Researchers found that psychosocial interventions for patients had “medium-size effects” on both pain severity and pain interference in adults with cancer.

Reviewing studies published between 1966 and 2010 of cancer patients, researchers from Columbia University in New York City found 37 papers for which measures of pain severity and pain interference could be assessed. Speaking of their findings, the authors said, “These robust findings support the systematic implementation of quality-controlled psychosocial interventions as part of a multimodal approach to the management of pain in patients with cancer.”

According to the International Association for the Study of Pain, the primary psychosocial intervention used to manage pain is cognitive-behavioral therapy. This therapy often includes education focusing on explaining how a patient’s feelings can influence the intensity of the pain. The patient is then shown how their thoughts, feelings and behaviors can be used to cope with, and lessen, the pain. Then the patients are shown how to develop a program for managing their pain and how to “overcome setbacks and relapses in their coping efforts.”

The combination of prescription pain medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy could have significant benefits for mesothelioma patients suffering moderate to severe pain.

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The poor prognosis and high cost of treatment for mesothelioma makes legal representation important for some patients. Often, compensation is necessary to cover the various treatments needed for this deadly disease and to help the victim’s family after death. Higher awards generally go to victims and families represented by experienced counsel. Beyond help with medical bills, there is also the issue of justice.

If you were knowingly exposed to asbestos by an employer or some other organization, a successful lawsuit will help guarantee that the offending party will avoid such dangerous behavior in the future. A law firm specializing in mesothelioma will have skilled investigators to prove wrongdoing and will use such information to make certain it does not happen to anyone else.

Consultation with one of our mesothelioma lawyers will cost you nothing unless your case is successful.

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While breast cancer has the mammogram and prostate cancer has the PSA, lung cancer does not have an equivalent test for detection. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) identifies chest x-rays, CT scans, PET scans and the bronchoscopy as tests used to diagnose lung cancer, but these tests are only effective after a patient has presented worsening respiratory symptoms.

Patients with mesothelioma often have symptoms such as a persistent cough, shortness of breath, fatigue and wheezing, similar to other respiratory illnesses. Typically, when a patient first exhibits these symptoms, doctors first treat them for a respiratory infection. They only test for cancer later. This leads to a late diagnosis, when the disease is already causing life-threatening complications.

Studies are underway to find an effective lung cancer and mesothelioma screening tool. Some researchers have developed tests to detect circulating tumor cells. Other tests include Cornell’s “glowing dots” that would attach to cancer cells and glow during a PET scan, and an electronic nose to detect mesothelioma in an exhaled breath.

There is hope that someday soon research will catch up with the dire need of future mesothelioma sufferers for early detection.

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The mapping of the human genome is considered by many to be one of the major scientific breakthroughs of all time. Some researchers are taking this new ability and using it in a very specific way: mapping specific diseases. Cancer genomes are showing to be particularly good candidates for such genome sequencing.

According to Barrett Rollins of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, cancer “is among the most promising targets because it is essentially a disease in which damaged genes let cells grow without restraint.”

The cost of gene sequencing has gone down dramatically, and while many insurance companies do not offer coverage for the procedure, the out-of-pocket expense for the average patient is now less than $1,000.

Sequencing cancer genes can give an enormous amount of information to doctors, allowing them to target the treatment to the particular needs of the patient. Without this information, doctors are forced to use treatments that target the way a particular disease functions as a whole, instead of on an individual level. Cancer acts differently in every patient. With the information provided by gene sequencing, doctors can respond accordingly.

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For patients who can tolerate the procedure, an operation to remove part of the chest lining may be the best way to diagnose early malignant pleural mesothelioma.

The standard and least invasive diagnostic test when pleural mesothelioma is suspected is pleural effusion cytology. A buildup of fluid between the layers of the pleura, known as pleural effusion, is one of the first clinical signs of mesothelioma. Doctors draw of some of this fluid to test for cancer cells.

The Japanese researchers point out that this method has a level of sensitivity of only about 60 percent. False negatives result in a delay of critical treatments.

In order to get a more reliable diagnoses, they suggest performing a thoracoscopic pleural biopsy. This involves removing a part of the chest lining. Even this, they admit, will sometimes fail to diagnose the disease. When this is the case, they recommend an even more invasive procedure called a total parietal pleurectomy.

