Mesothelioma Treatment Option - new alternative, traditional mesothelioma support treatment

Treatment for mesothelioma depends on the location of the cancer, the stage of the disease, and the patient's age and general health. After diagnosis, your doctor or oncologist (cancer specialist) will provide you with information on the treatment options that are available to you. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, remember that time matters. The faster you consult your doctor and get professional care the better your chances will be of dealing with this dangerous cancer.

Mesothelioma Treatment Option Overview:

Standard treatment for all but localized mesothelioma is generally not curative. Although some patients will experience long-term survival with aggressive treatment approaches, it remains unclear if overall survival has been significantly altered by the different treatment modalities or by combinations of modalities. Extrapleural pneumonectomy in selected patients with early stage disease may improve recurrence-free survival, but its impact on overall survival is unknown. Pleurectomy and decortication can provide palliative relief from symptomatic effusions, discomfort caused by tumor burden, and pain caused by invasive tumor. Operative mortality from pleurectomy/decortication is less than 2%, while mortality from extrapleural pneumonectomy has ranged from 6% to 30%. The addition of radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy following surgical intervention has not demonstrated improved survival. The use of radiation therapy in pleural mesothelioma has been shown to alleviate pain in the majority of patients treated. However, the duration of symptom control is short-lived. Single agent and combination chemotherapy have been evaluated in single and combined modality studies. The most studied agent is doxorubicin, which has produced partial responses in approximately 15% to 20% of patients studied. Some combination chemotherapy regimens have been reported to have higher response rates in small phase II trials. However the toxicity reported is also higher and there is no evidence that combination regimens result in longer survival or longer control of symptoms. Recurrent pleural effusions may be treated with pleural sclerosing procedures; however, failure rates are usually secondary to the bulk of the tumor, which precludes pleural adhesion due to the inability of the lung to fully expand.

Standard treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy , and chemotherapy . Sometimes, these treatments are combined.

I Option for Mesothelioma support Treatment - Surgery

Surgery is a common treatment for mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura (pleural mesothelioma), a lung may be removed in an operation called a pneumonectomy . Sometimes part of the diaphragm , the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.

Surgical treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma is often performed either to help relieve symptoms or to attempt to remove the tumor from the wall of the abdomen and other digestive organs.

II Option for Mesothelioma Treatment - Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy also called radiotherapy , involves the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors . Radiation therapy affects the cancer cells only in the treated area. The radiation may come from a machine (external radiation) or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).

The use of high-energy radiation from x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, and other sources to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external-beam radiation therapy), or it may come from radioactive material placed in the body near cancer cells (internal radiation therapy, implant radiation, or brachytherapy). Systemic radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance, such as a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody, that circulates throughout the body. Also called radiotherapy.
The side effects from radiation can be quite severe. If you experience them, consider contacting your doctor for ways to control the symptoms.

III Option for Mesothelioma Treatment - Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy (Treatment with anticancer drugs) is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body. Most drugs used to treat mesothelioma are given by injection into a vein (intravenous, or IV). Doctors are also studying the effectiveness of putting chemotherapy directly into the chest or abdomen (intracavitary chemotherapy).
In treating mesothelioma, these drugs may also be given intrapleurally (directly into the chest cavity), or intraperitoneally (into the abdominal cavity). Depending on the type and stage of mesothelioma, chemotherapy may be given as the primary (main) treatment or as an adjuvant (addition) to surgery.

To relieve symptoms and control pain, the doctor may use a needle or a thin tube to drain fluid that has built up in the chest or abdomen. The procedure for removing fluid from the chest is called thoracentesis . Removal of fluid from the abdomen is called paracentesis . Drugs may be given through a tube in the chest to prevent more fluid from accumulating. Radiation therapy and surgery may also be helpful in relieving symptoms.

Cancer Tip

A diagnosis of cancer is usually a critical event in a person's life because it carries with it the threat of premature death, pain and disability. Today, however, many cancers can be cured or palliated for extended periods of time if initial treatment involves the appropriate therapy.

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