Mesothelioma -Some Basic Information

I am just learning about an asbestos related cancer. You may have seen info in the news about this disease and wondered what it’s about so here is some very basic info:

Newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients and their caretakers are often thrown into a blurry world filled with confusing numbers and conflicting statistics. Because it’s a rare cancer research on the disease is limited, and accurate information can be hard to find. However, as a mesothelioma patient and their loved ones work to cope with the cancer, having a clear understanding of what the disease is and what to expect can make a world of difference.

Below are some basic facts about this asbestos-related cancer:

·       *Between 2,000 and 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.    Almost all cases of mesothelioma cancer are caused by asbestos exposure. Most of this asbestos exposure occurred at an industrial occupation before the 1980s.

·      * Most cases are diagnosed in men over the age of 55.

     *The symptoms of mesothelioma include chest pain, shortness of breath and a persistent cough.

·       *There are three different types of mesothelioma, and they each refer to the part of the body where the cancer is growing. Pleural mesothelioma forms in the lining of the lungs, peritoneal mesothelioma forms in the lining of the abdominal cavity and pericardial mesothelioma forms in the lining of the heart.

·       *Traditional treatments include chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy.

·       *Patients diagnosed in stage I are expected to have a 32-month average life span. This drops to 6.5 months for patients diagnosed in stage IV.

u     You can  learn more at http://www.asbestos.com

Ways to Go

If you have dealt with cancer, as patient or caregiver, you know the questions from friends and acquaintances: “Is there a family history?” “Did she smoke?” “Wasn’t he overweight?” “I think he had a lot of anger?”

Translation: There must be some reason that you have cancer and I won’t get it. However, we have numbers to help us sort the crowd. And to remember that cancer is not a moral issue or a character weakness or a personal failing. Maybe this also helps if you are asking, “Why Me?” In truth, why not you?

From the National Safety Council we have statistics that reveal what holds the greatest chance of ending a life. Here are some of the lifetime probabilities of a US resident dying. These are expressed as odds of dying:

Heart disease: 1 in 5

Cancer: 1 in 7

Stroke: 1 in 24

Falling: 1 in 128

Pedestrian accident: 1 in 626

Drowning: 1 in 1,008

Airplane accident: 1 in 5,051

Lightening: 1 in 79,000

So this tells us that cancer is very common with little discrimination and so shouldn’t we all be learning more? It also tells us that heart disease should be our biggest worry, so swap out those pink ribbons for red ones. But the biggest thing we need to be facing is our own mortality. The total odds of dying, of any cause, are 1 in 1. 100% of us will die. You’d think, given that, that we’d get a little bit better at dealing with it.

Changing Demographics Changes Caregiving

While much of what we talk about on this blog is related to cancer it’s important to know that cancer is no longer a “stand alone” illness or disability. There is no longer a sick spouse and a well spouse—even though a lot of the discussion around caregiving is framed in that false dichotomy. Because of the dramatic shifts in demographics and changes in healthcare it’s very unlikely that a family or a household will deal only with cancer.

Here are some statistics on aging, cancer and chronic illness in the New York Capital Region:

*By 2015 the number of people over 60 will increase by 40%

*By 2012 six out of 10 people over 60 will manage more than 1 chronic illness

*By 2020 cancer survivors will increase by 55%

*By 2021 the age group of people 85+ will increase by 35%

*By 2012 the number of formal caregivers (nurses, aides, case managers) will decrease by 20%

If you look at those statistics side-by-side you’ll see the dilemma we are facing: The good news: more of us will live longer. But the fine print that we forget to read says we’ll live longer with cancer and with multiple chronic conditions. It also means that our caregivers will also live longer but with much more complicated health issues of their own. What that good and bad news really means is that most of our households will have multiple caregivers –spouses and partners will trade roles most of the time or will be simultaneously caregivers for each other.

This is a consequence of better healthcare and of the rapid changes in cancer treatment.

You may be experiencing this. One member of your family may have cancer but someone else in the family has heart disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia, MS, or another form of cancer. As we age better, and live longer, this will go back and forth multiple times.

The Costs of Caregiving

The average caregiver is 46, female, married with children and working outside the home. Although men also provide assistance, female caregivers spend as much as 50% more time providing care than male caregivers.

A four-year study by the National Alliance for Caregiving found that middle-aged women caring for an ill or disabled spouse were six times more likely to suffer depressive or anxious symptoms than those with no caregiving responsibilities. Their symptoms include:

A higher level of hostility
Less personal mastery
Less self-acceptance
A decline in happiness

Compounding this picture, more than one-third of female caregivers provide care to others while suffering from poor health themselves. Women over the age of 50 who are caregivers have a twofold increase in their risk of coronary heart disease. (CHD)

And then at work:

33% of working women caregivers decreased their work hours
29% passed up a promotion, training or assignment
22% took a leave of absence
20% switched to part-time
16% quit their jobs


When I read this today I knew I was reading about myself.