Mesothelioma Treatment: How do you get there?

October 21st, 2009. By AbiK

I just read a post by a blogger named Deon Scott. He posts about asbestos a fair amount—you could say it’s his passion, though I’m sure he’d rather have a different passion: his father suffered and died from asbestos mesothelioma.

Deon posted recently about air transportation for mesothelioma patients—and it caught my eye. While asbestos exposure, and subsequently asbestos mesothelioma years later, can occur almost anywhere, it’s likely that it is more prevalent in areas where big manufacturing is. And often those areas are more rural or remote—not right near a big city—and particularly not near some of the larger and more well-known medical facilities that may be able to provide more treatment options for mesothelioma patients.

Given the statistics on mesothelioma—the American Cancer Society put the estimate for new mesothelioma cases in 2008 at 2,000 – 3,000 with an average survival rate of less than one year compared to a 5-year survival rate of close to 100% for prostate cancer victims—it is no wonder that anyone suffering from asbestos mesothelioma would want to know about all their available treatment options, wherever they are.

Unfortunately, “wherever they are” may require more than a car trip.

Add on finances that are most likely already stretched with mounting medical bills—and perhaps pending litigation that may take time to settle and provide much-needed cash—and where does a mesothelioma victim turn for help to get the medical treatment he or she needs?

Deon’s post put me onto a service I was not aware of: Corporate Angel Network. They’re website is corpangelnetwork.org, and they can be a god-send to anyone suffering with cancer. Corporate Angel Network takes advantage of unused seats on corporate jets—the jets and seats are provided by 500 corporations across America, 56% of which are Fortune 100 companies—and gives them to cancer victims so that they can get to the treatment centers they need to get to. The only requirements for patients are that they need to be ambulatory (i.e., be able to board the plane unassisted) and not be in need of medical support, such as oxygen, while travelling. That’s it. And family members are welcome as well.

Corporate Angel Network truly relies on the generosity of numerous corporations and a dedicated group of 50 part-time volunteers and 5 paid staff members. I can’t think of a more worthy cause to support with your time—and certainly a cause that more corporations should be signing on to join. And thanks to Deon for posting about this.

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma, Corporate Angel Network

This was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 11:57 am and is filed under Asbestos Mesothelioma, Personal Injury . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.