Mesothelioma Treatment

Mesothelioma treatment varies, depending on:

• the stage of the disease
• the location of the cancer
• the patient's physical health

Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma are given a survival time of 12 months. However, specialists in mesothelioma treatment at leading cancer centers often have better statistics.

Yet everyone agrees that early diagnosis and treatment of the disease is the best way to prolong the survival rate.

There are 4 types of traditional mesothelioma treatment for patients:

• Surgery
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation
• Combination of the above

SURGERY involves the cutting away of the cancer. A pleurectomy/decortication is the removal of part of the chest or abdominal lining along with a portion of the surrounding tissue. A pleurectomy also performed to relieve the pain associated with cancer.

In a pneumonectomy, the lung is removed.

In an extrapleural pneumonectomy, the lung is removed along with the lining and diaphragm (the muscle that helps you breathe) on the affected side. In this surgery, the lining around the heart is also removed.

However, even after surgery, there is no guarantee the cancer will not spread. Therefore, a more aggressive form of mesothelioma treatment may be recommended.

CHEMOTHERAPY is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be administered by pill, or injected into the body.

Chemotherapeutic agents can be administered either systemically (through the blood stream) or intrapleurally (in the pleural cavity). When it is administered intrapleurally, the treatment is localized at the site of the tumor.

Chemotherapy may be used to shrink a tumor before surgery (neo-adjuvant therapy), to help destroy cancer cells that may remain after surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy), to make radiation therapy or immunotherapy work more effectively, or to help destroy cancer that recurs or has spread from the site of the original tumor. It may also be used as a stand-alone treatment in cases where the patient is not a surgical candidate.

Chemotherapy drugs may be given as single agents, but often, multiple drugs are given simultaneously. This is called "combination therapy". Such is the case with the investigational drug, Alimta (now approved by the FDA for mesothelioma treatment ), where it is combined with "standard" drugs such as Cisplatin or gemcitabine.

When cancer occurs, abnormal cells in the body multiply out of control. Anticancer drugs destroy cancer cells by preventing them from multiplying. Unfortunately, healthy cells can also be harmed, and it is the damage to the healthy cells that may ultimately cause side effects. The cells most likely to be affected are the fast-growing normal cells such as the blood cells forming in bone marrow, and cells in the digestive tract which includes the mouth, stomach, intestines, and esophagus. Hair follicles may also be affected, hence, hair loss during chemotherapy. Some drugs affect cells of vital organs, such as the heart, kidney, bladder, lungs, and nervous system.

Before beginning a chemotherapy protocol, your doctor should discuss your specific mesothelioma treatment and the side effects most closely associated with the drugs you will be receiving.

Questions you may wish to ask about your mesothelioma treatment are:

• How many treatments will I have?
• What drugs will I receive?
• How will the drugs be administered, i.e., pill, intravenous, etc.?
• Where will the treatment take place?
• How long will each treatment last?
• What are the possible side effects I may have?
• Should I worry about the side effects?
• Who exactly do I contact after hours if I need to call?

Once chemotherapy is completed, normal cells usually recover, so most side effects will gradually disappear after treatment ends. The amount of time it takes to get over side effects is dependent on many things, including your overall health and the type of chemotherapy you have been receiving.

RADIATION THERAPY involves x-rays used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy) or from putting materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) through thin plastic tubes in the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).

In addition, there are now mesothelioma clinical trials taking place in locations across the country. These clinical trials conduct research involving the latest in medical therapy for mesothelioma victims.

Finally, before starting any mesothelioma treatment, be sure to review The Patient's Bill of Rights. It was implemented to protect mesothelioma victims and their loved ones.

See your doctor to make sure you're getting the mesothelioma treatment that's right for you.

The content of this web site has not been prepared or endorsed by any physicians or other licensed medical or legal professionals. Nothing on this site should be taken as medical or legal advice. The purpose of this site is to provide victims and their loved ones with useful information and access to other resources.

Mesothelioma victims are encouraged to consult with their physician for medical advice and with a mesothelioma attorney for legal advice.