National Allied Health Professionals Week starts November 7th with the purpose of raising public awareness and appreciation for the health care professions in the industry who are not doctors and nurses.  These dedicated individuals assist physicians and other members of your health care team in the professional delivery of your patient care services.  Allied health professionals also provide support in the prevention, identification and treatment of diseases such as mesothelioma.  There has been a multitude of people exposed to asbestos which is the primary cause of mesothelioma, a complex and rare disease.  And now there is an immediate need for a many more allied health professionals to provide appropriate levels of support to a rising population of mesothelioma patients.

Mesothelioma is a very aggressive rare form of cancer typically affecting the lining of the lungs, being resistant to common cancer treatments which makes it difficult to effectively treat.  Although there is no cure for mesothelioma at the moment, it can be treated with some degree of success through the use of various procedures and treatments. The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America has particular hope for success in finding a cure with Veglin.

Generally, the class of workers being either technicians (assistants), therapists, or technologists are all allied health professionals.  Technicians are trained to perform procedures, but are required to work under the certification and direction of a therapist or technologist.  The technologist is an individual certified with approximately 2 years of special education and training which includes such professions as physical therapy assistants, medical laboratory technicians, radiological technicians and respiratory therapy technicians.

Therapists or technologists are qualified to evaluate patients, diagnose conditions, develop treatment plans, and understand the rationale behind various treatments.  The Therapist or technologist are trained to evaluate a patients’ response to a given therapy, to assist with decisions about continued treatment, and / or make changes to existing treatment plans.

Because malignant mesothelioma cancer is such a complex disease, it is important for patients to receive multidisciplinary care from a team of specialists that is not limited to physicians and nurses.  In honor of Allied Health Professional Week, we provide the following short list of worker classes that might get involved in the proactive care of a mesothelioma patient:

• Respiratory Therapists –   Individuals highly trained to evaluate, treat and care for patients who have breathing or other cardiopulmonary disorders.  These therapists sometimes assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care for the mesothelioma patient including therapeutic treatments and diagnostic procedures.
• Anesthesiologist Assistants – These individuals only work through the supervision of a certified licensed anesthesiologist (doctor).  The anesthesiologist assistant is trained to properly operate anesthesia equipment, monitor patients treated by anesthesia, and help provide patient care before, during and after anesthesia.
• Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Specialists – These individuals assist patients in their understanding and how to manage their mesothelioma, specifically by teaching the patient how to understand their condition and how to sustain their medical regimen.
• Clinical Laboratory Science Professionals – These individuals are not directly involved in the care of the patient, but as a medical technologist they can discover the occurrence of mesothelioma.  They usually update vital data for identifying and treating mesothelioma as well as other health conditions.
• Health Information Manager – These people are the database experts who manage and maintain all of the medical information records necessary to provide good care to the patient.  The health information manager collects every piece of data that is recorded during each session a health care personnel treats the patient.  This includes such things as medical history, changes noted and results of the examination, observations from X-rays and laboratory tests, health diagnoses, and scheduled plans for treatment.

The Explore Health Careers organization says there are more than 80 various professions tates there are 5 million allied health care providers in the U.S., who work in more than 80 different professions.  For a list of Allied Health Professionals see ExploreHealthCareers.org.