Hi
My dad is 83 and has just been diagnosed with mesothelioma. He had VATS surgery at Guys and has a permanent chest drain. He’s still having a lot of fluid drained and is very breathless. It’s the first time he’s ever been ill and he’s really struggling with it. He’s also the main carer for my mum who has Alzheimer’s, amongst other things. It’s all been a big shock and he’s declined rapidly.
We saw the oncologist at Guys yesterday and they advised that his mesothelioma is biphasic and contains both sacomatoid and epithioid cells. We learned yesterday that the treatment with the highest response rate is immunotherapy as chemotherapy is not effective against sacomatoid cells.
We also learned that funding for this is no longer available on the NHS. I wondered if anyone else had heard this as it seems from this group that a lot of people are having immunotherapy.
We are keen to secure the treatment that would give my father the best chance of managing this condition for as long as possible.
I’d be very grateful for anyone’s tips in trying to get this treatment as my dad isn’t keen on chemo as it sounds like a lot of side effects and he would only have a year with it.
Trying to stay as positive as I can for my dad so thank you in advance.
