Boston VA Pioneers Heated Chemo for Pleural Mesothelioma

Thoracic surgeon Dr. Abraham Lebenthal in Boston recently performed the first intraoperative heated chemotherapy procedure in the VA health care system for a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The procedure should improve care and long-term survival for veterans who rely on the VA for their health care needs. It will help in the fight against this rare and aggressive cancer. Lebenthal is hoping more veterans with mesothelioma take advantage of what he can offer now at the Boston VA, which utilizes a long-term, collaborative relationship with nearby Brigham and Women's Hospital and the International Mesothelioma Program (IMP). "This means that veterans now can stay within network, and receive the very best care available anywhere for mesothelioma," Lebenthal told Asbestos.com. "For some veterans, it could mean the difference between long-term survival or not." The intraoperative heated chemotherapy (IOHC), which is used in combination with aggressive surgery, has been utilized for several years by a handful of mesothelioma specialists at private facilities — including Lebenthal at Brigham and Women's. The procedure last month, though, was a first within the sprawling VA health care system. The David Sugarbaker Influence Lebenthal was trained by renowned mesothelioma pioneer Dr. David Sugarbaker, who was the first to do the IOHC procedure more than a decade ago at Brigham and Women's. It was the collaboration with Brigham and Women's that enabled Lebenthal, w...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Treatment & Doctors Source Type: news