Paul Kris is not the only survivor of malignant mesothelioma. There are of course others such as Ruth Phillips, Rhio O’Connor, and Gene Adoline. Additionally, there are a great number of other patients that we have heard about or talked with over the years. What is interesting is that many of these patients with malignant mesothelioma have something in common, which is they all have taken steps to enhance or improve their immune system. Some patients opted for the more alternative or complimentary therapies and treatment, with guidance from clinicians that have been licensed, while some other took part in clinical trials of immune therapy. This raises the inquiry-does the immune system really play an important role in controlling malignant mesothelioma? Paul Kraus’ experience and those of other long-term malignant mesothelioma survivors suggests that such an important role may be possible.
While lots of specialists and scientists tell us that asbestos causes mesothelioma, then why is it that only minute percentage of people that are exposed to asbestos are ever diagnosed with the cancer? Could there be another reason which makes some people more susceptible to the disease? Some doctors have contemplated that a patient’s immune system could have important role in the genesis of mesothelioma and other cancerous disease. If it is true, then it would account for why immune system boosting aspects could aid in controlling the disease in patients diagnose with mesothelioma.
In other sections, we would like to point out the present case histories of malignant mesothelioma survivors that were diagnosed with either peritoneal mesothelioma or pleural mesothelioma. In some of the pleural mesothelioma cases, specialists discuss the role that patient’s system of immunity may have had influential bearing in their long survival from the cancer.
The History of Malignant Mesothelioma and Body Immunity
In 1986, a research article came under the spotlight in a medical journal which focused on this very topic of mesothelioma and immunity. This study dealt with the immune response of 118 healthy people and compared to twenty patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and also 375 long-term asbestos labors who were free from cancer. The scientists wondered if there were any measurable difference in immune response of the mesothelioma patients. The research findings evinced that a relationship between body immunity and mesothelioma was rather robust. For instance:
- The total number of T (T11) and T-helper (T4+) cells were in their normal state among asbestos workers with caner, yet were severely reduced in patients with mesothelioma. T cells regulate, orchestrate, and coordinate the entire immune response. This claims that the immune system of mesothelioma patients may be infected by mesothelioma or presumably a compromised immune system caused the disease to improve to its higher stage.
- Most patients that are diagnosed with mesothelioma had profound deficiency in NK, which stands for Natural Killer, cell activity which suggests the role of immune system does play in the control of mesothelioma. NK cells denote a type of dangerous lymphocyte which attack tumor cell and also defend against a wide variety of infectious microbes.
