How Mesothelioma Might Impact Long Term Health

Mesothelioma Diagnosis

While it might seem that a diagnosis is the most important part of mesothelioma and handling your health, this is far from the case. The diagnosis is merely the starting point from which you need to begin treatment. And though your health might be something you consider to be priceless, it is also something which can be very expensive when it comes to managing mesothelioma. This is why those with mesothelioma seek legal restitution for their injuries. Though your initial diagnosis can be traumatic, the bills which come from your long term care can be catastrophic without the financial help you deserve from an employer.

Mesothelioma is a Cancer

malignant mesothelioma xrayAs one of the rarest forms of cancer, mesothelioma is a condition which impacts not only the lungs, but the entire body as well. A cancer is a condition in which cells are damaged at the DNA level and then when they replicate, the cells are then damaged, causing pain, illness, and tumors. If the cells can be destroyed via radiation, chemotherapy, or other treatments, the cancer can be cured. But as mesothelioma tends to spread in the body before it is detected, it can be difficult to cure this cancer without using a combination of treatments, all of which may not completely remove the cancer from the body.

Radiation and Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma

In order to stop the spread of mesothelioma in the body, most doctors will prescribe radiation and chemotherapy treatments. While these can be wildly successful, they can also be very difficult to manage in some patients. As every patient is different and every cancer is different, you may find that your mesothelioma doesn’t respond to one treatment, but does respond to another – and of course that is the treatment which is not covered by your insurance policy. Each radiation and chemotherapy treatment can cost thousands of dollars and they need to be given regularly in order to provide the results you and your mesothelioma need.

Surgery and Combination Treatments

Sometimes, the only thing which can be done to help mesothelioma is to remove the tumors which are spreading in the body. This is painful, extensive, and possibly even debilitating if there are enough tumors which need to be removed. With the proper financial compensation for mesothelioma, you will be able to not only pay for the surgeries and their related costs, but you will also be able to pay for the pre- and post- care needs. You will be able to also have follow-up surgeries if the mesothelioma proves to be difficult to manage.

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What Causes Mesothelioma (part 2 of 2)?

mesothelioma lung cancerMesothelioma cancer affects many former workers who were employed at factory, military, shipyard and construction projects.  Mesothelioma has been proven to be primarily caused by exposure to asbestos, even though there are other aggravating factors that also worsen a mesothelioma condition.

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma are tumors that affect the lining surrounding many of the body’s internal organs.  The tumors can cause symptoms such as severe chest pain, fatigue, anemia, low blood sugar levels, lung collapse, and shortness of breath.  Mesothelioma can also spread as tumors all over the body except for the brain, the skeletal system and the adrenal glands.  Mesothelioma symptoms will usually have a long latency time before they manifest as much as 15 to 30 years.  The cancer is difficult to treat or prevent because in most cases it is not diagnosed until decades after the patient had their initial exposure to asbestos which caused the mesothelioma tumors.

How Does Asbestos Exposure Occur?

Asbestos is the common word given to a wide range of minerals that have been used for many years of history being most recently processed for use in several industrial applications.  Asbestos is efficient as an inexpensive insulator which made it popular for use in the construction of homes created before the 1970s.  It was also applied a lot to military ships during World War II.   Asbestos in its raw mineral form has small particles which can easily become airborne, and when they are inhaled can cause a great risk to health.   Once the asbestos particles get inside the body, their abrasive dust fragments lead to the development of mesothelioma tumor cancer.  Unfortunately, there have been shipyard workers and factory people that have been exposed to the inhalation of asbestos particles long before the correlation between asbestos and mesothelioma became recognized.

What Can Be Done About Mesothelioma

Contemporary construction workers involved with the renovation of older buildings are much at risk for exposure to asbestos which induces mesothelioma.  Because mesothelioma has many symptoms that are similar to many other common diseases, its early diagnosis is very complicated to do.  A detailed review of a patient’s medical history and occupational experience is necessary to obtain an accurate diagnosis of mesothelioma.  A thorough patient medical history review is usually followed by thorough physical examinations that include chest X-rays, lung function tests and CT scans or MRIs.

