain and other symptoms such as fever, weight loss and pain in abdomen, neck or head. The symptoms might occur several decades after the exposure to asbestos, and the amount of exposure is not clearly correlated with the likelihood of getting the disease.

Diagnosis of Mesothelioma is difficult because all the symptoms can be caused by other less serious diseases and can be supported by chest X-ray and/or CT scan or MRI and biopsy.

Patients don't usually recover from the disease. Median survival times are usually about nine months from presentation with the five-year survival rate being around ten percent, although occasionally people do survive for more than twenty years after contracting it.

Most patients die within one and a half years of finding out that they have this disease not because the disease is so rapidly progressing but because diagnosis of this particular disease is often only definite during the late stages of the disease.

There are many forms of support for patients, including large amounts of relevant information on the internet, and discussion groups etc. as well as specialist medical centers and other forms of support.

Treatment can be expensive, sometimes totaling close to a million dollars, which is one reason most patients take legal action against the employer who exposed them to asbestos. Treatment can include combinations radiation and chemo treatment and surgery but radiation therapy alone has proved ineffective.

Legal actions concerning mesothelioma began around 1930 then increased in 1960 when firm data on the link between asbestos and mesothelioma was proven. More than 500,000 asbestos claims have been filed so far. The amounts received from mesothelioma claims can be considerable and there are specialist asbestos lawyers and attorneys working to help each mesothelioma patient claim as much as possible.

For additional relevant information see our Blog Post Mesothelioma Treatment Options.

For more relevant information see our Blog Mesothelioma Reports

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Mesothelioma Patients Need Fast Help Resources - Health - Mental Health

Growing number of mesothelioma help groups suggest the gravity of the cancer. No doubt it is a good move to create awareness among masses about growing incidence of mesothelioma and its terrible consequences. One must comprehend the facts that mesothelioma is the cancer that requires urgent attention by hundreds of employers those do not care about the safety of their employees while they work in asbestos related industries.

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New Gene Test Provides Approximate Survival Rates for Mesothelioma Patients - Law

According to a study published in the May 6 Journal of the National Cancer Institute(JNCI), scientists have recently devised a test that can accurately predict which mesothelioma patients have the best chance for survival. The test is also useful for identifying which patients would be the best candidates for surgery, another treatment option for mesothelioma cancer.

The test is deceptively simple; it works by identifying the ratios of four genes present in tissue samples of mesothelioma cancer patients and comparing them with samples of tissue from patients who have survived mesothelioma cancer for an extended period of time. The gene test proved to provide consistent and easily repeatable results across different research campuses. Despite different technicians using different instruments in different laboratories, the test showed a high efficacy rate.

The test was devised by Dr. Raphael Bueno, the Associate Chief in the Division of Thoracic Surgery and Director of the Thoracic Surgery Residency Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Previously, predicting a patient's prognosis was an invasive process; according to Dr. Bueno, major surgery was required to adequately predict the outcome. In the interest of creating a more accessible, less invasive, and accurately informative test, Dr. Bueno and his team looked to preexisting cancer tests. Specifically, the team looked at two gene-based testing methods that have been used in predicting breast cancer recurrence. Though this technology has not been widely used due to heavy logistical requirements, the inspiration provided enough incentive to help Dr. Bueno and his team develop what could be one of the biggest steps forward in accurate mesothelioma diagnosis in recent years.

The study announced in the JNCI was to determine how accurately the test predicted the survival rates of patients. Researchers examined samples of tissue from 120 mesothelioma patients and followed their cases until 2007 or until their death. Using the gene ratio test, researchers categorized the participants in two groups: a good outcome group, and a poor outcome group. On average, the poor outcome group survived 9.5 months; the good outcome group survived 16.8 months, almost double the rate of survival.

Since this test is so revealing about the survival rates of patients, it provides an opportunity for families and individuals to choose the best treatment option for mesothelioma cancer. Patients with good gene ratio test results could be more likely to benefit from surgery, while those in the lower survival rate group seek the best supportive care available.

Mesothelioma is often a very debilitating condition that may require large amounts of physical therapy and treatment options as well as require thousands of dollars in medical costs. It is common for many patients to discuss a mesothelioma lawsuit with an experienced personal injury attorney.

By contacting a mesothelioma lawyer, a patient is increasing their chances of receiving monetary funds as a compensation for the damages endured because of mesothelioma cancer. Additionally, a mesothelioma lawsuit may also result in the reimbursement of expensive medical bills as well as open the door for patients to receive costly medical care that they may have otherwise been able to afford or receive.

