MCA Staff Writers

The costs of chemotherapy, surgeries, and post-operative medical items can add up quickly if you are battling cancer. Patients fighting cancer like mesothelioma will need to start treatment immediately and may be looking to deduct health care costs on their tax return. However, many patients may not know what to do or where to start.

This time of year, spring breakers are traveling to relax from school and work with friends and family. Travel in itself can be stressful, but if you add dealing with cancer into the mix, the idea may be too overwhelming and seem unmanageable. Traveling while you or a loved one has cancer can still be fun and relaxing with the right amount of preparation. When facing a rare form of cancer like mesothelioma, travel for mesothelioma treatment is common, but travel for fun doesn't have to be out of the question. Speaking to your doctor first is always recommended because each cancer patient has different limitations and needs. Once travel has been discussed and approved by the patient’s medical team, follow these other tips to make your travel as smooth and as fun as possible.

Every year, the first week of April is known as Asbestos Awareness Week. Asbestos, a naturally occurring fibrous material, is a known human carcinogen and has been linked as a cause to asbestos-related cancers and mesothelioma. Despite such serious results from exposure to this mineral, asbestos is still not banned completely in the United States and many other countries. The purpose of Asbestos Awareness Week is to raise awareness and promote education about the dangers of asbestos, the legislation surrounding asbestos and asbestos exposure victims, and education about asbestos-related disease.

Held every year on March 30th, National Doctors’ Day celebrates physicians in the United States and their contributions to healthcare. For a patient, a good patient-doctor relationship is critical for a multitude of reasons. Patients with cancer frequently have a tremendous amount of anxiety and fear related to their disease, their treatment, and ultimately their life expectancy. Therefore, having a comfortable relationship with your physician is essential to the quality of your treatment. For those diagnosed with mesothelioma, visiting a mesothelioma specialist is paramount to obtaining the best medical treatment. We have many useful resources to assist patients in finding a top mesothelioma doctor near them.

With March Madness in the air, so many people are focusing on their brackets. We're looking at the places teams will be playing as well, but for different reasons. Want to know how March Madness and the places these teams are playing relate to the world of mesothelioma and asbestos? Here are some examples:

Celebrated since the early 1900’s, March 8th marks the International Women’s Day. This day has been recognized as a day to honor women all over the world who are enacting societal changes in the world’s attitude toward women’s rights and equality. Today, women are breaking into many roles as CEOs, government officials, and social activists while still holding important traditional roles as mothers. In earlier celebrations, International Women’s Day highlighted the struggles of women to earn equality, while today many celebrations are highlighting successes of women’s hard work in their communities.

Thinking of getting wrist deep in a home DIY project you saw on Pinterest? Still using an ancient appliance from your first apartment because it seems to be just as good as new? While many of us may have an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude, some of your best money saving ideas can pose a serious health risk. Within your home and other unexpected places like schools and appliances, asbestos, a carcinogen known to cause asbestosis and mesothelioma, can linger.

Today, February 4th, is World Cancer Day. Tag your loved one who is fighting, has survived, or has lost the battle to cancer on our Memory Candle and SHARE it to keep the flame burning!

In part 2 of the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance's interview with Dr. Richard McQuellon, Dr. McQuellon offers expert advice on how honesty is paramount to an open and loving relationship between a patient and a caregiver. Finding the right words to say to a loved one battling with cancer is already a difficult task, and when compounded with a rare cancer like mesothelioma, honesty is the best policy for open and effective communication to continue during this tough time.

The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance recently spoke to Dr. Richard McQuellon, the Director of the Psychosocial Oncology and Cancer Patient Support Programs at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, to hear his expert advice on how to be the most encouraging and empathetic caregiver. In part one of a two part piece, Dr. McQuellon explains why open communication and empathy can be some of a cancer patient's strongest medicine when it comes from their caregiver.

Today, on Christmas Eve, many families will be gathering to exchange gifts and spend time together. Many cancer survivors say that their cancer journey has already given them gifts greater than any present they could receive on a holiday. Cancer isn't a gift by any means, but the experience of overcoming adversity - of gaining new perspective- is something that is priceless.

It’s Mesothelioma Awareness Day! Today, we wanted to bring you some facts about mesothelioma and asbestos. As awareness builds, so does hope for all mesothelioma patients. We hope you will help us to spread the word. Please visit our Facebook Page for more facts that you can share.

In an highly anticipated announcement on the eve of the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health said that first responders, emergency workers, volunteers and residents who worked in or lived around the smoldering wreckage will now be able to receive treatment for diseases contracted from exposure to the toxic wreckage.

In the wake of a cancer diagnosis, feelings like fear, anger, and frustration are common. However, the patient is not the only one suddenly overwhelmed with these emotions. Cancer, it seems, is a disease diagnosed to everyone close to the patient, as well.

Cancer disrupts the normalcy of a person’s life—simple tasks like renewing a driver's license, the safety of waking up healthy in the morning, or the routine of working 9-5 take on a new normal. Keeping employment becomes a top priority for people diagnosed with cancer. In addition to making new goals and reassessing what is and isn't important in life, finding and/or keeping steady employment is necessary for preventing other fallouts from occurring.

Left to right- Leah and Stacy

Late last week, Leah and Stacy, two sisters who joined together to fight against the asbestos industry after losing their father to mesothelioma, along with the entire anti-asbestos community, were outraged and saddened when the Canadian government in Quebec loaned the Jeffery asbestos mine $58 million to reopen their operations. Last year, the Jeffery Mine was closed because of financial troubles. With the well-known connection to cancer, the Jeffery mine's closing was a victory for those fighting to close it. Now, more than ever, Leah and Stacy could use the help of all anti-asbestos supporters to help victims and their families' have a voice against this deadly carcinogen and continue to fight to shut down asbestos mining!

The Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act today after a 5--4 split decision. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. delivered the decisive vote in favor of the law. The upholding of the "Obamacare" bill has implications for many groups around the nation, especially the cancer community.

Poster from AFL-CIO

Today, April 28th, marks the international Workers’ Memorial Day. Observed each year, it is a day for remembering fellow workers who have been hurt or killed on the job and a day to renew focus on the efforts to continue to work towards safer working conditions for all.

Asbestos: a fiber that is 700 times smaller than a human hair, yet it kills 90,000 people a year. Asbestos exposure can cause the deadly disease known as mesothelioma, an aggressive, yet preventable, disease.

Many families today have members facing one of the most lethal cancers, mesothelioma. The cancer occurs due to exposure to asbestos and is the most serious of all asbestos-related diseases. Once considered rare, more and more people are now being diagnosed with mesothelioma. Asbestos can lay silent within the body for years before presenting itself as mesothelioma, and even then symptoms mimic common ailments making it very difficult to diagnose. This is one of the many reasons why the disease is so deadly. Asbestos also has the ability to spread from host to host, carried and transferred via clothing. Mesothelioma is a frightening reality and these stories tell how the disease affected the lives of patients and their families.