My Jobless Boyfriend has Mesothelioma, What Can I Do?

After 3 happy years together, my jobless boyfriend has been diagnosed with Pericardial Mesothelioma. His health had been great until recently when he started having trouble breathing and shooting abdominal pain. Initially I was shattered and I was not sure how to deal with the news. Then I realized that it is important to consider what to do next to help improve his health condition. I had heard that some courses of treatment would make it possible for him to get over the disease and he might get completely cured if the disease is in its initial stages. I was also sure that he would not consider treatment unless he was fully aware of the disease and knew that the treatment would not cost him money and he has been jobless for over a year.

We later took a trip to visit a lawyer who deals with this disease diagnosis because the cause is usually employer negligence. He said we need to be prepared mentally about the lawsuit and I have to make him sure that I can be there to support my boyfriend in any situation because this lawsuit can be a long, tough road. While the lawyer said there is little I can do as a non-official family member, being there to support him is the most important thing I can do.

Fortunately, his finances don’t play a role in the lawsuit against his former employer because the lawyer only gets paid if we win. In preparing for the case, we have to look for a capable healthcare provider who can testify on his behalf. The healthcare provider must deal with this form of Mesothelioma so my boyfriend will be completely comfortable and able to express himself freely.

Learning about Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer by excessive exposure to asbestos and directly affects the Mesothelium. The Mesothelium is a protective lining which covers the internal organs and in this disease malignant cells are formed on this lining. In most cases, the Pleura (the outer lining of lungs and chest cavity) are affected. However, Mesothelioma on the Peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) or the Pericardium (the sac surrounding the heart) also occurs. Thus, malignant Mesothelioma has three main categories based on the area of the mesothelium attacked: Peritoneal Mesothelioma, Pleural Mesothelioma and Pericardial Mesothelioma.

Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Symptoms of Mesothelioma can occur many years, even as many as 50 years, after being exposed to asbestos. The most common symptoms are Mesothelioma pain due to fluid collection in pleural area, coughing and breathlessness. In the case of Peritoneal Mesothelioma, there can even be abdominal swelling, weight loss and accumulation of fluid in abdominal cavity. Apart from these, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia and fever are also found commonly. In the case of pleural Mesothelioma, blood in the sputum, chest wall pain, anemia, fatigue and pleural effusion are also common. In severe cases, the person may develop many tumor masses or pneumothorax (collapse of the lung).

Diagnosis of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma does not affect the bone, brain or adrenal glands. Pleural tumors affect only one side of the lungs. The first process of diagnosis is to check the patient’s history for any asbestos exposure. Various tests like CT scan, chest x-ray, lung function tests, MRI scan needs to undertaken to diagnoses the disease. Treatment of Mesothelioma using conventional therapies like radiation, surgery hasn’t been very successful and new treatments are being developed. Unfortunately, the survival rate beyond one year after diagnosis is incredibly low.

How to Deal with Mesothelioma if the Sufferer is your Grandparent?

Mesothelioma affects thousands of families in the US every year. Most people are diagnosed well into the later years of their lives because the disease is able to hide in the body for anywhere from 20 to 50 years. This means that most patients are grandparents by the time they are diagnosed. It also means that when they are diagnosed, they are already terminal in most cases and the family members need know how to deal with the disease and impending loss of a relative.

It is important to support the victim by providing helpful suggestions from the doctors and counselors. You can find out what things will make the grandparents as comfortable as they can. Doctors can help in this by offering useful tips on mesothelioma pain management and preparing the patient and family mentally for the treatment.

