Liz Logan is a registered nurse with over 20 years of experience, including more than a decade specifically helping cancer patients get the care they need. Today, Liz is proud to help veterans and civilians facing mesothelioma understand their options and move forward.
Liz was motivated to become a nurse at a young age after seeing how nurses cared for her aunt, who was suffering from lung cancer.
“I would go with her to chemo appointments to keep her company during long treatments,” Liz remembers. “I was so impressed with the nurses who cared for her. They took the time to explain things to my aunt in simple terms.”
Liz is honored to offer this same clarity to anyone facing mesothelioma. We sat down with Liz so she could answer common questions about getting treated, finding doctors, and navigating life with this cancer.
Contact us now to get in touch with Liz and other mesothelioma patient advocates on our team who can help you or someone you love after a cancer diagnosis.
Q: What Advice Do You Have for Someone Newly Diagnosed With Mesothelioma?
If you've been diagnosed with mesothelioma, I would recommend trying to stay in the present as much as possible. I talk with people every day who are fighting this cancer, and the number one thing I hear is that they feel overwhelmed and even hopeless.
But by working with cancer specialists and taking your mesothelioma treatment one step at a time — instead of worrying about next week or next year — you can start to feel more in control.
Q: How Do I Get the Best Mesothelioma Treatments?
To get the best treatments, you need to connect with doctors who specifically treat mesothelioma. These specialists will walk you through different treatment options, listen to your concerns, and do all they can to assist you.
Every mesothelioma patient’s diagnosis is unique, from how aggressive it is, how far it has spread, and how it’s affecting their overall health. Mesothelioma specialists look at all of these factors to determine which treatments will best fit your individual needs.
Surgery may be an option if your cancer hasn’t spread very far. There are different mesothelioma surgeries that doctors can use to remove tumors, depending on where the cancer is located.
Chemotherapy is another staple of mesothelioma treatment. Doctors can recommend various chemotherapy drugs to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. Radiation or immunotherapy may also be used to kill cancer using beams of energy and boosting your immune system, respectively.
Q: What Is Multimodal Therapy for Mesothelioma?
Multimodal therapy is where doctors use more than one treatment for mesothelioma. It’s very common for doctors to use several treatments to fight the cancer from different angles.
For example, your care team may use chemotherapy or radiation to shrink mesothelioma tumors so they’re easier to remove with surgery. Or, you could get surgery first and then receive chemotherapy to help prevent the cancer from coming back.
Before you start receiving mesothelioma treatment, your doctors can explain which therapies will be used and how they’ll work together to destroy as much of the cancer as possible.
Q: What Are Palliative Cancer Mesothelioma Treatments?
Cancers like mesothelioma can cause uncomfortable symptoms and side effects, so doctors may recommend palliative (pain-relieving) treatments to help manage them.
Pain medications, minor surgeries to help with breathing, and even things like meditation and acupuncture could all be considered forms of mesothelioma palliative care. They don’t directly treat the cancer, but they can go a long way toward making you feel better.
The patients I speak to are sometimes worried that getting palliative care for mesothelioma means that they can’t access treatments to help them live longer. This isn’t the case.
You can receive palliative mesothelioma treatment at any point in your cancer journey, either by itself or in tandem with standard therapies.
Q: Are There Any New or Emerging Mesothelioma Treatments?
Yes, and you or someone you love could qualify to access newer or emerging treatments by joining a mesothelioma clinical trial.
Trials allow doctors to study new treatments for mesothelioma and improve existing ones. In some cases, new therapies available only in clinical trials have helped mesothelioma patients live longer when they had no other options.
Some of the more exciting new mesothelioma treatments include cryotherapy, which freezes tumors to kill them, gene therapy, which edits the DNA of cancer cells, and new forms of immunotherapy to help the immune system fight cancer.
Cancer centers around the country offer mesothelioma clinical trials. While there are requirements to join each trial, oncology nurse navigators such as myself can help determine which ones you qualify for.
Q: Can I Get Mesothelioma Treatment Through the VA?
Yes, the VA offers treatments for veterans with mesothelioma at various medical centers located around the country.
Sometimes, veterans are wary of using their VA benefits because they think private health care may be better. In reality, the VA’s health care system has in-network doctors with many years of experience treating mesothelioma.
Veterans with mesothelioma who get treated through the VA health care system may also have lower medical copays for things like hospital stays and medications.
However, veterans can still use their private insurance to get care from a non-VA doctor while receiving other mesothelioma VA benefits. It really comes down to what you’re most comfortable with.
Q: When Should I Start Mesothelioma Treatment?
Deciding when and if to get mesothelioma treatment is a personal decision. Many patients I speak to want to start mesothelioma treatment soon after a diagnosis — and for good reason. This gives doctors the best chance to slow the cancer’s growth and improve your prognosis, or health outlook.
Other patients who are facing advanced cancer may decide against getting traditional treatments. Doctors may then recommend pain management, or even hospice care, to help them maintain a good quality of life for as long as possible.
Facing a cancer like mesothelioma is never easy, but by consulting with a specialist, you can get a personalized treatment plan that helps you fight the disease more effectively.
Get Help Finding the Best Ways to Treat Mesothelioma
Liz Logan and the rest of our mesothelioma patient advocates are ready to help you find the best doctors and treatments. Mesothelioma treatment may allow you to live longer with fewer symptoms.
While mesothelioma treatment plans can vary depending on your specific diagnosis, we’ll walk you through your options so you can make informed decisions.
The Mesothelioma Veterans Center can also help you:
- Access medical and financial VA benefits
- Explore compensation to cover treatment costs
- Receive the support needed to navigate a cancer diagnosis
Get our Free Veterans Packet or call (877) 450-8973 now to learn all the ways we can assist you or someone you love after a mesothelioma diagnosis.
