Mesothelioma Treatment

MESOTHELIOMA TREATMENT PLANS:

After diagnosing the cell type, stage and the type of mesothelioma, the doctors suggest the patient go for some initial yet mandatory tests. A treatment plan is designed according to the test reports and the condition of the patient. Remember that the method can be different in patients according to their age, gender and other health factors.

The Treatment Options for Mesothelioma:

The treatment of Mesothelioma is as same as another type of cancer. The most aggressive treatment options for Mesothelioma include:

• Surgery
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation Therapy.

SURGERY:

In this type of treatment, the surgeons aim to remove the mesothelioma as much as is possible, soon after it is diagnosed. This treatment is done basically in the early stages of cancer, and in some cases, there is the possibility of getting cured.

But in most of the cases, removing the entire cancer is not possible. Thus the treatment helps in reducing the symptoms and stop it from spreading in other tissues to some extent.

The possible surgery options are:

Decreasing Fluid Buildup:

Due to the disease, the chest of the patients become prone to building up fluids. As a result, the patients may find it difficult while breathing. In this process of treatment, a catheter or a tube is inserted, and the fluid is drained out of the chest. To stop the fluid from returning the doctors may also inject medicine into the chest.

Removing the tissues around the lungs:

The tissue lining around the lungs or the ribs are removed. Mesothelioma can’t be treated by this treatment process, but the symptoms and signs of the disease can be relieved.

Removing one lung and surrounded tissues:

To relieve the signs and symptoms of the Pleural Mesothelioma, the affected lung and the tissues that are surrounding the affected lung can be removed. Even when the patients decide to go for radiation therapy after the surgery, the doctors are allowed to go for high doses too.

Surgery of Peritoneal Mesothelioma:

This type of surgery is used basically to treat the Peritoneal Mesothelioma. The operation aims to remove as much cancer as possible through this surgery. The patients can be treated with chemotherapy before and after this surgery.

CHEMOTHERAPY:

Chemotherapy is a common treatment type for treating cancer. In this process, chemicals are used to kill the cancer cells that are affecting the organ. The chemotherapy travels through the body systematically and slows down the growth of mesothelioma in the body, which can’t be removed by surgery.

Chemotherapy can be used before and after the surgery. It is used to make the operation easy being used before surgery, and after surgery, it is used to reduce the chances of returning the cancer cells again in the body.

The drugs that are used in the process can also be induced in the abdomen directly by heating it. Though it can be done only in the cases of peritoneal mesothelioma.

RADIATION THERAPY:

High energy light beams such as X-Rays and Protons are focused in a precise location or spot of the body. Radiation Therapy is usually used after the surgery to kill any left cancer cell. Radiation therapy also helps the patients in reducing the symptoms and signs of the disease. Radiation therapy can also be used in places where surgery is no more an option.

OTHER TYPES OF TREATMENT:

Apart from the major types of treatments, there are other treatments, too, which are considered to be useful in certain situations. The procedures include:

Immunotherapy:

In this type of action, the body immune system is used to treat cancer. The proteins excreted by the cancer cells blind the immune system of the body and prevent it from attacking the cancer cells. Immunotherapy interferes in that process and can be taken as an option where other treatments are not working.

Targeted Therapy:

In this therapy, specific drugs are used to attack the vulnerabilities of the cancer cells. The medicines which are used in this therapy are not commonly used in the treatment of Mesothelioma, but those are recommended based on the results of the DNA results of the tumour.

CLINICAL TRIALS:

The patients of Mesothelioma sometimes opt for this type of treatment. Where new treatment methods are applied based on researches and studies. But in this process of therapy, the cure or reduction of the symptoms are not guaranteed as much as it is in other methods of mesothelioma treatment. If a patient is open for the type of treatment that gives enough exposure to the doctors to understand how to treat the disease in future.

New approaches are always investigated, including new types of immunotherapy and new strategies of targeted therapy.