This final option involves removing the outside or parietal layer of the pleura. The risk of the operation must be weighed against the risk of untreated mesothelioma. If the patient’s health is strong enough to take the procedure, it could be lifesaving.

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Kora Leah was a foreman at Cape Asbestos in Hebben Bridge, Yorkshire, England. His children remember how they would play with their father when he returned home from work with his clothes still covered with asbestos dust. “I remember my mother shaking his overalls and dust going everywhere,” Maureen McGough, 73, recalled.

She said that the children would sometimes accompany their father to work and play in the piles of asbestos dust.

Their father died of lung cancer in 1958, 10 years after he left Cape Asbestos. Two of his children have died in recent months of mesothelioma. The remaining siblings all have asbestos related diseases now and are at risk of developing mesothelioma.

The National Cancer Institute reports that there is evidence that family members of workers heavily exposed to asbestos face an increased risk of developing mesothelioma.

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Removing the asbestos from the DOE building began back in November and is only now completed. The 1,000 acre site, like many buildings built prior to the end of the 1970s, used large amounts of asbestos for insulation, among other things. As these older buildings age, they become health hazards, sometimes requiring demolition.

“Protecting the health and safety of the personnel at the plant and in the community, as well as the environment, is the first priority in the clean-up process. Safe asbestos removal like this in the X-333 will be a significant part of the activities to come,” said Vince Adams, DEO site coordinator at Portsmouth.

This attention to detail is paramount in guaranteeing the safety of the workers and the future safety of the site after demolition. Taking three months to remove all the insulation in such a large building is necessary in order to prevent asbestos exposure and the mesothelioma that commonly follows.

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ChemRisk researchers Kara Franke and Dennis Paustenbach examined dozens of published and unpublished documents on asbestos knowledge from 1900 to 1970. They found the Navy understood the health hazards of asbestos as early as the 1930’s. Though it required the use of asbestos on ships, the Navy did recommend certain precautions for safe handling of the material.

When asbestos was clearly linked with mesothelioma in the 1960’s, the Navy “attempted to implement procedures that would minimize the opportunity for adverse effects on both servicemen and civilians.”

Unfortunately, it was too little, too late for many servicemen.

It seems to take a long time for both government organizations and businesses to change when health hazards are discovered in their practices. It is regrettable, because so many lives are lost through inaction.

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McQueen was known as the King of Cool, from the way he lived on screen and off. He was a classic American success story, who overcame a poor, broken-home upbringing to become a Hollywood superstar.

McQueen had traced his illness to asbestos exposure first from the Marine Corp, and then from the flame-retardant driving suits he wore so often while racing cars and motorcycles. He died from mesothelioma in 1980 at the age of 50.

The Warren Zevon Tribute Award will be presented to McQueen’s widow, Barbara McQueen, on March 31 I Manhattan Beach, California.

Many notable Americans have died from mesothelioma, including Pro Football Hall of Famer and broadcaster Merlin Olsen, White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan, actor Paul Gleeson, Congressman Bruce Vento, scientist Stephen Gould and Navy Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr.

The majority of mesothelioma sufferers contract the disease from asbestos exposure, decades before the disease is detected. Victims usually have a very short time to live after diagnosis, as there are few treatment options.

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Sherrie Moore began experiencing fatigue about four years ago, along with an elevated heart rate and eventually pain in her side. She assumed it was fatigue and stress from caring for her husband, who has prostate cancer.

It took multiple tests to determine what was wrong with her, but eventually a doctor determined her CT scan showed something abnormal with her lung. An outpatient procedure and a biopsy were inconclusive.

When she was referred to a cancer specialist, he recommended an open lung biopsy. The surgeon found 15 tumors in Moore’s right lung, diagnosing her with stage IV mesothelioma.

If a patient has only one lung affected, it is possible to remove it and the surrounding tissue and perform chemotherapy radiation. Both of Moore’s lungs were affected, though. This left her with limited treatment options.

Moore went through 28 chemotherapy treatments. Even before the treatments concluded, there were no signs of active mesothelioma. Her physician, Dr. Anne Tsao, told Moore that she was the first of her patients to achieve full remission.

Congratulations, Sherrie Moore. We hope others can achieve your results.

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