The Treatment Mind Game: How to Feel Better During Chemotherapy

When fighting a battle against cancer, finding ways to feel uplifted and motivated to move forward is crucial. While treatment is meant to create a path towards healing, the actual process and resulting side effects can be painful and emotionally difficult to manage. For example, chemotherapy often causes nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, and depression.

Many options for managing these side effects focus on the body and lessening physical discomfort. However, during this journey, believing in the power of the mind and the thoughts you have can also really make a difference. Here are some ways to help manage the emotional toll treatment can take.

Read more: How Chemotherapy Fights Mesothelioma?

Positive Post-Its

Staying positive can sometimes feel like an insurmountable task. To help shift your mindset towards the self-supportive end, surround yourself with positive affirmations and behaviors. This includes the people you allow around you. Take some notes from this Do Great campaign and share it with your loved ones. Keep a gratitude journal and read it often. Try putting sticky notes all around your house that say things like, “you will get better, you will do great.”

Breathe Better

Rather than trying to meditate, which can quickly become a frustrating and counterintuitive chore, spend some time with your breath. This subconscious process can be used as a tool against feelings of anxiety and also bouts of nausea. Look around and see what kinds of breathing exercises seem to help you. Try counting your breath, or simply breathing deeply and focusing on or visualizing those physical sensations.

Similarly, when having a treatment, visualize the chemo killing the bad cells. Visualize your body healing.

Uncensor Yourself

To say you’re going to feel a lot of different things on your treatment journey is an understatement. Feelings of guilt may trick you into a mode of suffering in silence. Don’t. Staying positive is important, yes, but so is allowing yourself to be in a bad mood. You’re going to want to cry, yell, scream. Let yourself, then move on.

Read Stuff Not About Cancer

It’s easy to find yourself constantly in a cancer-this-cancer-that rabbit hole. It’s important to know what it is you need to, but beyond that, pull yourself out of the hole and read other things you enjoy. Perhaps a magazine, a comic, an old favorite book, or a new one you’ve been meaning to check out. Take the opportunity to get away from the computer screen and visit your local library. If it’s nearby, opt for the walk.

Find Your Funny Bone

Don’t underestimate the power of laughter. Know someone who can always make you laugh? Invite them over. Have a favorite comedy show? Set up a Netflix binge. Do the same for things you find beautiful, and for things that make you feel good about yourself. Seek out the good.

Look To Your Superheros

Who do you admire? This could be an author, a celebrity, a friend. Chances are, they have some pretty great things to say that you’ll believe in. Write them down or recite them in your head. Some cited favorites of cancer survivors include:

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Also, become your own superhero. Walk like the warrior you are and soon you’ll believe it.

Young Cancer Patient's Tenacity Inspires Family, Friends and Strangers

Jimmy E. is a remarkable man.

Inspired by the doctors who helped him overcome a rare form of childhood cancer, he forged a career as a skilled surgical nurse in southern California, driven by an urge to serve others.

But more than 30 years after beating cancer, Jimmy developed a persistent fever, pneumonia and fluid around his lungs. This time, the diagnosis was a more insidious disease — malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Jimmy, who recently turned 38, is far too young for a disease that typically strikes the elderly. As he struggles to rise above each setback, now it's Jimmy inspiring others around him, including family, friends and strangers he never met, and never will.

In the last three months, 122 people have contributed more than $12,200 to his “Please Help Jimmy!” campaign on GoFundMe.com. The goal is to reach $25,000 to cover medical costs.

"I never knew, never guessed, that there were so many people who cared and would reach out to help," said Linda, his mother and primary caregiver. "There are people all over the world who are praying for him now. It's been amazing to see how people have responded. In a way, it's been inspiring to see."

First Encounter with Cancer

Cancer first struck Jimmy at age six.

Doctors told his parents he had fibrosarcoma, a rare, soft-tissue cancer that originated around his jaw. They said there was a 70 percent chance he would die soon.

Multiples surgeries and several rounds of chemotherapy interrupted his young life, but they helped him prevail. His mother said Jimmy raced back to school after each treatment, leaving doctors shaking their heads in amazement.

