Mesothelioma Treatment

Posted: Nov 07, 2010 |Comments: 0 |

Let's take a moment to understand what mesothelioma is, then let's examine mesothelioma treatments.

Mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the linings of the lungs and abdominal areas. Many people develop mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos. The tricky thing about mesothelioma symptoms is they can take a long time to occur; sometimes 30 – 40 years after you were first exposed to asbestos. Or, the symptoms can mimic other diseases or illnesses. This can cause problems because it is very important that mesothelioma is treated in its early stages. If it's not, it will usually result in death. The most common treatments are chemotherapy radiation therapy, and surgery.

The goal of chemotherapy treatment is to shrink the mesothelioma tumor. This is done with a combination of drugs, and there has been some success with this treatment. With radiation therapy the goal is to use nuclear radiations to kill the malignant cells, thus shrinking the tumor. The problem with this treatment is it is rather difficult. Care must be taken not to damage healthy cells in other vital organs, like the heart and lungs. Radiation therapy is the mesothelioma treatment method that makes use of nuclear radiations to kill the malignant cells and shrink the tumor. However, radiation therapy is an extremely difficult procedure. It can damage the healthy cells of heart, lungs, and other vital organs surrounded by radiation dosage.

If the suggested treatment is surgery there are two options the doctor will consider, Aggressive Surgery and Palliative Procedures. Aggressive surgery ( Pneumonectomy) is usually performed on stronger, usually younger patients. They are in good health and can withstand this aggressive surgery, which involves removing excess pleural membrane. This is really getting as much of the tumor out as possible.

Palliative procedures of mesothelioma treatment (Pleurectomy), is done in the early stages of cancer. These procedures removes all of the pleura. The goal here is to reduce the symptoms instead of cure the disease. By doing this the pain that the tumor may cause is greatly reduced, and the possibility of the pleural effusion recurring is greatly reduced. Removing the tumor completely in not an option with this procedure.

There is also the opportunity to use all of these treatments in parallel – Dual therapy. Dual therapy includes chemotherapy and radiation therapy along with the combination of surgery. This combination will usually kill remaining tumor cells left after surgery and in relieving symptoms such as pain.

Bear in mind that mesothelioma treatments are not cheap, which is why many patients suffering from mesothelioma and other asbestos based diseases choose the option of filing lawsuits for recovering damages medical expenses, loss of income, lost earning capacity, pain and sufferings. The mesothelioma victims can take help of expert asbestos attorneys to locate the defendants- persons/companies responsible for causing asbestos exposure.

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