When you or someone you love is diagnosed with a terminal cancer such as mesothelioma, it can take a toll on your mental health. While feelings of sadness and loss are completely normal, it's also important to remember hope. During our mesothelioma support group, Dana discusses the importance of hope in a mesothelioma battle, but she also emphasizes that what you hope for is an important thing to consider.

1. Finding Hope While
Battling Mesothelioma
Today’s Moderator:
Dana Nolan, MS LMHC
Licensed Mental Health Counselor

2. Hope and Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a challenging, incurable
cancer.
Many patients and their loved ones experience
hopelessness as they learn about their
diagnosis and prognosis.
But many well-meaning loved ones lead
patients to believe or advise them to remain
positive and hopeful.
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3. What Is Hope?
‘Hope’ has many definitions, but I like this
one related to medical issues:
“Hope is a confident yet uncertain expectation
of achieving a future good, which according to
the hoping person is realistically possible and
personally significant.”
Key concepts of hope: Future good,
realistically possible and personally significant.
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4. Hope for a Cure
 A cure: No traces of cancer remain after
treatment, and it won’t return.
 Complete remission: All signs and symptoms of
cancer are gone.
 Partial remission: A decrease in tumor size or in
the extent of the cancer in the body after
treatment.
 Most oncologists do not use the word “cured.”
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5. What Should I Hope for if
There Is No Cure?
Go back to those key words about hope:
Future good
Realistically possible
Personally significant
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6. Future Good in Mesothelioma
A pain-free life.
Remaining off treatment long enough to travel
or visit family.
Having enough “good days” to engage in day-
to-day activities.
Medical advancements or better symptom
management will improve quality of life and
survival time.
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7. Future Good in Mesothelioma (cont.)
More quality time with family and friends
Spiritual growth
What else?
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8. Realistically Possible
What is realistically possible in terms of
treatment advances?
Advances in last several decades include:
Improved detection, diagnostic practices and
technology
Better medications and treatments to manage side
effects of nausea/vomiting, fatigue, pain and
neuropathy
Targeted therapies: Biotherapy, cryotherapy and
immunotherapy
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9. Realistically Possible (cont.)
Are my life goals realistic and doable for
someone with mesothelioma?
How am I determining what is realistically
possible for me? Comparing myself to what
other cancer patients can do?
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10. Personally Meaningful
There are individual differences as far as what
our values are and what is meaningful.
Our values in life can influence our hopes:
Family relationships, taking care of our loved ones
financially if we don’t survive, teaching our
children/grandchildren our family history and
faith/spirituality.
(877) 626-5916

11. Your Own Hope
What mesothelioma patients and caregivers
hope for in the future shouldn’t be limited by
simply hoping for a cure, which we know is
highly unlikely in the near future.
Each day, doctors and researchers get a step
closer to that next new clinical trial that may
open a new door of opportunity.
(877) 626-5916

12. Your Own Values in Hope
Our values are those things and beliefs that we
hold dear and meaningful to our heart and
spirit.
Examples of values: Popularity, respect,
kindness, creativity, safety, peace, spirituality,
living ethically, independence, being loved,
productivity, physical comfort, financial
security, etc.
(877) 626-5916

13. Discovering Our Values Leads to Hope
Many mesothelioma patients feel other people
tell them what they should think, feel and do to
survive.
Most people find hope and comfort in living
their lives according to their values, which
certainly is realistically possible and feels good.
(877) 626-5916

14. Sources
Dufault, K.J. & Martocchio, B.C. (1985) Hope: Its
Spheres and Dimensions. Nursing Clinics of North
America, 20(2), 379-91.
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15. Contact Information
1-877-626-5916
(877) 626-5916
Facebook.com/themesocenter
@TheMesoCenter