Skip to main content

Treatment of Pleural Mesothelioma

After a patient is diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, this must make an immediate decision regarding treatment. Because the cancer spreads in a very fast manner, it is recommended that patients make an appointment with an expert in your area as quickly as possible.
 

Primary treatments include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy, these may be curative or palliative.
 
If the cancer has not yet been spread throughout the body, there are aggressive treatments that can help extend the life of the patient. These options include:

  • Extra pleural pneumonectomy or pleurectomy to remove visible tumors in the body.
  • Chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin, doxorubicin and gemcitabine to remove all cells remaining after surgery.
  • Radiation therapy to ensure that all cells have been treated properly.
Patients usually always report better results when the three treatments are used together, this approach is known as multimodal therapy. However, this method greatly affects the body and oncologists recommend only when the cancer is in its early stages and the patient is quite healthy.
 
If the patient needs a more gentle option for the body, it is recommended that this be put to palliative treatments. While these treatments can only reach slightly reduce the tumor, in order to apply these treatments it is to relieve symptoms. Palliative treatment for patients with pleural mesothelioma include:

  • Pleurodesis to drain fluid from the pleural cavity
  • Palliative chemotherapy to reduce the size of tumors and consequently the pressure on the affected organs. 
  • Oxygenation therapy to ease breathing. Respiratory therapy to the lungs regain their strength.
     Alternate therapies for pleural mesothelioma cancer can also relieve symptoms. Acupuncture, massage therapy, yoga and aromatherapy are the most popular methods to reduce pain, stimulate digestion, reduce nausea and improve overall health.

Alternative therapies such as nutrition programs and supplements can help the body and skills and self-help fight the disease.
 
With a little more modern therapies, patients affected with pleural mesothelioma are able to live up to one year after initial diagnosis. Approximately four out of ten patients come to achieve this goal while one out of five survivors are still alive two years or more.
 
Only a very small percentage of patients fail to surprise the doctors and live more than two years. There is always clinical trials that have the ability to extend the life of patients more.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

General Information about Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is a disease in which malignant (cancerous) cells form in the lining of the chest or abdomen. Malignant mesothelioma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the pleura (the thin layer of tissue that lines the chest cavity and covers the lungs) or the peritoneum (the thin layer of tissue that lines the abdomen and covers most of the organs of the abdomen). Malignant mesothelioma can form in the heart or testicles, but this is not common Exposure to asbestos can influence the risk of malignant mesothelioma. Anything that increases the risk of getting a disease is called a risk factor. Having a risk factor does not mean you are going to have cancer; Having no risk factors does not mean you will not have cancer. Talk to your doctor if you think you may be at risk. Most people with malignant mesothelioma have worked or lived in places where they inhaled or swallowed asbestos. After exposure to asbestos, it usually takes a lon...
1 comment
Read more

If You Have Malignant Mesothelioma

Cancer can start anywhere in the body. Malignant mesothelioma is cancer that begins in the linings of certain parts of the body. This cancer occurs more often in the lining of the chest or abdomen (belly). It occurs when cells in the lining grow out of control and outnumber normal cells. This makes it difficult for the body to function the way it should. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells in the lining can sometimes travel to nearby organs and tissues and grow there. When cancer cells spread, what is known as a metastasis occurs. For doctors, the cancer cells at the new site are identical to those in the lining. Cancer is always named after the place where it started. Therefore, when mesothelioma in the chest spreads to the spine (or anywhere else), it is still called mesothelioma. It can only be called bone cancer if it has started from cells in the bones of the spine. Different types of mesothelioma     Pleural mesothelioma begi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mesothelioma, Treatments Are More Effective Thanks To Grape Seeds

In Italy it represents 0.4% of all malignancies diagnosed in men and 0.2% of those diagnosed in women. The study was born from the collaboration between ENEA, CNR and the "Federico II" University of Naples Mesothelioma is a tumor that arises from the cells that line the mesothelium. It is a fabric that covers the surface of the serous membranes which, in turn, line the inner wall of the chest, abdomen and space around the heart. Depending on the affected area, the mesothelium takes on different names. The main risk factor for this disease is exposure to asbestos.  This term indicates a family of minerals rather common in nature with a fibrous structure very resistant to heat. Its fibers, if inhaled, settle in the lungs and can damage the mesothelial cells causing, in some cases, pleural cancer. Other less common risk factors are exposure to zeolites with erionitis, radiation to the chest and abdomen, thorium injections (used in medicine until 1950).  According ...
Post a Comment
Read more