Mesothelioma can be resistant to surgery, so there are few other treatments that might provide some form of cancer relief.  Chemotherapy is a common treatment administered as a recourse, and immunotherapy treatments have shown promise to provide various results of success.

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North Ireland Deaths From Mesothelioma and Asbestosis in 2012

Asbestosis Big Problem in Northern Ireland

Asbestosis Lung

 

The Northern Ireland General Register Office, the province’s record keeper, said that mesothelioma and asbestosis were the primary or secondary causes of some 75 deaths annually.

In little more than five years, there have been more than 300 estimated deaths in Northern Ireland from asbestos exposure, according to a U.TV article, citing a recent government report.

This government report also suggests  there were possibly another 40 lung cancer deaths each year where asbestosis or mesothelioma were contributing factors.  Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly disease that destroys the linings of the heart, lungs or abdomen.  Exposure to asbestos is nearly always the cause of mesothelioma.  And asbestosis is specifically a lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos.

The situation is serious were unlike the United States which phased out asbestos in building materials in the 1980s, asbestos continued to be used in Northern Ireland until about 2000. The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) organization predicts the current number of deaths to rise.  It has organized free training called “Asbestos Training Pledge NI” as a response to help local construction workers protect themselves from asbestos exposure.

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral once used extensively in building materials because of its high tensile strength, durability, high availability, and low cost.   Given its’ early widespread adoption in the United States, asbestos continues to be a problem there as well.  Since the 1970s,  research has linked asbestos exposure definitively to multiple painful and deadly diseases, such as mesothelioma.

Many manufacturers knew their asbestos products posed serious health risks, but some hid this information from both their workers and the public. Have you or a loved one developed mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos while at a workplace?  If so, then call a Lawyer who is an expert in Mesothelioma and Asbestosis, and ask them for a free legal consultation about a potential mesothelioma lawsuit.

More Mesothelioma and Asbestosis Information

 

Phase II Clinical Trials of CRS-207 New Cancer Vaccine Begin

CRS-207 Clinical Trials Proceed

The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America is pleased to announce that Aduro Bio Tech has begun conducting phase II clinical trials on a new cancer vaccine called CRS-207.  Aduro Bio Tech has enlisted the first group of mesothelioma patients that will take the experimental vaccine.CRS-207 mesothelioma vaccination

CRS-207 comes from a relatively new field of study called Immunology that has recently been at the forefront of mesothelioma research.  Immunology is the practice of working with the bodys natural immune system to succor the body and manipulate its ability to ward off cancer cells. CRS-207 is classified as a type of immunotherapy.

CRS-207 Boosting the immune system

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), cancer vaccines stimulate the immune system to attack diseased cells that are marked by specific antigens.  Using CRS-207, scientists also hope that this reaction will cause the immune system to remember the malignancy and prevent it from coming back.

Therapeutic vaccines are typically formulated with cancer cells, parts of cells or antigens, according to the ACS.  Aduro’s candidate treatment CRS-207 uses proprietary attenuated Listeria monocytogenes strains to trigger an immune response against mesothelin tumor-associated antigen. This protein can be found on tumors associated with mesothelioma, non-small-cell lung cancer and malignancies of the ovaries and pancreas.

The new CRS-207 drug is a derivative from a weakened version of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that is the cause of a food-born illness known as Listeriosis. Scientists have manipulated the bacteria in order to generate an immune response to stop cells from producing mesothelin, a tumor-associated antigen that is produced by various types of cancer cells including those produced by mesothelioma.

Phase I of the CRS-207 vaccine trials was concluded on 17 mesothelioma patients, all of who were in various stages of the mesothelioma disease.  Although mesothelioma patients in the advanced stages face a very short life expectancy of a few months, six out of 17 patients who took the CRS-207 vaccine lived 15 months or longer.

