Beyond Resolution Season: Mesothelioma & Sustaining Hope
Health & Wellness
Written by Dana Nolan | Edited by Amy Edel
The start of each new year brings a familiar pressure: resolutions to be more positive, more hopeful and more determined. For mesothelioma patients and their caregivers, this season can feel particularly challenging.
When everyone around you is celebrating fresh starts, the weight of your reality doesn’t pause for January. Now, as resolution season fades and the long stretch of the year unfolds, the question shifts: How do we nurture hope that’s sustainable, not just aspirational?
As a therapist who has worked with people with mesothelioma and other cancers for many years, I’ve had many conversations with patients who are struggling to find something to be hopeful about. This topic also comes up in our mesothelioma support group.
One member of our support group put it simply: “I do try to stay positive, but sometimes it’s hard to find hope when my disease isn’t responding to treatment.” Another echoed that struggle: “The statistics on mesothelioma survival are pretty grim, and it’s easy to feel helpless and hopeless.”
It can be hard to maintain hope for a specific outcome, especially when faced with a mesothelioma diagnosis. Most people naturally hope treatment will help them be permanently cancer free. Because mesothelioma currently has no known cure, that particular hope can feel out of reach. Instead of abandoning hope, I help my mesothelioma patients focus on tangible things to strive for and look forward to that can help nurture hope.
Time Equals Opportunity for Mesothelioma
I’ve worked in different mesothelioma treatment centers and other cancer care settings since 1995. And I’ve seen many advances in diagnosis and care, including mesothelioma treatment.
For example, when I started facilitating our mesothelioma cancer support group in 2013, immunotherapy wasn’t being offered to mesothelioma patients outside of clinical trials. Now immunotherapy for mesothelioma is standard care, offered routinely to many people with mesothelioma as a first line treatment option. Clinical trials continue to open to people, offering promising treatment options that were not previously available.
The bottom line is that time equals opportunity for people with mesothelioma. The longer you’re engaged in care with your mesothelioma specialist, the more new options may emerge that weren’t available when you started.
Redefining Quality of Life With Mesothelioma
Everyone defines their quality of life differently. Many people direct their hope toward maximizing the life they’re living now. For some, that means having the energy to engage in activities they enjoy, whether it’s gardening, cooking or spending time with grandchildren.
Travel often comes up in the conversations I have with mesothelioma patients as well. Some people hope to visit loved ones across the country, while others want to finally see a place they’ve always dreamed of going. The specifics vary from person to person, but the thread is the same: Hope becomes about presence, connection and moments that matter.
Each day with minimal pain or discomfort can feel like a gift, one that allows people to feel like themselves and do the things they love. For some people, mobility and independence become the focus. They hope to maintain the ability to care for themselves or move through their daily routines without assistance.
Inner Peace as a Path to Hope
Inner peace is something many people with mesothelioma work toward, though it doesn’t always come easily. As people contemplate their life and its meaning, questions often arise about their relationships with others, their place in the world and what legacy they’ll leave behind.
Finding a sense of peace with where they are, both physically and spiritually, can help quiet the anxiety and distress that often accompany a mesothelioma diagnosis. Living with mesothelioma can feel overwhelming, and it’s natural to experience moments of sadness or hopelessness.
When those feelings surface, I encourage people to explore what peace might look like for them. That might mean deepening relationships, resolving old conflicts or finding moments of stillness amid the treatment schedules and medical decisions. Peace doesn’t mean abandoning hope or effort. It means creating space for what matters most while remaining open to the possibilities that time can bring.
