New Cancer Hospital Update

Plans for New Cancer Hospital on Schedule

Excitement continues to build as plans for University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center’s new hospital move forward. The new facility, due to open in three years as a 21st Century marvel of patient-focused design, is likely to enhance physician recruiting efforts and to make research activities more efficient than ever before.

“The new building will help facilitate a high quality of patient care by consolidating services in a modern,patient and family oriented setting. This new facility will also provide an enhancement to recruitment of the best and brightest faculty and staff, thereby positioning the Ireland Cancer Center as one of the best Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the Country,” said John D. Nash, ICC Senior Vice President.

University Hospitals Case Medical Center recently selected Cannon Design, a St. Louis architectural firm,
to design its new cancer facility. The proposed 300,000-square-foot, 150-bed hospital is to be located adjacent to Mather Pavilion, unifying all cancer care in one building. Cannon Design recently completed numerous healthcare projects nationwide, including the Tate Cancer Center at Washington Medical Center in Baltimore, Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, and the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University in St. Louis.

Mr. Nash said architectural specifications have been developed and are in the final stages of review.
Developing conceptual designs – location of departments, number of rooms and array of equipment – are underway. Steering committees, design teams and patient focus groups are working together with nearly 100 hospital staff members on the project that, when completed, is expected to significantly enhance the quality of patient care.

Researchers have found that hospital design is closely associated with patient health and quality of care.They recommend providing single-occupancy hospital rooms, noise level reductions and easy-to-navigate traffic patterns in the hospital. UH planners have incorporated these and other recommendations. Allpatient rooms will be private, spacious and designed to accommodate overnight stays by family members.
Plans call for areas that provide for patients’ spiritual and wellness needs, inpatient exercise rooms, green space and natural lighting wherever possible.

The future free-standing cancer hospital will offer patients not only advanced cancer care but a beautiful,life-affirming healing garden. Funded by a generous $2.75 million gift from the Robert and Cindy Schneider
family, the healing garden will help patients and their families cope with the challenges of cancer treatment.

Mr. and Mrs. Schneider made the donation in memory of Robert’s parents, Albert and Mary Schneider, who both died of cancer. Cindy Schneider is a cancer survivor. Both Robert and Cindy are members of the University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center’s National Cancer Leadership Council.

Also, the Lubrizol Corporation and The Lubrizol Foundation announced their committment to donate a total of $500,000 to support the new cancer hospital. The corporation and the foundation will donate $250,000 each to UH’s Vision 2010 strategic plan that includes the cancer hospital project.

Mesothelioma Clinical Trials

A mesothelioma diagnosis is a serious one, but it is not one without hope. There are a variety of treatments available, and a number of ongoing clinical trails. These resources are provided to help you locate clinical trials for new mesothelioma treatments.

What are clinical trials and why should I participate?

Clinical research studies, or clinical trials, are studies completed with the help of human volunteers. These trials help determine the benefits and effectiveness of specific treatments for medical conditions. Carefully monitored clinical trials are highly effective, and also safe, in determining treatments that improve human health. Patients can benefit from the immediate access to novel treatments, while contributing to the medical communities' knowledge.

Mesothelioma Clinical Trials

This listing is not exhaustive, see below for a list of other sites that list clinical trials. We do our best to keep this up to date, please let us know if you see inaccuracies, but it is best to check with the clinical trial director to find out if it is currently active.

Surgery

Surgery is commonly used in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed. Depending on how far the cancer has spread, a lung also may be removed (pneumonectomy). The following are some of the most commonly used surgical treatments of mesothelioma:

Pleurodesis
Pleurodesis is a treatment administered through a thoracoscopy or existing chest tube. Pleurodesis creates inflammation effectively eliminating the pleural space. The elimination of this space then inhibits the accumulation of a pleural effusion. Generally used when the pleural effusion is symptomatic. Talc is used most commonly and effectively for this procedure, thus it is often referred to as "talcing" or as a patient having been "talced."
Pleurectomy
Surgery to remove part of the chest or abdomen lining (pleura) and some of the tissue surrounding it. This procedure is performed for a variety of disorders including pleural effusion, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and trauma.
Pleurectomy/decortication
Surgery to remove part of the chest or abdomen lining (pleura) and as much for the tumor mass as possible. This procedure may be performed to reduce pain caused by the tumor mass or to prevent the recurrence of pleural effusion. For peritoneal mesothelioma, surgery is generally aimed at relieving symptoms, such as recurrent ascites or bowel obstruction. As with pleural mesothelioma, complete surgical removal of the entire tumor is unlikely.
Pneumonectomy (new-mo-NEK-to-me)
Surgery to remove a lung.
Extra pleural pneumonectomy (or EPP)
Surgery to remove the pleura, diaphragm, pericardium, and entire lung involved with the tumor. You can view a web cast from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston of this procedure being done by Dr. David Sugarbaker: see the extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) web cast here.
Radiation therapy