Doctors Inspire His Career

Jimmy grew up admiring those doctors who orchestrated his care and was determined to help others in much the same way. He loved working with his hands and tinkering with things. He soaked in the Discovery Channel like a sponge.

"He loved the blood and guts of medicine," Linda said. "At a young age, he wanted to be a doctor, a surgeon, but he never quite got that far. Someone suggested he become a surgical nurse, and he did. People liked him."

He spent almost a decade assisting surgeons. They praised his work. Among the surgeries, he helped with organ transplants and organ donations. He was fascinated by the process, giving people the opportunity to live and help others.

Cancer Interrupts His Life Again

Shortly after relocating his job to another hospital in 2012, health problems returned.

Symptoms included a persistent fever, pneumonia and fluid around his lungs. Doctors removed the fluid multiple times, and Jimmy returned to work as quickly as possible after his procedures.

By the fall of 2013, he was struggling to catch his breath. After several other procedures, doctors said he had sarcomatoid mesothelioma — the least common and most aggressive type of the disease.

It was also a stunning diagnosis for someone so young. Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma are in their 60s. The disease, primarily caused by exposure to asbestos, usually takes 20 to 50 years to show.

Complications Continue to Mount

The past year has been a battle. The cancer spread from one lung to the other. Chemotherapy worked briefly, but it was only a Band-Aid.

There have been blood clots, infections and pneumonia. At times, Jimmy was unable to breathe or eat on his own. An emergency insertion of breathing tubes broke his front bottom teeth.

"It's been difficult on the whole family with so much frustration," Linda said. "But it has brought people together. Made you realize how many good people are out there. Jimmy is a fighter. He always has been. He doesn't like hearing anything negative, because he knows God is the only one who will make the final decision, and until he does, Jimmy will fight for his life."

Never Losing Faith

Linda talks to God each day. She prays for a miracle to save her son, who is facing almost-insurmountable odds.

She clings to the hope inspired by the tenacity her son showed as a child and now an adult. He is now at his parents' home in Banning, California, after his latest, two-week hospital stay.

Jimmy needs around-the-clock care now. Although his father, Christopher, works as a schoolteacher, Linda lost her job because of the demands required for taking care of her son.

"It will take a few days to get back into the regular routine again, but we'll make it through," Linda said. "We've done this before."

Strangers, Friends Show Support

His uncle, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, started a page for him on the crowdfunding website GoFundMe, where people donate money to help pay for his care. More than 120 people — many of them strangers — have donated to his campaign.

A donor, listed as Amy, Momo and Olivia Kimura, commented: “Although we've never met, [Jimmy] is a big part of our life and we love him. Therefore, the Ellis family is a part of our family. Positive thoughts and all things good to Jimmy and the whole Ellis family!”

His friend, Dave Ross, wrote: "Jimmy, you have been an inspiration to pretty much everyone you know, and those you don't know. You have been through a lot throughout the years. Stay Strong."

Linda rarely leaves her son's side for very long.

"It's very hard to sit back and know you can't do anything to help," she said. "It's all so hard to figure out. As a parent, you have to be a fighter too, and have faith that there's always a chance. If you're not a fighter, too, you'll never make it through this."

Source:

http://www.asbestos.com/blog/2014/08/13/jimmy-e-inspirational-cancer-battle/

Multimodal Therapy Improve Survival For Mesothelioma Patients

Multimodal therapy, or multimodality therapy, is the combination of several cancer treatments (or modalities), including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Multimodal therapy may also include certain experimental treatments. For mesothelioma patients, multimodal therapy has been clinically shown to possibly improve survival. While a single treatment may not be effective on its own, a combination of treatments may be more successful at destroying cancer cells. Multimodal treatment is considered one of the standard treatment options for stage II, III, and IV malignant mesothelioma and may be considered in stage I disease.

Treatment Components of Multimodal Therapy

Surgery

Surgery may be palliative or potentially curative, though options are limited for mesothelioma patients. Multimodality therapy including surgery has become a standard treatment of mesothelioma in patients with surgically removable tumors.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation is used in all stages of mesothelioma and can reduce symptoms and disease recurrence. As a multimodal therapy, intraoperative radiation is often used after a pleurectomy/decortication surgery.