Phase II trials will have newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients begining treatment by receiving two CRS-207 vaccinations in addition to the traditional mesothelioma chemotherapy treatment of cisplatin with pemetrexed. Once chemotherapy has concluded, the patients with receive at least two more doses of CRS-207. A group of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer will also participate in phase two trials.

Dr. Scott Antonia of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida and Dr. Raffit Hassan of the National Cancer Institute are leading the clinical trials. Phase II trials of CRS-207 will center on testing for safety and efficacy in efforts to create the best dosage profile. Patients in the early stages of mesothelioma are currently being enrolled, with trials set to end by December 13th.

The study of Immunotherapy has been an expanding topic among leading mesothelioma researchers, with several recent developments yielding positive results among patients. Asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma have long been plagued with low survival rates.  Several recent developments in Immunology have produced new hope among the mesothelioma community as well as other groups in the fight against mesothelioma cancer.

More Mesothelioma Cancer Press Releases

Other Alternative CRS-207 Treatments for Mesothelioma

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Fighting the Asbestos fibrous hazard

Asbestos fibrous hazard

The World Health Organization (WHO)  has classified asbestos as a “carcinogen” which causes lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.

“Instead of going about it in phases, India needs to completely ban mining, trade, manufacturing and use of all forms of asbestos-based products,” …

Asbestos banning

Given the health hazards that asbestos poses and the fact that International Maritime Organisation (IMO), of which India is a member state since 1959, has banned installation of all types of asbestos-containing materials as of January 1, 2011, activists have expressed “shock and surprise” over India’s willingness to accept use of asbestos in the aircraft carrier’s insulation in the boiler section.

“Though India has banned mining of asbestos, its use has not been completely stopped. Chrysotile, the most common form of asbestos, is a fibrous substance which is mixed with cement to create a fire-retardant mixture that is applied to corrugated sheets and pipes.”

Read more on The Hindu

Asbestos World Health Organization

More about asbestos products:

https://www.mesorfa.info/mesothelioma-risk-increases-along-with-consumption-of-asbestos-products/

REVIEW: WHAT IS MESOTHELIOMA?

MESOTHELIOMA: What is it?

Mesothelioma is a rare kind of malignant cancer that arises from the cells, lining the sacs of the chest (the pleura) or the abdomen (the peritoneum). Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type usually creating symptoms within the chest space. Peritoneal mesothelioma is not common which affects the organs within the abdomen with symptoms that are associated with this body space including abdominal swelling, nausea, vomiting, and bowel obstruction. The rarest form of mesothelioma cancer is pericardial mesothelioma which involves the sac surrounding the guts.  Based on the shape of the mesothelioma cells, the specific type of mesothelioma can be diagnosed.  There are three kinds of mesothelioma cells:  epithelioid, sarcomatoid and biphasic.mesothelioma-symptoms

MESOTHELIOMA: What Are The Causes?

Exposure to asbestos particles is the primary cause for mesothelioma cancer.  A person can get exposed by inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibers, which usually become airborne when asbestos-containing materials are disturbed as in broken for removal.  When microscopic fibers are inhaled, they’ll become lodged within the lining of the lungs and these stuck fibers fester for 15-40 years until they become recognized as pleural mesothelioma.  When asbestos is ingested, the fibers will become lodged within the lining of the abdomen and eventually cause  peritoneal mesothelioma.

MESOTHELIOMA: What Are The Symptoms?

The symptoms for mesothelioma cancer vary depending on the type and the cancer’s location.   Because the various forms of the cancer are similarity, several symptoms are common and overlapping. Many patients with mesothelioma will experience shortness of breath and general fatigue.  Additionally, acute pain can occur within the chest for patients with pleural and pericardial mesothelioma, and within the abdominal region for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma.

MESOTHELIOMA: What Are The Treatments?

There are several kinds of treatment for patients with malignant mesothelioma, and sometimes they are used in combinations of two or a lot of of those are combined within the course of treatment.

