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You may have heard of mesothelioma or know someone who has it, but what is mesothelioma? Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that develops in the mesothelium, the protective lining that covers most of our internal organs. Mesothelioma is an aggressive and deadly form of cancer. The pleura, the lining of the lung, is where mesothelioma is most commonly found. This form is called pleural mesothelioma. Other forms are peritoneal, pericardial, and testicular mesothelioma. The rarest form of mesothelioma, testicular mesothelioma, occurs in the lining of the testicle. Peritoneal mesothelioma occurs in the abdominal cavity lining, and pericardial mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the heart. Pericardial mesothelioma is the second rarest form. If left untreated, mesothelioma can cause death in four months to a year after diagnosis. The most common causes of death in people with mesothelioma are respiratory failure or pneumonia.

Exposure to asbestos particles is the only known cause of mesothelioma. If an individual was exposed to asbestos in homes or in the workplace he or she is at

In the age of genomics, gene sequencing and DNA research, there is an ever-expanding body of knowledge on how cancer and heredity are interrelated. Now there is a name to go with the practice of using genetic testing that diagnoses and treats conditions: precision medicine.
 
Precision medicine or personalized medicine is a medical practice that involves utilizing genetic testing as a method to consider particular treatments and/or medications to address a cancer diagnosis. Ideally, precision medicine is the "custom-fit" suit of cancer care compared to an "off-the-rack" option. When a person is diagnosed with cancer, medication treatments are prescribed taking into consideration how a particular gene responds to a medication.
 
Several hospitals across the country have started precision medicine programs to support this expanding field. In November 2013, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard collaborated to establish the Joint Center for Cancer Precision Medicine. The Center combines DNA sequencing, tumor

Getting people to donate blood is relatively easy.  Blood drives are frequently held, and most people are aware of both the need and the accessibility of donation.  For stem cells, however, the story is not the same.  Although the need is great, far fewer people are aware that they can make the difference between life and death by registering as a donor.  Be The Match, an organization that finds donor matches for patients in need of a stem cell transplant, is dedicated to raising awareness, raising funds and, most importantly, raising donor registration numbers.

Some patients with certain cancers, such as some leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, need a very high dosage of chemotherapy directed at blood-related cells.  The therapy damages bone marrow, and these patients require a stem cell transplant to restore their ability to create normal blood cells.  Although terminology can be confusing, both a "bone marrow transplant" and a "peripheral stem cell transplant"  put new, working stem cells into a patient's bone marrow.  The difference lies in the source of the donated cells.  In a

Google Glass doesn't have anything on the latest in high-tech cancer treatment from Washington University School of Medicine. The St. Louis, Missouri-based university and medical center has pioneered a new type of glasses that help surgeons tell the difference between cancerous cells and healthy cells during a procedure.
 
While the glasses are in the early stages of development -- so new the technology is unnamed -- they were used for the first time in surgery on February 10, 2014, at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. The hospital consistently ranks in the top 10 for U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospital in America" and is one of the largest cancer treatment centers in the country.
 
The glasses are composed of a head-mounted display and proprietary video technology. During a surgery, a surgeon applies a chemical to the tissues that is specifically attracted to cancerous cells to last through longer surgeries, but does not attach to healthy cells. When a surgeon wears the glasses,