Chemotherapy

The main chemotherapy treatment used in multimodal mesothelioma treatment is the combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed. Chemotherapy alone is only modestly effective in treating malignant pleural mesothelioma. However, adding a chemotherapeutic regimen to other treatment modalities, such as radiation therapy and surgery, improves survival.

Emerging and Experimental Treatments

There are a number of emerging and experimental treatments that are used in multimodal therapy. These are treatments that are currently being tested during clinical trials and include immunotherapy, gene therapy, photodynamic therapy, and more.

Trimodal Therapy

Malignant mesothelioma is difficult to completely remove with surgery alone. Because the tumor invades such sensitive structures as the diaphragm, esophagus, and heart, surgeons cannot remove a sufficient margin of healthy tissue around the tumor to make sure that all cancer cells have been removed. Therefore, additional cancer fighting treatments are needed.

Trimodal therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma is the use of all three standard mesothelioma treatments—surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy—in some order. It is now widely accepted by oncologists and cancer researchers that more than one treatment modality is better than any single treatment for mesothelioma. A number of studies have shown that a trimodal approach provides the greatest benefit in terms of survival in select patients who can tolerate all three treatments. Indeed, most clinical practice guidelines for malignant pleural mesothelioma recommend trimodality therapy.

Given the relative rarity of malignant pleural mesothelioma, clinical practice guidelines also recommend that anyone undergoing trimodal therapy should be enrolled in a clinical trial whenever possible.

Choosing The Best Order of Treatment

While trimodal therapy is widely accepted as a standard treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma, the order of treatments is a matter of debate.

Any of the treatment options can be what’s called the primary therapy, an adjuvant or a neoadjuvant therapy.

• Neoadjuvant Therapy — Any treatment given before primary therapy to improve results.
• Primary Therapy — Considered the most effective treatment option. This will most often be surgery.
• Adjuvant Therapy — Any treatment administered after primary therapy to alleviate symptoms and prevent cancer from returning.

In most cases, trimodal therapy will begin with chemotherapy followed by surgery (i.e., extrapleural pneumonectomy) and will finish with external beam, hemithoracic radiation therapy. Second most commonly, the patient first undergoes surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Less common approaches combine surgery with intracavitary chemotherapy followed later by radiation therapy. In some trimodal treatment combinations, hemithoracic radiation is replaced with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).

Survival Rates

There is no clearly superior order of treatments in trimodality therapy. When surgery comes first, median survival ranges from 17 months to 28 months, and 39% to 81% of patients complete all three phases of treatment. When chemotherapy is administered before surgery, median survival ranges from 14 to 25.5 months and 32% to 69% of patients fully complete trimodal therapy.

Recent clinical trials have focused on pleurectomy with decortication in trimodality therapy. This surgical approach is associated with fewer complications than extrapleural pneumonectomy and, perhaps, better overall survival when incorporated in a trimodal therapy regimen. Moreover, 84% to 94% of patients were able to complete trimodal therapy when pleurectomy with decortication was used. One small clinical trial reported median survival of 30 months using this surgical approach. While the type of surgery used in trimodal therapy should be individualized to the patient’s circumstances, initial reports of a higher completion rate with pleurectomy and decortication are promising.

The course of therapy is different for each patient. A multidisciplinary team of cancer specialists decides on the best order of treatments based on patient preferences and circumstances.