  • Surgery: a pleurectomy is the surgical removal of part of the chest or abdomen lining and some of the tissues around it.  Sometimes when the mesothelioma cancer has consumed too much tissue, a lung may also be removed in an operation known as a pneumonectomy.
  • Radiation Therapy: using high-dose X-rays or alternative high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Two types of radiation therapy include: external radiation where a machine outside the body is used, and internal radiation using radioisotopes where putting materials that turn out radiation through skinny tubes inserted into the body space where the cancer cells are located.
  • Chemotherapy:  using chemotherapeutic agents as medication to fight the cancer.  These drugs are administered in one of two ways; 1)systemically through the bloodstream or 2)intrapleurally in the pleural cavity.  When it’s administered intrapleurally, the treatment is localized at the location of the tumor. Some of these medication are very toxic, so you must discuss their use thoroughly with your doctor.
  • Clinical Trials of new treatments, some non-chemotherapy.

To learn more about mesothelioma cure research and discuss clinical trial options with Dr. Gill.

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The Truth about Mesothelioma Symptoms

Mesothelioma symptoms can vary from patient to patient.

mesothelioma symptomsOne can make a valiant effort to possibly live through this dreaded disease by trying to understand its symptoms and how to detect it as early as possible.

What exactly is mesothelioma?

This is a type of cancer that affects the lining of various internal organs; including the lungs, heart, and abdominal cavity. This type of cancer is sometimes caused by exposure to a type of insulating material called asbestos.

Mesothelioma symptoms may not start for years, or even decades, after one is exposed to this toxic material.

How can a person tell if they have mesothelioma symptoms?

Only a doctor can diagnose mesothelioma. Mesothelioma symptoms are varied and they can often be confused with symptoms of many other illnesses. Mesothelioma symptoms may include shortness of breath, a mass in the abdominal region, fever, night sweats, a general feeling of illness, and many other symptoms that should be discussed with a medical professional. Often mesothelioma attorneys educate their clients that some of the symptoms they may have believed to be something else are actually attributable to this illness.

Why is it so hard to diagnose mesothelioma symptomss?

Mesothelioma symptoms can be extremely inconsistent, which can lead to a host of incorrect diagnoses and misunderstandings.

Far too often a person will have no mesothelioma symptoms for years after exposure, which is due to the fact that mesothelioma grows slowly within a person’s body. This can lead to potential treatment time not being utilized.

What can be done about mesothelioma?

Medical professionals are constantly working on newer and better ways to treat every kind of illness, but thus far there have been few breakthroughs. Some of the most promising discoveries are found in the research and clinical studies by Dr. Gill.  In recent years, a lot of non-medical work has been done with regard to this illness like mesothelioma attorneys mounting cases against the asbestos manufacturing industry, which hid vital information about the potential dangers of asbestos exposure. Tens of millions of individuals may have been exposed, which could potentially lead to large numbers of mesothelioma cases.

Where can I find more information about mesothelioma symptoms?

Additional mesothelioma symptoms information is available here and at www.mesorfa.org our central research center web site.

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PhRMA Golf Invitational raises $11,000 for mesothelioma cancer cure research

October 29, 2012

PhRMA Golf Invitational

The Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America was blessed with a sixth and final event to finish our 2012 season of  fundraising efforts. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America hosted a Golf Invitational at the Napa Valley Country Club, and with the assistance and support of the California State Building and Construction Trades the Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America was the benefactor of the event! The event’s proceeds totaled nearly $11,000, of which 100% will go towards research in finding a cure for mesothelioma!

Read more…

Mesothelioma Treatment Stages

Mesothelioma is the term used for a cancerous tumor, which involves the mesothelioma cells of lungs, heart or abdominal organs. Mesothelioma medical experts provide treatment to a patient after assessing the developmental stage of the cancer in patient’s particular case.  The location of the cancer, the level to which it is spread and the age and general health condition of the patient are analyzed by the medical specialist.