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Common Treatments and Medical Procedures for a Mesothelioma Patient - Health

Once a patient has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, both the doctor and the patient must then determine the best possible treatment.Mesothelioma prognosis, or the recovering factor for a patient, will vary based on several different characteristics:

1. Size of the mesothelioma

2. Whether or not the cancer is spreading

3. Where the mesothelioma is located

4. The patient's physical health condition and age

5. How the cells are portrayed under a microscope

Three Different Types of Mesothelioma Cells

1. Mixed Cell Type - This cell type is a mixture of the cancer cells and is normally labeled as an intermediate form of the cancer.

2. Epithelial Cell Type - These cells are the most treatable, and have the best prognosis.

3. Fibrosarcomatous Cell Type - This cell type is the worst type of mesothelioma, and has a negative prognosis.

How a Treatment is Selected

Treatments and procedures for mesothelioma are selected after considering the characteristicsand cell types above. There are standard treatments, which have been tested on previouspatient studies, and are most commonly used. There are also trials and/or experimental treatments that may be explored at the patient's or doctor's wishes.

Malignant Mesothelioma and Standard Treatments

The most common treatment of malignant mesothelioma is a surgery in which the doctor will remove part of the abdomen or chest lining and some tissue surrounding it. A lung may be removed or part of the diaphragm, based on how far the mesothelioma has spread. Removal of the lung is a procedure called "pneumonectomy."Radiation and/or chemotherapy are also a part of the standard treatments along with the surgery. Radiation kills off cancer cells using high-energy rays or x-rays. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells using drugs taken either by pill or needle injection.Each of these treatments will result in side effects, varying from one patient to the next.

Intraoperative Photodynamic Therapy

This is a type of treatment which utilizes light and drugs to kill the cancer cells during a surgical procedure. The goal of the surgery is to remove the cancer (as much as possible), and to shine alight on the pleura, killing additional cancer cells. Studies of this type of surgery are being performed on patients in the early stages of mesothelioma of the chest.

Clinical Tests

Occasionally a mesothelioma patient may be urged to participate in experimental treatment options, where the patient will be exposed to new ideas and procedures that are being developed. Oftentimes, traditional treatments will be combined with new tests to find more effective ways of fighting mesothelioma. These options are available for patients who may not be able to endure the standard treatments for health or physical reasons.

The earlier mesothelioma is detected in a patient, the better the prognosis. Each patient should be aware of all treatment options before making a decision, and also consult with a specialist to learn the best option for them.

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Mesothelioma Patients Need Emotional Care, Too - Health - Cancer

Mesothelioma patients, as well as their caregivers, are under a huge amount of anxiety and stress, and many report that they receive little support to help them deal with the psychological impact of living with the disease, according to a review of studies published in the European Journal of Cancer Care.

Even with the most sophisticated treatments available, mesothelioma survival rates have improved little over the years. Patients often face a poor prognosis; many live for little more than a year after being diagnosed. Patients are left to grapple with the emotional impact of their prognosis, as well as with symptoms that can be severe enough to interfere with every aspect of their lives. Because this cancer is so rare, the psychological toll of mesothelioma on both patients and caregivers hasn't been well studied, and doctors often don't know how to address their patients' emotional needs.

"It is important for clinicians to understand the social, emotional, and physical impact of the disease if they are to fully meet patient and family member needs," explains Sally Moore, Nursing Research Fellow with Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, England. "Most clinicians see very few patients with mesothelioma and teams have tended to 'lump' or group patients with mesothelioma in with their population of patients with lung cancer."

Doctors may assume the experience is the same for both diseases. In reality, mesothelioma patients may need very different care than lung cancer patients, in part because mesothelioma is more difficult to diagnose than lung cancer, and there is far greater uncertainty surrounding its prognosis and treatment, Moore says.

To find out what is already known about the experience of living with mesothelioma, and to identify what still needs to be learned, Moore and her colleagues did a search of the currently available research. They found just 13 relevant studies that discussed patient quality of life and symptoms.

Even though few of these studies were focused specifically on the experience of living with mesothelioma, they did highlight the impact mesothelioma can have on patients, both physically and emotionally. Most patients reported experiencing significant symptoms, particularly pain, breathlessness, cough, appetite loss, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. These symptoms often were not being treated effectively, and were having a significant affect on patients' social interactions and ability to function on a day-to-day basis.

As significant as these physical symptoms were, the emotional effects of mesothelioma were even more profound. Patients reported feeling anxious, depressed, afraid, and isolated. Their caregivers faced an even higher emotional toll from the disease. Many caregivers indicated that they were not receiving the support they needed from health care professionals.

This study highlights the necessity for more research on the physical and emotional needs of mesothelioma patients, so that health care providers can develop new strategies to meet those needs, Moore says. It's also important for health care providers to recognize the emotional and physical toll of caring for a patient with mesothelioma, she says. "We need better assessment of caregivers' needs and strategies to ensure better preparation, education, and support of caregivers in their care-giving role."

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