Mesothelioma Treatment

Mesothelioma Treatment - and after we know 3 main types of Mesothelioma, now we will discuss about Mesothelioma Treatment, There are several methods of treatment for mesothelioma although none of these have a high success rate. In general, the chances of curing a mesothelioma patient depends on how much the cancer has developed and matured when treated. If tackled aggressively in its early stages, there is a good chance of survival.

There are several methods of treatment for mesothelioma although none of these have a high success rate. In general, the chances of curing a mesothelioma patient depends on how much the cancer has developed and matured when treated. If tackled aggressively in its early stages, there is a good chance of survival. Due to the difficulty of diagnosing mesothelioma in its early stages, many mesothelioma treatments focus on improving the quality of life for patients.
Before a patient is treated upon, a doctor will decide what the best course of treatment is by considering the patient’s age, medical history, general well being and even weight. From here, the doctor will decide which of the three most common treatments are most suited to the patient’s condition. These treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Surgery

Surgery comes in two different types. Aggressive surgery is treatment which aims to gain long term control against the cancer and palliative procedures which aims to just relieve the patient of symptoms.

Aggressive surgery involves removing the pleura, the lung, the diaphragm and the pericardium. This procedure is known as extra pleural pneumonectomy. The aim of this is to remove as much of the tumour as possible without harming the patient. However, this is a very risky type of surgery and the chances are high of patient fatality within a month. Due to this, only young, fit individuals are referred to this form of treatment. Palliative procedures involve removing just the pleura in order to control the symptoms of the cancer. This is performed when mesothelioma is in an advanced form and is impossible to cure.

Chemotherapy

This is the most commonly known cure of cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat mesothelioma although many of these drugs have a poor success rate on patients. Combinations of drugs are often used to improve their effect. Some of these combinations have proved to be effective. Chemotherapy of mesothelioma is being improved regularly as research labs and pharmaceutical companies are discovering new and more effective drugs.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses radiation to kill the tumour which mesothelioma creates. However, this procedure is extremely difficult because of where the tumour grows. Due to the closeness of the tumour and many vital internal organs such as the heart and lungs, doctors have to be very careful as to the doses of radiation they use. Lower radiation doses can be used however this lowers its effectiveness.

Dual Therapy

This is often used and is just a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy combined. Surgery removes the majority of the tumour cells while chemotherapy and radiation therapy work on removing the remainder. This is an effective method and also lessens the symptoms of the cancer.

Mesothelioma – The 3 Main Types

Mesothelioma – The 3 Main Types, In general, mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer. Different types of mesothelioma are distinguished between by where the cancer is growing. Pleural mesothelioma, the most common, accounting for 75% of all mesothelioma cases, is where cancerous cells develop on the lining of the lungs. The next most common form of mesothelioma is peritoneal mesothelioma and this is where cancerous cells grow on the peritoneum which is the lining of the abdomen. Pericardial mesothelioma, the least common major form of mesothelioma, makes up roughly 5% of all mesothelioma cases. This is where malignant cancer cells grow on the lining of the heart.

All three of these forms of mesothelioma are caused by asbestos. Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that was discovered around the 1860s. Due to its highly useful property of being fireproof, asbestos was used greatly in construction in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. It was not until the early 1960s when the severe health hazards that asbestos causes were discovered, that asbestos stopped being used. When exposed to asbestos with insufficient protection a person will breathe in tiny asbestos fibres which are suspended in the air. These fibres pass into the respiratory system until they become lodged in the lining of the lungs. Over time, an accumulation of these asbestos fibres in the lungs can cause pleural mesothelioma. Asbestos fibres may also pass into the lymphatic system and be transported to either the lining of the abdomen or the tissue surrounding the heart. This may cause either peritoneal mesothelioma or pericardial mesothelioma.

In terms of symptoms, the three main types of mesothelioma have some symptoms in common with each other. These symptoms are usual of all three types: chest pain, shortness of breath, coughing, coughing up blood, vomiting, nausea, weight loss and loss of appetite. An additional symptom of pericardial mesothelioma is palpitations.

There are a few treatments for all types of mesothelioma but none of these have a high success rate. The effectiveness of the treatment depends on how early and how aggressively the cancer is treated. If the cancerous cells are treated when they have fully matured and developed then it is unlikely that treatment methods will be successful. Treatment methods include chemotherapy which is the use of drugs to kill the cancer, radiation therapy which uses a radiation dosage to kill off cancerous cells and surgery which attempts to gain long term control over the cancer by removing a large portion of malignant cells. These treatment methods can be combined in the form of dual therapy.

Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Symptoms of Mesothelioma - The term “Mesothelioma” in medical terms is defined as form of cancer that proliferates at a very fast rate after it has been diagnosed, which affects the mesothelial cells in the body. After detailed study of this disease by several scientists all over the world, it has been concluded that in most of the cases the reason is the direct contact with loose asbestos particles. This disease is generally known to be derived from an abnormality that arises from inhaling the loose asbestos particles suspended in the air for a very long time. The chances of the patients, diagnosed of mesothelioma, have very bleak chances of survival which is not more than one or two years and if it has been detected long back and rigorous medication has been started on the patient then the patient is likely to live for about five years.

There are three types of mesothelioma but the symptoms of the diseases depend on their kinds. The symptoms vary from one-another but the general symptoms that are found in patients suffering from different types of mesothelioma are weight loss, chest pain, loss of appetite, short breath , plain cough and cough with blood. Diagnosing mesothelioma in its initial stages is not possible because symptoms surface very late and that, these symptoms are no special signs indicating the particular disease but are common for other diseases too.

Generally the symptoms of mesothelioma resemble to that to any other normal lung diseases. Most of the symptoms arise in the lungs, where the mesothelial cells covering the lungs and the cavity between them are affected due to prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers. Consulting with the physician is very necessary from time to time and necessary test must be conducted to detect the disease.

The main symptom of mesothelioma is a constant pain in the chest which is followed by short breaths and difficult breathing because of accumulation of fluid in the chest, which makes breathing all the more difficult. Some of the other symptoms of the disease include abnormalities in the lungs, which can be diagnosed under proper supervision of the doctor with a chest CT-scan.

Basically, the disease of mesothelioma advances in four stages. In the first stage, begins the formation of the tumor in the area of lining of the lung and doesn’t exceed from one side of the lung. And then in the second stage the tumor extends to other organs in the chest cavity, such as heart. Then in the third stage its extents to the other abdominal organs affecting all the other organs too. Finally in the fourth and the last stage the tumor extends to all parts of the body and affects all the parts adversely. These are some of the symptoms of the disease of mesothelioma, by which the disease can be tracked in the initial stages of its occurrence.

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