Four Stages of Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is a disease in which the malignant cells are found in the sac that lines the chest or abdomen. There are four stages of malignant mesothelioma.
mesothelioma

Stage One – Localized Mesothelioma

The first stage is localized mesothelioma and the remaining three are considered advanced stages of mesothelioma. Localized mesothelioma is the phase wherein the cancer is discovered in the lung, diaphragm or in the lining of the chest cavity. The patients in their first stage of mesothelioma get their cancer surgically removed by pleurectomy or decortication or extrapleural pneumonectomy.

Stage Two

In the second stage, the cancer is detected to have spread beyond the lining of the chest cavity.

Stage Three

In the third stage, the tumor growth spreads into several areas that include chest wall, center of the chest, heart, and throughout the diaphragm. The treatment in the second, third and fourth stages of mesothelium are done in tandem with supportive care. The treatment for these advanced stages focuses on providing a patient with relief from symptoms, as total cure is generally not achieved. The treatment methodology includes thoracentesis that removes fluid accumulation in the chest cavity, operations to remove the tumor and radiation therapy or chemotherapy aimed at easing symptoms.

Stage Four

In the fourth stage, the cancer is in the process of distant metastasis, which implies that it has spread to other organs and tissues far from its site of origin in the pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial mesothelium. Patients suffering from the fourth stage should enroll themselves in clinical trials that evaluate the newest treatment possibilities in large medical centers. Pain management is an essential aspect of the care of such patients. It is important for patients to know that medications are available to effectively treat pain due to mesothelioma. They should request pain medications or discuss pain control problems with their cancer care team.

Discover more about treatment options, and in particular clinical trials for mesothelioma at the web site for Mesothelioma Research Foundation of America.

MesoRFA.org provides detailed information on Mesothelioma Treatment, Mesothelioma Treatment Options, Alternative Mesothelioma Treatment, New Mesothelioma Treatment and more.

Radical Mesothelioma Treatment Can Save Lives

radical mesothelioma treatment is new treatment in research

Mesothelioma Treatment Challenges

The challenge posed by mesothelioma is great and doctors as well as researchers are looking for new options of mesothelioma treatment. Radical mesothelioma treatment, sometimes called experimental treatment, are simply new advancements in mesothelioma treatment.  Occasionally, these treatments are used along with traditional treatments, other times they are used alone.  Because radical mesothelioma treatment is new, the effectiveness of treatment and side effects are unknown.

If you have mesothelioma and are interested in trying a radical mesothelioma treatment, find and sign up for a clinical trial or clinical study.  A clinical trial is a rigorously controlled test using new medicine or a new medical device on human subjects.  When provided in the U.S., clinical trials of an experimental mesothelioma treatment is conducted with the supervision of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before the treatment is made available to common public use.

Examples of Radical Mesothelioma Treatment

Gene therapy, immuno therapy, photo-dynamic therapy are examples of radical mesothelioma treatment.

Gene therapy is the modification or replacement of missing or damaged genes in the cancer cells of a mesothelioma patient with functional ones.  This mesothelioma treatment methods differ according to the types of genes used and the methods used to inject them into tissues.

Immuno therapy is the mesothelioma treatment that uses natural substances which the body uses to fight infection and disease. This treatment is generally used along with other treatments to strengthen the mesothelioma patient’s immune system. In this procedure, artificial immune system proteins are sometimes injected to stimulate a patient’s normal ability to fight sickness.

Photodynamic therapy involves a drug which is stimulated by a photosensitizing agent.

Finally, there are complementary and alternative holistic medicine methods sometimes used to treat or alleviate cancer symptoms.  These methods are not considered as valid by many in the medical profession; however numerous patients and alternative healers think these practices are very effective. Acupuncture, herbs, homeopathy, therapeutic massage and Eastern medicines are some of the alternative options.

 A Life Saved With New Mesothelioma Treatment

 

 


Additional clinical trial information about mesothelioma treatment

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