medical
Coping with a life-changing diagnosis and setting your own goals
Writing on mesotheliomahelp.org, nurse specialist Lisa Hyde-Barrett reminds us that being diagnosed with an asbestos related disease is life changing. Patients handle this differently. Everyone is unique and so there is no right or wrong way. She says, ‘We must allow ourselves or our family members to feel their fear, or anger, or whatever emotion…
Read MoreCoping with the stress caused by asbestos
A recurrent theme when we first speak to new service users is stress. The diagnosis often comes as a shock. People are frequently stunned to realise that they have been exposed to asbestos or that it has caused them harm, often many years afterwards. Once the news has sunk in, there is then the everyday…
Read MoreYou can’t rely on the internet to tell you the facts about mesothelioma
It may seem strange for a website to tell its readers that you can’t rely on the internet to tell you the facts about mesothelioma. However, a recent survey in the USA found that one third of the websites and blogs which talk about mesothelioma are providing misleading advice. Another third are providing advice that…
Read MoreMarian’s story: the impact of mesothelioma on my mental health
Marian, a former social worker who lives in Birmingham, shares her thoughts and feelings about being diagnosed with mesothelioma. In October last year my life changed. A brief telephone call, from one of the medical registrars from the Hospital where I had undergone investigation, told me that I had a rare form of cancer and there was…
Read MoreQuality of life is all important
Researchers in Australia have confirmed what we probably already knew. Quality of life is all important. When patients have an illness like mesothelioma it can also help them to live for longer. Previous studies had already shown that people survive for longer, on average, when they receive good palliative care or symptom control. This new…
Read MoreThe role of our genes in mesothelioma
People often wonder they have got mesothelioma. Sometimes this happens after a very small exposure to asbestos. Our genes are one of the things which play a part. For instance, one gene, BAP1 or BRCA1 associated protein-1, mutates in some people. This seems to make them more vulnerable to mesothelioma. Chemoresistance The same gene also…
Read MoreDon’t feel you have to delay asking for help during the Covid-19 winter crisis
The charity Mesothelioma UK is advising patients not to delay asking for help if they need it during the Covid-19 winter crisis. News broadcasts on TV, and articles in the press, are telling us that hospitals are exceptionally busy. This is true, but if you have an asbestos related disease and need to ask for…
Read MoreWhy palliative care can help
It can be a shock, and very disappointing, when the oncologist says that – in their opinion – the best available treatment is palliative care. Deciding the best treatment for a patient is always a balance. The patient and their doctor have to weigh the likely benefits and the likely side effects. These might make…
Read MoreHow your gender affects your experience of mesothelioma
Working with Sheffield Univeristy and HASAG Asbestos Disease Support, the asbestos support group for London and the South-east, the charity Mesothelioma UK has published a new study of the ways your gender can affect your experience of mesothelioma. Differences in the work people have done Mesothelioma is often diagnosed after a person has retired, and…
Read MoreImmunotherapy treatment for mesothelioma has been made more widely available until March 2021 because of Covid-19
The type of treatment for someone suffering from mesothelioma will depend on the type of mesothelioma, on the stage of the mesothelioma, their general health and fitness and their personal preferences. There is more than one type of treatment. Immunotherapy is a form of treatment that helps the immune system to fight the mesothelioma and…
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