Mesothelioma can affect the body of people diagnosed with cancer linked to asbestos in different ways -. Whether the symptoms of the disease or treatment
Chemotherapy is the most common treatment and can cause hair loss or thinning. Lose a significant amount of weight during treatment is not uncommon. Steroid use, another regular part of treatment, can lead to other symptoms such as weight gain and swelling.
The condition also causes symptoms such as pain and fatigue, which can affect walking speed, walking or balance. Some patients may need a walker or wheelchair to help them move. Others may need to carry an oxygen tank with them.
Many mesothelioma patients can recognize their hair will eventually grow back, surgical scars will disappear, and the swelling induced by steroids go away once treatment is finished.
These changes can affect how mesothelioma patients are seen, and how family members, friends and other relatives receive.
There is a natural sense of discomfort when clothes no longer fit the mesothelioma patients because of weight loss or weight gain, but looking in the mirror every day and see a pushing catheter port on their body is hard and show natural process.
This is about perception
people with mesothelioma, who see themselves as thin, pale and tired, can internalize these feelings.
others can also treat you differently because you look sick for no matter how you actually feel. When you look unlike us, it tends to affect our identity
Our identity is composed of many factors :. How we look, our career, personality, skills and talents, and the roles we play as parents, partners and siblings, among others.
Why the aspect considered the main part of the identity when identity is multifactorial? It is because our appearance is usually the aspect of our identity as people react first -. They know it or not
Some mesothelioma patients can say looks are not important and that they are still the same inside, but these statements can not ring true when friends their say they recognize just since they started chemotherapy.
It is easy to wonder if you're the same person inside when the outside is different.
Be aware of the assumptions
When you transition from one person to health research, looking like a cancer patient, a way to minimize the impact on your identity is to be aware of the assumptions - yours and those of others.
A common assumption is that appearing sick equivalent feel sick. But this is simply not true. Many patients with cancer bald, thin and pale, feel good many times. They are able to work, socialize and perform tasks because it makes them feel normal.
However, sometimes well-meaning relatives are mesothelioma patient is ill and should not do these things by their appearance. It is understandable to see how this could lead to misunderstanding so close persuade the patient to stop doing things a "healthy person" is, and start to relax more.
Looking Sick does not mean you feel sick
cancer patients need to let loved ones know that although they may look sick, it may not always be the case.
all mesothelioma patients not look or act sick. Many mesothelioma treatments do not make you lose your hair or significantly affect your weight. Some of the treatments or effects of the disease are less obvious such as pain, fatigue and shortness of breath.
Another common assumption is that people watching feel sick patients. This can lead to conflicts and misunderstandings between cancer patients and caregivers. Many cancer patients reported that their relatives do not understand why they can not do the things they used to do since their diagnosis
Some mesothelioma patients even report relatives saying. "But you do not look that sick. "
these two scenarios highlight the false assumptions people draw based on appearance. If someone you love has cancer, it is best to ask how he or she feels a particular day, assuming that their appearance is equal to their state of being.
Stimulate body image
The MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, launched a body image therapy program in 08 to address the unique body image issues that cancer patients are faced. The program is the first of its kind in the country to cancer patients lawyer on body image.
The program was launched by Michelle Cororve Fingeret, Ph.D., associate professor in the behavioral science department at MD Anderson. Fingeret conducted clinical research on body image and also advises cancer patients throughout the body Therapy Program Image.
Fingeret said, "Many patients are embarrassed or uncomfortable to talk about body image. When working with them, I valid concerns about their body. I tell them it's okay to worry, and it's okay to cry; it is natural to feel that way. "
Knowing that it is normal to feel negatively about your body during and after cancer can provide some peace of mind. Some patients think they are alone in their negative self talk. When they discovering that it is quite normal, they can lighten and be less critical.
Questions and answers 2015 online support Group in August
patients and caregivers have asked some . number of issues during the recent online support group here, we include answers to some of them
. Q:? Is a form of cancer asbestosis
. a: no, asbestosis is not cancer asbestosis is a progressive lung disease that can develop if the asbestos fibers inhaled damage lung tissue asbestos fibers are sharp and can. stuck in the lung tissue, leading to scarring and hardening. There is no cure for asbestosis, but there are medications and therapies to relieve symptoms.
asbestosis is not mesothelioma precursor or lung cancer, it is an entirely separate disease. However, people who have had exposure to asbestos asbestosis enough to be at risk for cancer due to asbestos. the asbestosis patients have a risk of 8 to 10 times higher lung cancer, and about 15 percent later develop mesothelioma. The majority of people with asbestosis are not going to develop cancer
Q:.? What cryotherapy
A: Cryotherapy is a cancer treatment that kills cancer cells by exposing the tumor to extremely cold temperatures. A radiologist usually performs the procedure, which requires only small incisions and lasts about 30 minutes. Cryotherapy can be performed prior to surgery of mesothelioma, during surgery or after a maintenance therapy to control recurrent tumors.
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is about to begin a clinical trial of cryotherapy patients with pleural mesothelioma. Participants will undergo cryotherapy before standard surgery and may receive other treatments such as radiation therapy after surgery. The trial did not recruit participants for the moment, but it is expected to open soon.
