Research, research, research!!

I have found more articles of adults with TOF having a repair done.

Quote from one article :

A 55 year old man had a history of persistent cough since childhood. Throughout his adult life he had recurrent bouts of bronchitis. He also noticed that he often coughed or choked after swallowing liquids. He had right side pneumonia just 3 weeks before admission. A chest X-ray showed a middle lobe consolidation. Examination with a flexible bronchoscope showed a fistula in the posterior wall of the trachea at its midpoint. Barium swallow did not identify the fistula. Oesophagoscopy showed the entry point to lie 20 cm from the incisors. This fistula was clearly seen on the subsequent computed tomographic scan which was performed to assess parenchymal damage.

Post-operably he did well and at follow up 6 months later he remained symptom free.

I am taking this and other information with me as there is a chance my TOF could be sorted out.

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Mesothelioma Cancer Diagnosed- Questions to ask

Following diagnosis, uppermost amongst a patient's thoughts will be these..."Am I going to die?", "Will I be in much pain?". As there is no cure for mesothelioma it is important that the patient is advised that with modern treatment they can, for months or years, live a normal life for most of the time. And that the modern drugs are very effective at keeping pain under control and relieving it.
Obviously the treatment aspect is extremely important and the patient and close relatives must ensure that they get the consultant and doctors to explain comprehensively how it is all going to work. It is advisable to compile a list of questions to put to the medical staff prior to any appointments or consultations and to get a relative or close friend to go along with the patient.
I would advise taking a look on the internet for information about the disease and printing out relevant bits. I did this when my father was diagnosed with stomach cancer. When I showed the consultant what I had been studying, I sensed a more open discussion and perhaps a few more technical details were covered that otherwise might not have been.
There is no harm in taking notes with you and you might even consider taping the discussion. These are potentially highly stressful and upsetting meetings which might mean that you don't remember all that was said. You'll want to know where and when the treatments will take place.
Include questions about possible side effects and the range and type of drugs they will be taking. And how the drugs will be taken, injection, by mouth, intravenous etc.
Difficulties arise when a question is asked about how long the patient has got to live. It is impossible for the doctor to predict the future exactly for an individual patient and they would be putting unecessary pressure on themselves if they did. This uncertainty is not good for the patient and vague answers never satisfy anyone. I would push the doctor for an educated guess based on his experience and the results he has at hand. This is only my opinion. I would want to know if I've got months (which could be two or three) or years (which could be 12 months).

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Guide To New Mesothelioma Treatment Options

by Tony Ulrich

New mesothelioma treatments are rigorously studied and enhanced in the hope that a more effective treatment, or even cure, will be found. Researchers in this field all agree that a new mesothelioma treatment will, at some point in time, prove to be successful, regardless of the fact that treatments have yet to have been shown to be better than traditional treatments. New malignant mesothelioma treatments are currently in the trial phase. These include:

- Anti-angiogenesis - a treatment with helps to prevent tumors from producing new blood vessels, hence, preventing tumor growth and development. These drugs do not directly target cancer cells. However, they target its blood supply which is essential for its survival and growth. Thus, they can prevent new tumors from developing and cause pre-existing tumors to shrink in size.

- Photodynamic therapy (PDT) - a highly specialized, specific treatment used to treat pleural mesothelioma. However, this treatment is inapt for those with metastasized cancer in comparison to those who have developed localized disease. This treatment involves destroying cancer cells with the use of light energy.

- Immunotherapy - also known as biological therapy, uses one's own immune system in order to shield itself against disease. It has been discovered that our immune system is able to distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells and hence is able to destroy those that are discovered to be cancerous. Such a treatment is designed to aid the immune system's restoration and improvement. Two main varieties of immunotherapy are in existence:

1. Active immunotherapy - this involves removing cancer cells and then using them to develop a vaccine which is injected into the patient. If this treatment proves successful, the individual's immune system recognizes that the vaccine contains a dangerous substance and thus, the immune system then recognizes that the cancer is detrimental too.

2. Passive immunotherapy - this treatment involves utilizes substances like cytokines and other types of agents to aid improving the immune system's reaction to the cancer that they are suffering from.

- Gene therapy - this therapy involves the use of a genetic substance to target cancerous cells and render them of greater susceptibility to chemotherapy. The main form of gene therapy in use in patients with mesothelioma is termed "suicide gene therapy". Such a therapy forces the cancer cells to produce substances that contribute to their death. While undergoing this form of gene therapy, patients are treated with a form of non-infectious disease which has been modified with specific genetic elements which produces a certain type of protein. The patient is later treated with chemotherapy which has been specifically formulated to only prove toxic to the cancerous cells. As a new treatment for mesothelioma, this form of therapy has lead to a many promising outcomes for patents. However, at present, this new mesothelioma treatment remains only to be offered to patients through clinical research trials.

About the Author
Tony Ulrich was diagnosed with kidney cancer in october of 2009. He researches cancer causes and publishes articles about cancers and their treatments.

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Mesothelioma Prognosis - Life Expectancy & Survival Rates

by Chris Mollo

The term prognosis is used to describe the likely outcome of a disease, how long a diagnosed patient is expected to live, and the quality of life expected during that time. This article discusses the prognosis for mesothelioma patients affected on a multitude of levels.

Once a patient is diagnosed, a doctor will likely discuss their prognosis, or probable course and outcome of the cancer's influence on the body. The best way to avoid a poor prognosis is through early detection. As a result, the prognosis for the majority of patients is poor, but many doctors can recommend treatment options such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation to help combat the disease.

In addition to the stage of the cancer and the age of the patient, other factors that affect prognosis include: The type of mesothelioma - pleural, peritoneal, pericardial or testicular The size of the tumor, the location of the tumor, and whether it can be surgically removed, the extent of other symptoms, including fluid in the lungs or abdomen and whether or not the patient is a smoker.

Though numerous factors affect a patient's prognosis such as age, overall health, and the type of mesothelioma the patient is battling, the average length of survival reported throughout the last five years has been 10 to 11 months after diagnosis. Early detection of pleural mesothelioma can improve a patient's mesothelioma prognosis considerably, and these patients have more extensive treatment options.

Patients diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in stage one or two generally have greater treatment options and a better prognosis. Pleural mesothelioma patients who are not diagnosed early enough for curative treatment have fewer treatment options, mostly limited to palliative treatments, designed to relieve pain and discomfort to improve a patient's quality of life, rather than their prognosis.

If a patient is diagnosed once the disease has reached the advanced stages, treatment options are limited and prognosis is often compromised. A patient's overall health status and age greatly affects the prognosis. Cancer that has not metastasized to other areas of the body gives physicians a lot more treatment options and improves a patient's prognosis dramatically.

Pleural mesothelioma patients have a poorer prognosis if they are experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, inability to perform daily tasks, weight loss, a low red blood cell count, a high white blood cell count, and high blood levels of a substance called LDH (lactate dehydrogenase, an enzyme). Pleural mesothelioma patients who experience these symptoms usually receive a prognosis ranging between six and 12 months.

The median survival of patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma from time of first dignosis is one year; in male patients or those with elevated white-cell counts, thrombocytosis or anemia, the prognosis is far worse. The presence of certain biochemical markers, as well increased vascularity or the presence of the SV40 virus in the tumor, are other indicators that the prognosis would be more serious. The fibrosarcomatus type carries the worst prognosis, while the mixed (a combination of both kinds) comes in between them.

However, many have overcome such a poor prognosis and have prolonged their life in a multitude of ways.

About the Author
Have you been affected by mesothelioma? Learn more at: Mesothelioma Disease Blog

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