Creating a Treatment Plan

Not everyone with malignant pleural mesothelioma is a candidate for multimodal therapy. Prior to this treatment, several diagnostic tests need to be run to determine a patient’s suitability for surgery, whether it is extrapleural pneumonectomy or pleurectomy with decortication. At a minimum, patients will undergo the following examinations:

• Physical examination – If other health problems are present, is the patient healthy enough to undergo major surgery?
• Pulmonary function testing – Will the patient have enough lung function in the remaining lobes of the lung after the diseased lung has been removed?
• Cardiac function testing – Does the patient have a strong enough heart to maintain blood pressure after some of the pulmonary blood vessels have been removed? Is the patient’s heart strong enough to undergo major surgery?
• Radiological studies – Radiological studies such as CT, MRI, and PET scans may be used to determine whether cancer cells have extended well beyond the affected lung to distant sites. If they have, trimodal therapy may not be successful.
• Histological examination – Patients do better if their mesothelioma is of the epithelial type rather than sarcomatoid. Because of the aggressive nature of sarcomatoid mesothelioma, doctors may decide not to use multimodal therapy. A third cancer cell type called biphasic mesothelioma has both epithelial and sarcomatoid cells. The prognosis for biphasic mesothelioma is not as good as epithelial mesothelioma, but multimodal therapy can still proceed with this cancer type.

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From Initial Symptoms to Diagnosis: Mesothelioma Testing Procedures

Undergoing treatment for mesothelioma is a battle no one wants to fight, but for many mesothelioma patients, the rocky road begins even before their diagnosis. Because mesothelioma is a rare disease that affects approximately 3,200 people every year, many general medical professionals do not have the experience or training to diagnose the disease . Initial mesothelioma symptoms can mimic those of the common cold or flu, so when a patient arrives in their office complaining of fatigue, a bad cough, and shortness of breath, most doctors do not automatically assume this rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure could be the problem.

If you think that you or someone you care about may have mesothelioma, there are tests and procedures to be aware of as you make an appointment for an initial consultation. By understanding how mesothelioma is diagnosed, you can begin to advocate for yourself if you feel your doctor is not picking up on the warning signs.

The Initial Consultation

In your initial consultation, it is important that you explain all troublesome symptoms to your doctor. They will likely review your medical history with you and conduct a thorough physical examination. At this time, you should be sure your doctor is informed of any history of asbestos exposure, especially if you ever had a high-risk occupation in which you were exposed at work on a regular basis.

Your doctor may order blood tests, but mesothelioma cannot be diagnosed from a blood test alone. A routine metabolic profile and blood count can provide your doctor with some general information about your health. Blood tests that may be ordered to specifically assess for mesothelioma include osteopontin and mesothelin-related peptides, which are not diagnostic, but more commonly elevated in people with mesothelioma.

Chest X-Ray

Most medical professionals will order a chest x-ray as an initial screening test because it is quick, easy, and may give them an idea about what is causing your symptoms. They will be looking for an abnormal thickening of the pleura, calcium deposits on the pleura, or fluid anywhere around or in the lungs/chest.

Computerized Tomography (CT) Scan

Another common mesothelioma diagnostic procedure is the CT scan, which allows for more detailed imaging than a regular x-ray. A CT scanner rotates around your body and takes multiple pictures that are combined to create imaging “slices” of your body. CT scans are used to help pinpoint the exact location of the mesothelioma and to stage the cancer. The CT scan can help determine what sites to biopsy to confirm the diagnosis of mesothelioma (which can only be diagnosed by a pathologist who looks at cancer cells under a microscope – see below).

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan

With a PET scan, a radioactive substance is injected into your blood and a specialized scanner will take a picture of any radioactive activity in the body. With cancer staging, a radioactive form of sugar (called FDG) in injected; cancer cells readily absorb this sugar allowing the PET scanner to detect where the cancerous tumors are in the body. A CT scan is often done at the same time as the PET scan so that the doctors can correlate where in the body the radioactivity is coming from. A PET/CT scan can show doctors if and where the cancer has spread.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scan

MRI scans, like CT scans, provide imaging slices of your body. Unlike a CT scan which uses high energy radiation, an MRI uses (safe) radio frequency waves and magnetic fields (which will preclude it use in people with cardiac devices, cochlear implants or some metal implants). The MRI provides a more detailed view of your body’s soft tissues and can be helpful in better determining the exact location and extent of disease.

Biopsies

After undergoing 1 or more of the above imaging tests, your doctor will likely have an understanding as to what is going on in your body — at the very least, he or she will know if anything looks abnormal. If they feel you may have mesothelioma (or another cancer), a biopsy will usually be done to get a diagnosis.

