A Mesothelioma Diagnosis

The most important thing folks that have been diagnosed with mesothelioma need to do is to take one minute and one day at a time. To get a diagnosis and try to fast forward about the when’s and the what’s and the how’s of what’s going to happen next month, or in six months or a year, can be very overwhelming.

When talking with families of someone that’s been diagnosed with mesothelioma, I encourage them to first let that particular person go through the stages of the feelings that they’re going to go through with this disease.

It’s important that the caregivers stay healthy too. They need to still be able to get away. They still need to be able to surround themselves with support through their family and through their church and through their friends.

Many times, when caregivers are struggling with the change of life that they are going through with this disease, I encourage them to reach out to; if they have local support groups there some of the oncologists can refer them to some local support groups. If they do not have those resources, then I do refer them directly to a mesothelioma support group.

The clients I have work with that have made the most profound impression with me are the clients that, they just needed someone to talk to and sometimes it’s not about medical, it’s not about the side effects of chemotherapy, it’s just sharing a memory of their loved one.

I get cards from them for different occasions, and there’s always a note that says that we made a difference.