Coping with mesothelioma can certainly be difficult. Simply knowing you have the disease is a shock and extremely frightening. Dealing with the doctors and the treatment along the way presents an even more challenging problem.
The phrase, “one day at a time,” is as important to patients as it is to recovering addicts. It is the way to make it through any crisis and remain intact. No-one knows what tomorrow brings but they can make the best use of today. It doesn’t hurt and in fact often helps, to cry together. Crying is cleansing and it allows you to release the sadness you both feel. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to get busy with the job of living with the disease.
Get Your House in Order
As much as you’d like to ignore the potential, mesothelioma is not an easily treated disease. Making certain that your financial house is in order is one of the steps most people should take if diagnosed.
This doesn’t mean that they’re going to die or accepted that fate. In fact, if you believe like most people, when you prepare for the worst-case scenario, it often doesn’t occur. They consider making the arrangements an insurance policy that prevents a fatality. No matter what your belief, you owe it to your family to make certain your affairs are in order, leaving you nothing to focus on but recovery.
Support Groups
Support groups are important to help people cope with the illness. It’s difficult for family and friends to speak with you about the illness and often, you choose their company as a pleasant diversion from the situation. Finding support with a network of people that understand the problems you face can offer a great deal of strength.
Since legal action is often recourse for mesothelioma victims, many of the support groups can provide information to help you down that road. The group is also a source of information on new treatments available and advances in medical treatments. More than that, they also provide a great deal emotional support and encouragement.
Take Charge of Your Life
Mesothelioma may attack your body but only you decide if it attacks your spirit. Hopelessness can rob you of precious time. You have a decision to make. You can choose to live every second of life or succumb to the illness and wait for death. It’s actually the same decision everyone faces but your mortality if far clearer if you’ve been given the diagnosis of mesothelioma. Every second is precious; don’t waste any.
Some people use the time they have to reconcile with family and friends, tackle items on their bucket list and actively participate in their own health care regimen. They take proactive steps to help their body heal by utilizing all the latest information on nutrition and exercise as it pertains to well being. By doing this, they not only focus on living but also help to improve their lifestyle by providing nourishment and appropriate exercise to increase their level of strength.
Diet plays an important role in any illness. Getting the proper nutrition can help overcome problems caused by the treatment of mesothelioma. Some research points to evidence that specific foods can help the body overcome certain conditions.
Since asbestos mutates the p53 gene, which suppresses the creation of tumors and allows the cells to form tumors, consuming foods found to protect the gene and potentially repair the damage could prove beneficial for mesothelioma patients.
Compounds from plants such as curcuminoids and catechins show promise in the fight against the damage. Turmeric, the spice used in curry, contains curcuminoids and green tea contains catechins. Other beneficial foods can play a role in helping you overcome the effects of treatment or even be beneficial as a treatment. Improving your diet plays a vital role in the quality of life and your ability to cope and fight the disease.
Taking a proactive attitude toward the illness reduces the feeling of being victimized and puts you back in charge of your life. Learning as much about the illness as possible and facing it brings renewed courage and hope. Even though your prognosis may not be rosy, knowing you have some control in the outcome helps tremendously.
Relaxation and Visualization
There are still many areas that doctors know nothing about but admit, somehow they seem to help patients. Experiments using a distant prayer group showed improvement in the patients they only knew from the photo they saw. Relaxation and visualization are now used regularly in pain control and cancer treatment. Doctors do understand that the relaxation techniques reduce stress and allow the body to begin the healing process. Stress is often a contributor to a disease.
Many cancer clinics now use guided visualization or guided imagery called the Simonton Method to help patients deal with cancer. The technique involves learning a deep relaxation technique. Once relaxed, the patient visualizes not only the cancer but the mobilization of the immune system, which destroys the cancer. Even though there’s no proof the relaxation technique or the visual imaging helps the patient improve, doctors know it helps the patient cope with the stress of the disease and gives a feeling of being more in charge of their life. They also know, it can’t hurt the patient in any manner and frequently helps improve the quality of life.
Legal Action
Many people with mesothelioma can directly relate their exposure to asbestos to their employment. Even though there was information available on the toxicity of asbestos, some employers allowed employees to continue working in conditions detrimental to their health. Their family received exposure through the clothing they wore to the plants or mines.
Years later, either the spouse or worker develops mesothelioma. In these cases, many of these workers have grounds to file an asbestos related lawsuit. If you fall in that category, consult an attorney. The time you take might bring much-needed funds to offset the cost of medical treatment.