Surgery

Tool to Measure Asbestos Levels in Tissue has Been Created

A new tool to determine levels of asbestos exposure has been developed. The tool, created by Italian researchers, is known as a Retrospective Exposure Assessment (REA). The tool uses a microscope to determine how much asbestos is in lung tissue. The study wants to compare the actual level of asbestos[…]

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A New Blood Test That Can Diagnose Mesothelioma Has Been Developed

A blood test could make diagnosing mesothelioma faster, leading to doctors catching the disease earlier in patients. Mesothelioma is a hard-to-treat cancer mainly caused by asbestos. Once diagnosed, not much can be done because it has usually spread and progressed to a point where treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation[…]

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SMARTEST Trial Hopes to Improve Survival Times for Mesothelioma

Researchers are performing a clinical trial hoping that they can make pleural mesothelioma a more manageable, and even survivable, disease. The clinical trial is being done at Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto. The trial is known as SMARTEST, which stands for Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy using Exquisite[…]

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High HITHOC Dosage for Pleural Mesothelioma Improves Survival

High doses of hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITHOC) help pleural mesothelioma patients. A recent study found that when HITHOC is administered at a high dose, survival rates improve and periods of being disease free increase. HITHOC is the use of chemotherapy during surgery and is an experimental treatment for different types[…]

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Two Cytoreductive Surgeries Can Improve Survival for Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patients

If peritoneal mesothelioma patients undergo a second surgery after recurrence, they can improve their survival. Data from a retrospective review from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center shows that cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) can be incredibly helpful for peritoneal disease sufferers. For some people, a second surgery has[…]

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Prehab and Rehab for Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly cancer of the mesothelium, which is a membrane that surrounds multiple organs including the lungs and abdomen. The best thing for patients after a mesothelioma diagnosis is treatment in the form of chemotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy, or multiple treatments together. This can be mentally and[…]

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Different Levels of Pleurectomy and Decortication Surgery can Save Mesothelioma Patients’ Lives

Italian researchers believe that lung sparing surgery can improve survival in mesothelioma patients, even when surgeries are more conservative. Pleurectomy and decortication is the surgery that spares the lungs. It is less comprehensive than the surgery that removes the lungs, which also makes it less dangerous to patients. Doctors at[…]

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Follow Up Care for Mesothelioma

Follow-up care is crucial for treating mesothelioma patients. A study out of the United Kingdom found that when patients receive follow-up care, more input from their caregivers, continuity, and more timely information was necessary. The study involved three National Health Service facilities in England. Two of the centers were secondary[…]

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Patients with Mesothelioma Don’t Always Have Access to the Best Care

Unfortunately, there is a lack of equality when it comes to treating mesothelioma patients because access to care can be very inconsistent. Patients might not have access to a high-volume academic hospital that treats mesothelioma patients, so they are not receiving the proper care that some people might receive. Patients[…]

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Mesothelioma Patient Health Improves a Year After Surgery

It could take time for mesothelioma patients to have better lung function after pleural mesothelioma surgery since some patients have better lung function a year after surgery compared to the days and weeks after the operation. Researchers in Japan published their findings in Integrative Cancer Therapies. There were 24 male[…]

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