Emotional and Physical Support needed by Mesothelioma Patient

The patient needs to be supported emotionally to go through the various treatments. They also need to be helped in dealing with pain due to reasons like:

• Formation of cancerous tumors on the lining of the lung and abdomen
• The pressing of tumors against the nerves and organs
• Post surgery treatment like radiation or chemotherapy

As the Mesothelioma pain is usually very severe and grandparents might not be able to withstand it, various techniques should be employed to control the pain like:

• Usage of epidural or nerve block to manage the pain
• Neurosurgery to manage pain
• Counseling by experts, meditation or body therapy

Treatment Options Available for Mesothelioma

Various Mesothelioma treatment options are used to treat this disease and help patients manage the pain. However, in most cases, death has been inevitable. With respect to traditional Mesothelioma treatment options, locating the position of the cancer, its stage and the age and general health of the patient is considered. If you grandparent is very old, it is better to avoid surgery as the body may be too weak to withstand it. If they are strong enough, treatments like radiation, chemotherapy or surgery can be conducted. It is important for the Mesothelioma patient to be informed of all available treatment options so they can decide on the option they are most comfortable with as well as the one that has the highest success rate.

Statistics of Mesothelioma in US

It is quite shocking to know that almost every year as many as 10,000 Americans who are diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases succumb to these diseases. Out of these, most of them suffer from Mesothelioma. This cancerous disease is caused by excessive exposure to asbestos. In spite of it being considered a rare disease, the number of Americans dying each year from it is quite substantial. According to the researchers the estimation is that one fifth of all asbestos-related deaths in the United States are caused by Mesothelioma. This amounts to over 2,000 cases of Mesothelioma deaths every year in America alone.

While this disease can affect people of any age group, most of the diagnosed patients are old and are usually grandparents. These people might have been exposed to asbestos during their youth and do not get any symptoms until they are in their 70s or 80s. By that time, the disease is in its latest stages of development and the survival rate in the late stages is very low. Those who are diagnosed often do not live longer than 18 to 20 months after their initial diagnosis.

Dad is Gone, Mom has Mesothelioma: Is Bankruptcy an Option?

My dad was exposed to asbestos while at work which lead to him contracting the deadly disease, eventually leading to his untimely death. The symptoms of Mesothelioma were non-specific and it took more than 30 years to appear from the time he was exposed to asbestos at his workplace. The symptoms included shortness of breath and severe pain in his chest due to accumulation of fluid around his lungs. It also led to him losing weight.

Now my mother has developed Mesothelioma because she handled his clothing. In spite of this disease being quite rare, it can be developed even if one member of the family is exposed to asbestos and brings it home on the clothes. It can affect family members through secondary exposure, just as it happened in my family. Though it occurs more among men than women and the risk of developing it is more for older people, there are chances that it can appear among either gender at any age.

As my mother has also developed this disease, there are only a few options for me to be able to take care of the family financially. One option is to file lawsuits against the company where my father was exposed to asbestos. Now, many states have enacted laws which enable family members to claim compensation from the employer of the victim. The lawsuit must be filed within a particular timeframe. I can make a claim for various consequences like:

• Medical expenditures for the treatment of my mother
• Rehabilitation charges
• Lost as wages after the death of my father
• The earning capacity of my father had he been healthy
• Mental trauma and emotional anguish

The Legal Procedure for MesotheliomaThe Legal Procedure for Mesothelioma

After filing lawsuit against the company, it will be necessary to prove the following:

• Confirmed diagnosis of Mesothelioma
• That my father was exposed to asbestos at this workplace and my mother developed the disease by secondary exposure
• My father’s employer was responsible for the exposure

Bankruptcy as an Option in Mesothelioma

When both my parents developed this deadly disease, I thought of the option of filing for bankruptcy. However, I checked out the option of compensation prior to going for bankruptcy. I would not have been eligible for compensation for following reasons:

• The case of my father contracting the disease is too old because the State and federal laws require legal claims for asbestos related diseases to be undertaken within a short period of time after diagnosis. According to law, it should be done within 1-3 years of the time of diagnosis or death.
• If the employer company is bankrupt and is without any funds, the compensation cannot be claimed unless it was taken over by another company. In order to avoid giving compensation for family members of the affected people, most companies declare bankruptcy protection in spite of having millions of dollars with them.

Choosing a capable lawyer to fight your case will help in getting thousands of dollars. Thus, it is better to go for the option of claiming compensation where there is the chance of settlement rather than looking at the option of filing bankruptcy.