High-energy x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, and other sources of radiation are used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation coming from a machine outside the body is referred to as external radiation therapy or external-beam radiation therapy. Radiation may also come from materials that produce radiation called radioisotopes. Radioisotopes can be inserted in or near the cancerous cells or tumors; this type of radiation therapy is called internal radiation therapy, implant radiation, interstitial radiation, or brachytherapy. Systemic radiation therapy, also referred to as radiotherapy, irradiation, and x-ray therapy, uses a radioactive substance, such as a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody, that circulates throughout the body.

Chemotherapy

Using drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. In mesothelioma, chemotherapy may be put directly into the chest (intrapleural chemotherapy).

Intraoperative photodynamic therapy

A new type of treatment that uses special drugs and light to kill cancer cells during surgery. A drug that makes cancer cells more sensitive to light is injected into a vein several days before surgery. During surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, a special light is used to shine on the pleura. This treatment is being studied for early stages of mesothelioma in the chest.

Immunotherapy

This new approach uses the body's own immune system to fight the cancer within the body. Immunotherapy treatments are currently being evaluated in clinical trials.

Gene therapy

This approach is designed to treat mesothelioma by correcting the genes that allow a cancerous tumor to grow, potentially controlling tumor size and spread. Like immunotherapy, gene therapy clinical trials are currently underway. [Mesothelioma Gene Therapy >>]

Regarding these treatments

It should be noted that recent studies indicate using a single one of the above listed treatments for malignant mesothelioma has failed to improve patient survival rates; instead, patient survival is being increased when treatment includes a combination of approaches —for instance surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This is called the "multimodality approach," meaning an approach using many modes of treatment.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma (Abdominal Mesothelioma)

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is an extremely rare condition. Only 100 to 500 cases are diagnosed in the US each year, making up less than 30% of all mesothelioma cases.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer affecting the abdominal lining, or peritoneum (paira-tin-e-um), which is why is is sometimes referred to as abdominal mesothelioma. This membrane supports and covers the organs of the abdomen.

The peritoneum is made of two parts, the visceral and parietal peritoneum. The visceral peritoneum covers the internal organs and makes up most of the outer layer of the intestinal tract. Covering the abdominal cavity is the parietal peritoneum.

Cells in these linings secrete a fluid which allows organs to move against one another. For instance, as the intestines move food through the body. The cells of the mesothelium are designed to create fluid, but the cancer causes them to overproduce, creating a build up of excess fluid in the abdominal cavity.

Because pleural mesothelioma is more common and often spreads to the peritoneal cavity, it is important to determine if pleural mesothelioma is the primary cancer.

I need a peritoneal mesothelioma lawyer.

Pleural Mesothelioma

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common type of mesothelioma, making up over two-thirds of all cases. Pleural mesothelioma affects the lining of the lung and chest cavity known as the pleura.

The pleura is made up of the parietal and visceral pleura. The parietal pleura lines the chest wall and diaphragm while the visceral pleura lines the lungs.

Asbestos fibers work their way into the smallest passageways of the lungs and then into the pleura. Once there, an unknown chemical reaction causes cancerous cell development. As the cells begin to divide abnormally, the pleural lining thickens and excess fluid may accumulate. Pleural thickening gradually contracts the breathing space, causing shortness of breath—often the first symptom for pleural mesothelioma. The fluid, once carefully measured to allow smooth movement between the lungs and other organs, now causes increased pressure, further hindering breathing. This excess fluid is often seen on X-rays, and is referred to as a pleural effusion.

Pleural mesothelioma, like all kinds of mesothelioma, can be difficult to diagnose or easily misdiagnosed. If you are aware of prior asbestos exposure, it is important to inform your physician so that mesothelioma symptoms can be correctly identified.

While a diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma is certainly serious, it is not without options. A variety of new and novel mesothelioma treatments are available, as are a variety of clinical trials.