This video from The Mighty shares some of the things a person living with a chronic illness might want to carry around with them on a daily basis. MORE: How Mesothelioma Affects Life Expectancy The survival pack contains some of the essentials needed to ensure you’re not caught out when going about your daily business. The video’s survival kit contains a bottle of water, daily and emergency medications, a sweater, personal hygiene products, music, insurance card, emergency telephone numbers, a snack for keeping blood sugar levels up and mints to help tame ..read more

Medical marijuana is gaining popularity as a complementary medicine to help with many symptoms associated with chronic illnesses. While many people are curious about how marijuana (or cannabis) may help improve their symptoms, they are also reluctant to smoke the substance. However, there are ways that medical marijuana can be administered, including in tea form. MORE: 4 Considerations to Help You Choose the Best Mesothelioma Doctor for You According to thealternativedaily.com, here are five ways that cannabis tea can help relieve some of the symptoms people with chronic ..read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_goSuG1lfo In this informative hand illustrated video from Osmosis, find out about the asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma. Using simple charts and diagrams, the film takes viewers through the causes of the disease along with common symptoms, how it’s diagnosed, the treatment and pathology. MORE: What’s new in mesothelioma research and treatment? It explains that mesothelioma occurs when cancer cells begin to develop in the mesothelium — which is the thin lining of the internal organs. In most cases of the disease, the lungs are affected but mesot ..read more

Due to the length of time it can take mesothelioma to present symptoms — often between 20 and 50 years — people are typically diagnosed in their 60s and 70s. It’s extremely rare for a young person to be diagnosed with the disease. MORE: What’s new in malignant mesothelioma research and treatment? However, according to asbestos.com, there have been cases of children and young adults with mesothelioma, often without any known link to asbestos exposure. Between 1999 and 2003, there were nine cases of mesothelioma in young people in the U.S. While the exact cau ..read more

Low-dose photon irradiation, commonly used in radiotherapy, potentially helps malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) cells spread, warns a study by Germany’s University of Heidelberg. The study, “Low-dose photon irradiation induces invasiveness through the SDF-1α/CXCR4 pathway in malignant mesothelioma cells,” appeared in the journal Oncotarget. It was based on research led by Dr. Stefan Rieken of the university’s departments of thoracic surgery and radiation oncology. Despite significant research, no definite treatment guidelines have been established for MPM. Multimodalit ..read more

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that attacks the membrane lining around certain organs in the body. It most commonly affects the lungs and stomach, but in rarer cases, can affect the heart and testes. MORE: Seven possible complications of mesothelioma The majority of mesothelioma cases (80 percent) can be directly linked to exposure to asbestos, but other causes include radiation from X-rays, polio vaccines, and exposure to another toxic material, zeolites. Of the four different types of mesothelioma, lung or pleural mesothelioma is the most common and accounts for 70 pe ..read more

Researchers have found that patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and asbestosis — a chronic lung disease caused by asbestos inhalation — have low levels of certain microRNAs (miRNAs) in blood and tissue samples, indicating that such miRNAs could be used as biomarkers to diagnose these diseases. miRNAs are small RNA molecules that do not code for any protein, but regulate the production of specific proteins in the body. Higher levels of miRNAs were associated with longer survival in patients with MPM. The study, “MicroRNA Expression in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma an ..read more

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. The cancer develops in the thin tissue lining that covers the internal organs, particularly the lungs. According to asbestos.com, the tumors first start to form as small growths on the lungs and the abdomen. One of the most dangerous things about mesothelioma is that it only starts to cause symptoms in its later stages. Therefore recognizing its early symptoms is essential to effectively treat the disease. MORE: Eight common signs of mesothelioma Mesothelioma symptoms are different depending on the stag ..read more

The risk of developing or dying from some cancers increases steadily over time. Scientists thought that was the case with malignant pleural mesothelioma, too, but an Italian study shows the risk plateaus four decades after workers are exposed to asbestos. The risk of peritoneal mesothelioma, on the other hand, does continue rising over time, as is the case with lung and ovarian cancers. The study, “Italian pool of asbestos workers cohorts: mortality trends of asbestos-related neoplasms after long time since first exposure,” was published in the journal Occupational and Environ ..read more

If you have a chronic lung condition, you’ll need to protect your lungs from being further irritated by unhealthy air. We’ve put together a list of ways to help protect your lungs against unhealthy air using information from the American Lung Association. 1. Check the daily air pollutant forecasts.  There are sites on the internet and cellphone apps where you can find out the levels of air pollution in your local area. Checking these daily can help you plan your week, helping you avoid being outside or limit your time outside when the pollution levels are high. 2. Try bot ..read more