Biopsies can be obtained in different ways (i.e. surgical vs. nonsurgical), but the idea is the same behind all of them: Doctors collect a sample of tissue or fluid and pathologists will examine the tissue or fluid to look for the presence of cancer cells, and analyze those cancer cells if they are found. Accurately identifying and staging mesothelioma is critical to successful treatment.

Getting a Mesothelioma Diagnosis: The Sooner, The Better

As is the case with most cancers, the sooner you can see a doctor and get an accurate diagnosis, the better your chances are for survival. Once your doctor has determined mesothelioma is the culprit, you will learn about the stages of mesothelioma, the type you have, treatment options, and your overallprognosis.

Advocate for yourself, be an active participant in the entire process, and try to stay optimistic — you didn’t choose your mesothelioma diagnosis, but you can choose how you fight it.

Mesothelioma Survivor Remains Strong 10 Years After Diagnosis

Virginia Beach spent four years researching and writing hundreds of pages of family history.

She began her memoirs with her ancestors' voyage to America on the Mayflower in 1620, and then across generations, including the birth of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her move into hospice care in 2014 because of a malignant pleural mesothelioma diagnosis is also part of the tale.

But her story doesn't end there because mesothelioma did not win.

Beach, 88, recovered from the cancer miraculously, left hospice care and returned to independent living at the Presbyterian Retirement Community near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Now she is eagerly awaiting the birth of three more great grandchildren to add to her chronicles and her growing correspondence list.

Last month, she passed the 10-year survival mark for a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma — a rare moment — stunning doctors with her ability to fight off this incurable cancer.

She also returned to the church choir and her job as a librarian at the retirement community.

"My oncologist doesn't say it's in remission. He says it's in control,'' Beach said recently from her home. "I've been very fortunate. When I was originally diagnosed, they gave me a year and a half to live. That was 10 years ago. Then last year, they said it was time for hospice. The tumors had doubled in size, but after six months, I graduated out."

Miracles happen.

The Power of Prayer

Beach is a pastor's daughter and widowed wife of a pastor. She believes strongly in the power of prayer. Her faith never wavers. Each day starts and ends with a Bible passage. She gives thanks to God.

She mentions mesothelioma only once in her 250-page autobiography. And it's only in passing — nothing more.

"I live with a lot of elderly people here. Everyone suffers from one thing or another. I just don't like to hear sad stories. I'm not going to be one," she said. "It's not a huge part of my life right now, so I don't talk about it. It's not how I want my grandchildren to remember me. I'm an optimistic person who looks at the bright side."

When Virginia was first diagnosed, they put her name in the church bulletin so that everyone could pray for her and the other cancer patients. As much as she appreciated the prayers, she asked church members to remove her name. She believed God would handle it just fine. And he has.

Her father may have died at age 54 from lung cancer, which doctors originally thought she had. But her mother lived to be 104 and gave speeches in her community throughout her 90s.

Virginia inherited her mother's strong genes.

Still Sharp and in Touch

She had fought off malignant melanoma cancer in the late 1990s. Her husband, Roger, suffered through dementia in the final years of his life and died in 2009, leaving her with the fondest of memories.

But there is a clarity, purpose and sharpness to her today that defies her age.

Beach has 20 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren between her five daughters who are spread across the country in Oregon, New York and Ohio. Some of her grandchildren live as far away as Japan, Thailand and Colombia.

One son-in-law became a minister. One grandson is overseas on a church mission.

She keeps a spreadsheet with everyone's birth dates, wedding anniversaries and addresses. kanaEvery year, she sends each family member Christmas and birthday cards with personalized, handwritten notes.

"It's a wonderful family," she said. "I've been blessed."

Sudden Health Scare

Beach underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy shortly after she was diagnosed a decade ago, and doctors were pleased with the results. Since then, she opted against undergoing any otheraggressive treatment.

But last summer, she became frightened by a sudden shortness of breath, prompting her oncologist to recommend hospice and palliative care.

A nurse and a social worker started visiting her regularly. Her primary care physician also continued to stop by. Even the local chaplain started making house calls. But her health improved, and she waved off much of the help they were offering.

