Mesothelioma Treatment
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer which has no cure. However, this does not mean that there is no hope for mesothelioma patients. If someone is diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma cancer there are a number of mesothelioma treatment options. These treatments are administered keeping in mind the patient’s age, general health and the stage cancer.
There are three most common types of treatments given to mesothelioma cancer patients:
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
Let us have a detailed look at these mesothelioma treatment options:
Surgery
There are two types of surgeries for mesothelioma cancer patients. One that really remove the cancer and the other that helps alleviate pain and suffering. Surgery for mesothelioma is complicated and serious. However, it can work wonders for the patient and improve the quality of life. Thus, if you are considering surgery as an option, consult a mesothelioma specialist.
During mesothelioma surgery, surgeon removes the cancerous area which involves cutting the affected portion and some of the surrounding cells. The decision for surgery depends on the stage of the disease and size of the affected area. In some of the cases, parts of organs may need to be removed to stop the growth of cancer.
There are a few options for surgery which can help the patient with pain management:
- In pneumonectomy or decortication surgery, the surgeon opens the chest and removes the tumor or cancer to relieve pressure on the chest.
- Another surgery, extra pleural pneumonectomy involves the removal of the lung and its lining in order to remove mesothelioma.
- Thoracentesis is another kind of surgery which drains excess fluid from the lungs to help in breathing and reduce pressure on the lungs.
- In extrapleural pueumonectomy, the lining around the lungs, heart and diaphragm is removed to prevent it from getting infected with mesothelioma.
Surgery is commonly used to remove the cancer form the patient’s body. If the malignancy is removed early it can lead to a complete recovery with no reoccurring symptoms.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy kills the cancerous cells or shrinks them by high energy rays. Radiation can be given in two ways:
- External radiation in which the rays come from a machine outside the body
- Internal radiation involves putting of radioisotopes which produce radiation in the body through thin plastic tubes to kill the tumor or cancerous cells.
Radiation therapy is often given after surgery to remove any traces of mesothelioma cancer cells. It is helpful for relieving symptoms like difficulty in breathing and pain in the chest. In other words, we can say radiation is a mesothelioma treatment that can help with symptom control.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves giving medicines which can control the growth cancer cells. Many mesothelioma patients are living a health life due to chemotherapy. The drugs in chemotherapy can be either swallowed or injected in the blood steam which can circulate in the whole body and destroy cancerous tissues.
However, chemotherapy also has severe side effects because when a drug enters a body, it can kill healthy tissues along with the cancerous ones. In most of the cases, chemotherapy is given along with other treatments to increase its effects. It is also prescribed for patients who are too weak for surgery. However, chemotherapy also has some side effects.
Some of the Side Effects of Chemotherapy may include:
- coughing
- vomiting
- loss of appetite
- constipation
- loss of hair
- mouth sores
Some newer Mesothelioma Treatments
With numerous researches and experiments, some newer and effects modes of treating mesothelioma have been discovered, they include:
- Gene Therapy: This therapy is still in experimental stages. It involves injecting a modified gene into a patient’s chest cavity.
- Photodynamic Therapy: It is an experimental treatment which combines photosensitizing with light to kill the cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy: It is also experimental treatment for mesothelioma cancer. There are different names for immunotherapy such as biologic response modifiers and biologic therapy. This treatment uses certain parts of the immune system of the patient’s body to control the cancer.
Research and experiment is still underway to determine the cure and best treatment for mesothelioma cancer. However, until those treatments are worked out, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the best available treatments for mesothelioma cancer. |
