All Posts in ‘Patient Advocacy’

In this week's episode of "What Does That Really Mean?", Medical Outreach Director Kaylen Jackson discusses the differences between CT and PET Scans. What terms would you like to see us discuss next week?

Lyn Johnson has been a mesothelioma survivor for around 5 years. However, she is no stranger to what mesothelioma can do. She saw her father succumb to the disease 18 years earlier.

We would like to thank her for sharing her insight on the trials she has had to go through. We always appreciate hearing from survivors and if you are interested in sharing your story, contact us at outreach@asbestos.com.

What were the events that led up to your diagnosis?

We have been producing several info-graphics over the past month and you can find on our Mesothelioma Center Facebook page. There has been an exceptional amount of community members providing requests for specific content as well as supporting others in the community. If you would like to share an experience or request information, please feel free to email us at outreach@asbestos.com.

In case you missed any of our blog posts from this week, they are listed below.

Video: Benign vs. Malignant

In this week's "What Does That Really Mean?" video series, Patient Advocate Missy Edmunds breaks down the differences between a cytology and a biopsy.

Last week, I went over the reasons why it is important tackle financial issues sooner rather than later after someone in your family is diagnosed with cancer.

If you wait too long, the overwhelming nature of cancer can make you – and others in the family – incapable of making good, rational decisions.

Today, let's talk specifics.

In this series, our Patient Advocates will be discussing the meaning of common medical terms. This week, Karen Selby, R.N. and Patient Advocate, goes over the difference between Benign and Malignant Tumors.

 What terms would you like to learn about?

As someone who lost a parent to cancer, I'm all too familiar with the issues families face after a cancer diagnosis. One of the most important but least considered issues is the financial ramification of the diagnosis.

Typically, a family quickly concludes that it needs to make sure medical bills can be paid. Assuming the diagnosed family member is covered by insurance, the family usually moves on to making sure all the non-financial aspects of the diagnosis are addressed.

This is understandable. Cancer can be a life-changing disease.

Listen in as Kaylen Jackson, our Medical Outreach Director, discusses what you should do if you think you've been exposed to asbestos, either recently or years ago.

I had a patient's daughter e-mail me last week to ask about a new drug she saw on a website about mesothelioma. She wanted my thoughts on Immunotherapy.

The drug in question was Onconase. She asked her mother’s oncologist about it, and she said the doctor told her he had never heard of it.

I suspect the oncologist had not heard of it because Onconase is still being researched and only available through clinical trials. According to the website Ranpirnase.org – ranpirnase is the generic name for Onconase – the drug it is a ribonucleic enzyme which catalyzes the breakdown of RNA.

We've mentioned Kaylen Jackson quite a bit in a few of our most recent posts, but do you really know what it is that she does? In yesterday's Survivor Insight blog, a mesothelioma patient and his wife discussed how they got the opportunity to travel to a specialty center for treatment thanks to help from Kaylen. This is just one example of the great resource she could be to you. 

To contact Kaylen for more information on Doctor Match, you can call her at (800) 549-0544 or email her at Kaylen@asbestos.com