"After a while, the doctor told me my lungs were clear. I didn't need them to do much, but the nurse did help me understand my iPad, and how to use it better," she laughed. "That was a big help to me."

Living an Active and Productive Life

Beach remains active today and takes classes on balance five days a week at a wellness center. She traveled to Oxford, Ohio, earlier this summer for a grandson's wedding and visited Portland the previous summer.

She uses her iPad to send emails to her daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren. The organizational skills she learned throughout the years as a librarian are evident today in her writing.

Family members help format, edit and create graphics for her memoirs, but Beach maintains full control, amending her story each time another event takes place in her life.

Despite her mesothelioma, Beach has accomplished much in her life, and that's why she has aptly titled her memoirs "Journey to Joy."

Sources: www.asbestos.com/blog/2015/09/02/mesothelioma-survivor-strong-10-years-after-diagnosis

Best Hair Loss Treatments For Men - CLEVER BOSIR ALL ABOUT HEALT

If you are suffering from hair loss, you are not alone bothered because it is a quite common issue in men. The effects of hair loss can be different in each individual because there are a lot of reasons a man can lose his hair. It is also not always worth stressing medical issue as it is common in some men as they age.

According to a study, almost two-thirds of men suffer from some degree of hair loss when they are 35 and almost 85 % men experience hair loss when they turn 85. As it is mentioned in recent lines that there are different reasons for hair loss in men, there are different hair loss treatment for men to help them cope with the problem.

Below we have gathered expert hair loss fixes to prevent hair loss in men.

1. Eat a balanced Diet to Nourish Your Hair

Eating healthy is not only important to stay healthy and fit but it also keeps your hair strong and healthy. Try to eat what your scalp needs to grow strong hair and to keep them healthy. As vitamins and minerals are directly linked to healthy hair, try to include plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins in your meal plan. Limiting the intake of sugary stuff is also a healthy habit to prevent hair loss by making them healthy. In order to nourish your hair with really they need, you should eat iron-rich foods like lean beef, beans, green leafy vegetables, and eggs. Also eat some natural source of omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, hemp seeds and walnuts etc.

2. Scalp Massage

Scalp massage not only makes you feel fresh and but it can also help you prevent hair loss. According to medical experts, massaging the scalp with olive oil increases the blood flow to the scalp and to the hair follicles for healthy growth of hair. A massage on the scalp also increases the movement among ‘genes’ known for better hair growth. 

3 No Smoking 

Smoking not only damage your lungs, but it can also cause hair loss in men. According to medical professionals, there is a direct link between hair loss and smoking and you can fix the issue of quitting smoking because it accelerates premature graying and hair loss. 

4 Lasers Combs 

In the world of the latest technology, laser comb is another best way to treat hair loss. It is told by vendors of laser comb that it accelerates hair growth in men by using concentrated light that stimulates hair follicles to grow healthy and strong hair. The results of this treatment may vary on different scalp skins than other forms of hair loss treatment.

5. Medication

Minoxidil and Finasteride are prescribed as the best drugs to treat hair loss in men. Minoxidil can be purchased from drug stores as a liquid or foam. You can apply it to the scalp after every 12 hours to prevent hair loss. Finasteride is a pill that an individual can take daily to treat hair loss problems. One can only buy from the store with a prescription of the doctor. The process of growing hair with the help of medication usually takes 10 to 12 months. 

6 Surgery or Hair Transplant 

Hair transplant is a fast way to grow hair on your scalp without waiting for years. In the process of hair transplant surgery, experts remove hair follicles from the back of the head where they are unaffected to DHT and then place them on the scalp. One should find a highly professional and qualified medical expert to get hair transplant treatment to fix the hair loss problem. 

7 Learn to Manage Stress 

A stressful life can lead you towards hair loss even before 35 because stress pushes a huge amount of hair follicles into a resting phase and they are unable to grow hair on the scalp. That is the reason, you should manage your stress if you don’t want to lose your hair. Mindful eating, regular exercise, yoga and getting 8 hours of good night’s sleep are some strategies that can help you manage stress for healthy hair. Sharing is caring!