Action Plan for Mesothelioma
Patients
If you've been diagnosed with cancer,
you should take actions now:
- Learn as much as possible
Learn about the disease, potential treatments, and how to
makes the best of your life with it. Good resources include
the National
Cancer Institute and Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
- See a qualified doctor.
Most general practitioner physicians will refer you to a
qualified oncologist. Oncologists are doctors that specialize
in cancer. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer, so even many experienced
oncologists have little experience with it. You may wish
to pursue treatment at a specialized cancer clinic. Keep
records.
- Seek compensation from the asbestos industry.
The asbestos industry is not innocent. They knew about the
dangers of asbestos for decades but continued to sell it
and make it into industrial products.
Their profits were built on the health of hard-working Americans.
It is only fair that they pay for medical treatment for
the people they hurt.
Many people have received awards from these companies. If
a family member has an asbestos disease or has died from
mesothelioma, you may also be eligible for compensation.
- Get a qualified lawyer
The asbestos companies will not readily hand over your compensation.
If you or a family member have mesothelioma, you should
hire a lawyer.
Use a lawyer with experience in asbestos cases, one that
represents individuals, not corporations.
Make sure the lawyer is savvy enough to know to handle your
case individually. Don't let him or her lump it
in with other cases as part of a group. You will
almost always do better filing suit as an individual.
Protip:
For many years there has been a search for an effective treatment
of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Surgery is of limited applicability
and is reserved for special cases, in which it is combined
with radiation therapy. In the previous century, many cytostatic
agents have been tested, alone or in combination, but the
response was limited, the median survival time was unchanged
and the toxicity was high. New drugs, including the new antifolates,
are being used much more often in the treatment of malignant
pleural mesothelioma in combination with a platinum derivative.
Cytostatics such as pemetrexed, an antifolate, and to a lesser
extent raltitrexed, have shown good response rates and increased
survival in phase III studies, but the survival benefit evaporates
within 2 years. Inhibitors of angiogenesis and of epidermal
growth factor are being tested, but they have shown only limited
activity until now. The current studies focus on
the use of chemotherapy and biological agents as part
of a more complex treatment schedule.
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