I always wondered about those late night commercials for mesothelioma. What exactly was this mouthful of a disease? I knew the basics: it was a form of cancer, and mostly people who worked with asbestos got it. I also knew the the prognosis for mesothelioma couldn't be good, judging from the voice over's ominous tone.
I was right. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer--only about 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States, according to the American Lung Association. It is also hard to treat, says Jorge Quesada, MD, a cancer specialist I interviewed for my latest UT HealthLeader article on the disease. Because of the silent nature of this disease, mesothelioma is often diagnosed when the cancer is at an advanced stage. Average survival time is only about one year.
The best hope for patients with the disease is early detection and treatment. Potential new treatments for mesothelioma may also offer some hope.
“We are cautiously optimistic about finding an agent that may help,” Quesada says. “Ongoing trials may hopefully lead to new options for patients with mesothelioma. In conjunction with chemotherapy, these new drugs will be a good option for patients who are not candidates for surgery.”
In other news: Right before the Christmas holiday, UT HealthLeader posted an article I wrote on parenting styles, contrasting helicopter and free-range style parenting. The next day, the Newtown school shooting happened. I usually make it a habit to blog about my latest article, but it didn't seem to be the right time to post this one. I was struck by the fact that neither parenting style could have saved those poor kids. Now that some time has passed, I'm posting the link to the article.