As said repeatedly, mesothelioma is a terrible disease that is very difficult to treat. Presently it is better to prevent mesothelioma rather than treat it. Mesothelioma is an aggressive and stubborn form of cancer which the sufferers and their families may have a difficulty in making a choice about treatment. This is because the treatment program for mesothelioma hangs on several factors among which are: the stage of the mesothelioma, its location in the body, how far it has spread in the body, image of the cancer cells under microscope, the patient’s age and treatment desires. Because of technological advancement more and more options are steadily coming up for patients to choose from.
Today, many means of accurately diagnosing the disease is now available among which are x-rays, CT scan, biopsies and MRIs. These tests will help doctor determine the best treatment that will meet the treatment need of each patient. There are many treatment options available today which are mainly focuses on destroying the cancer cells and preserving the healthy ones. Patients and their doctors presently have three major treatment options on ground namely chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, others are alternative therapies.
During treatment, the kind of option which will be recommended for a mesothelioma sufferer depends on the following factors:
1. Mesothelioma type
2. The location of mesothelioma tumor
3. The tumor size
4. The cancer cells metastases or their spread
5. Is the cancer benign, advanced etc
6. The age of the mesothelioma sufferers
7. The general health of the patient
Those factors above not withstanding, before any treatment option is decide on any mesothelioma patient must see a variety of doctors and specialists. He must see a cancer specialist called oncologist, radiologist and pulmonologist (i.e. lung cancer expert). Thorough tests must be conducted to determine the best treatment option and when that is done any one of the following treatment options can be recommended by the doctor.
Surgery: This is usually recommended for palliative reasons or to cure the disease in an effort to keep the victim of the disease alive and to ease the patient body discomfort or to improve the quality of life of the patient. Surgery is not always recommended because when most mesothelioma is diagnosed the disease would have reached its advanced stages which make the surgery a difficult curative option
But as means of diagnosing mesothelioma at earlier stage becomes available, surgery will becomes more of an option in the future and this will make it possible for doctors to cut off the cancer and other infected tissue in the area in an effort to help control the spread of the disease. Another surgical procedure that is also been used by oncologists to deal with mesothelioma is thoracentesis. This surgical option removes fluid from the lungs by means of a thin needle. Another surgical option that is sometimes used for mesothelioma patients is pleurectomy. Pleurectomy is a surgical action which removes the pleura, the lining tissues of the lung and can help reduce fluid build-up as well as lessen pain and the patient breathing difficulties of the patient.
Chemotherapy: This is a combination drugs put together by doctors to help patients of mesothelioma get relief from many symptoms of mesothelioma. Chemotherapy provides no cure for the disease but as technology advancement continues to happen and scientists continue to study the effects of different drug combinations on mesothelioma tumor, one day chemotherapy drugs may start to help extend the life of mesothelioma patients. The commonly prescribed chemotherapy drugs today are combination of Alimta and cisplatin. Other drugs are also often used, depending on the health needs of the patient involved. On the other hand, to help control the side effects of the chemo drugs, other drugs are given to the patients to deal with nausea and vomiting. Vitamins are also included to help replace the essential ones lost during the treatment. Many patients unfortunately do pull out of chemotherapy when the side effects becomes too severe for them tolerate.
Radiotherapy. Radiation therapy (radiotherapy) is commonly recommended if the patient health is too weak to undergo surgery or chemotherapy. Radiation is more tolerated by mesothelioma sufferers’ bodies and more so it has fewer side effects. Radiation therapy involves radiation from a machine outside the body of the patient directly aimed at the affected areas in the patient’s body. These are so many radiation therapy options available to mesothelioma victims among which are external beam radiation and branchy-therapy.
Mesothelioma sufferers prefer external beam radiation therapy for palliative purposes and to reduce breathing difficulties, pains, bleeding and swallowing problems. It rarely has much impact on mesothelioma tumors. External beam radiation therapy can also be used in conjunction with surgery. This radiation therapy is normally carried out everyday of the week up to five weeks in a row non-stop. Branchytherapy puts radioactive material directly in the lung or the abdomen of the mesothelioma patients but because of its side effects and risks involved it’s rarely prescribed for mesothelioma treatment.
Alternative Therapy. Recent efforts aimed at helping mesothelioma patients burden cope with the mesothelioma had brought about new focus to the problem of mesothelioma. Alternative therapies in the treatment of mesothelioma, are emerging treatment options for the disease or symptoms that are not use in the conventional healthcare given to patients of mesothelioma. Alternative therapies for mesothelioma combine many treatment options among which may be the use of vitamins, herbs, acupuncture, massage and hypnosis among others. Alternative therapies are widely becoming an important option in the treatment of mesothelioma, based on what Paul Kraus, an author and a mesothelioma sufferer for many years wrote in his book titled:
Surviving Mesothelioma and Other Cancers: A Patient’s Guide. In that book Paul Kraus who was given a prognosis of less than one year to live but after using a variety of complementary treatment modalities. He has continued to outlive his prognosis and the book he wrote was about his experience with mesothelioma. In the book, Kraus explained his philosophy about healing and how he has used integrative medicine to help himself manage mesothelioma burdens.
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