MALIGNANT MESOTHELIOMA RESEARCH

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer, and early detection is nearly impossible, making it a difficult disease to pin down, but exciting discoveries have been made in the field of malignant mesothelioma research during recent years. Research is being conducted on all aspects of the disease including early detection, alternative surgeries and treatments, and palliative measures.

Although malignant mesothelioma is relatively rare as cancers go, scientists are seeing a consistent rise in the number of cases. In addition, the long period between exposure to asbestos and development of the cancer means that the effects from the enthusiastic manufacturing of asbestos products between the 1940s and the 1970s may soon result in an upsurge of cases. Another area of concern is the age and decay of buildings constructed of asbestos. One of the qualities that made asbestos an appealing building material was its virtually indestructible nature. The materials that bonded asbestos into workable materials are not equally indestructible. As decrepit buildings collapse or are destroyed by wind, storms or demolition, the clouds of dust thrown up are often loaded with asbestos. These factors have given malignant mesothelioma research increasing importance.

What’s New?

Chemotherapy is the treatment of choice for asbestos cancer, malignant mesothelioma and other cancer patients for decades, usually as a palliative measure to deal with symptoms. New chemotherapy drugs and treatments are encouraging. The most important advancement for malignant mesothelioma patients is Alimta©. Used in combination with a proven chemotherapy drug called cisplatin, Alimta© is the only drug specifically approved for use on pleural mesothelioma patients by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Another advancement made in recent years that includes chemotherapy is a surgery pioneered by David J. Sugarbaker, MD. Over the past few years, Dr. Sugarbaker has refined a technique for surgical pleural mesothelioma resection that involves removing as much tumor tissue as possible and replacing parts of the membrane with man-made Gore-Tex material. The chest cavity is irrigated with warmed chemotherapy to kill remaining cancer cells before the surgical incision is closed.

A new drug called Onconase© is currently on the FDA’s Fast Track list awaiting final approval. The ground-breaking advantage to Onconase© over other conventional chemotherapy drugs is that it kills cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue.

Anti-Angiogenesis drugs are designed to stop angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the process that helps facilitate the spread of tumors. One anti-angiogenesis drug for malignant mesothelioma treatment is currently being offered. One such drug already on the market is Avastin, a drug that works by lowering the levels of a protein that starts angiogenesis.

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a new radiation therapy that uses computerized 3D modeling to deliver specifically targeted high doses of radiation directly to cancerous tumors—and nowhere else. This represents a significant improvement over traditional radiation techniques which typically kill both cancer and surrounding healthy tissue.

Gene therapy is an exciting research that may prove invaluable in the control and cure of many diseases, including malignant mesothelioma. Gene therapy uses special viruses that have been modified to perform a specific task, to infect malignant mesothelioma cells, leaving them “open” and vulnerable. The virus-infected cells are injected with healthy genes containing interferon-beta, a natural or man-made immune system hormone (cytokine) designed to boost immune system function and help the patient’s body fight—and possibly defeat—the cancer.

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MALIGNANT MESOTHELIOMA TREATMENT

Malignant mesothelioma is a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos that attacks the lining of the lungs, abdomen, heart, or in exceptionally rare cases, the testicles. Treatment options may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and experimental treatments that are sometimes used separately, but more often combined in a comprehensive treatment plan designed to aggressively attack the cancer on several fronts. Generally, malignant mesothelioma has no symptoms and is extremely difficult to detect until the late stages of the disease when fewer treatment options are feasible.

On the bright side, recent scientific research is very encouraging. New therapies and treatments are making the news and previously unheard of successes are becoming more frequent. Clinical trials are available for many patients who might otherwise have little hope, and research is ongoing to study compounds in the blood of malilgnant mesothelioma patients that may soon lead to an early detection screening process.

Many factors help the oncologist and his team to determine a treatment plan best suited for each patient. Things considered include the stage of the cancer, the patient’s age and general health, the patient’s lifestyle choices—smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise habits—and other drugs or treatments the patient may already be on. The oncologist, along with the medical team and the patient, devises a treatment regimen that may include any combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, palliative care, and lifestyle advice.

Malignant Mesothelioma Surgery

Three main types of surgery are used to diagnose and treat malignant mesothelioma.

Diagnostic Malignant Mesothelioma Surgery

Diagnostic surgeries are usually minimally or non-invasive, and are performed to help the medical team reach a definitive malignant mesothelioma diagnosis.

A biopsy is the collection of a small tissue sample used to confirm a malignant mesothelioma diagnosis. This non-invasive procedure uses a long, fine needle inserted into the area suspected to be cancerous to collect cells for examination. An excisional biopsy is a small incision used to take a slightly larger sample for testing. Biopsies help reveal important information of the cancer: what type of cancer it is, how far it has spread and the origin point.

Curative Malignant Mesothelioma Surgery

Curative surgery is performed to remove as much of the cancer as possible. Simply put, the surgeon opens the patient to expose the entire affected area and cuts away the diseased tissue. In recent years, this procedure has been followed immediately by filling the cavity with warm chemotherapy to kill any unseen cancer cells before the patient’s incision is closed. This is a highly effective combination of treatments, but it is not available to most patients. Most malignant mesothelioma is not discovered until it is too late to perform this aggressive level of invasive surgery.

Curative surgery may also include removal of the affected tissues or organs and replacement of linings with a man-made product, which can only be done if enough remaining tissue or organ is healthy and viable and the patient is healthy enough to recover.

Palliative Malignant Mesothelioma Surgery

Palliative surgery is used to lessen pain and usually involves draining fluids that typically build up in the affected area. Fluid that is drained from the patient often assists in diagnostic testing.

Palliative surgery is sometimes performed to ease patient suffering when tumors press on vital organs and interfere with breathing, press on nerves and cause pain, or restrict movement.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a term that describes hundreds of different medications used in the treatment of cancer and a few other diseases and conditions, specifically the chemicals designed to kill cells. Undergoing chemotherapy is not a pleasant experience. Typical side effects are nausea, vomiting, low white blood cell count, loss of appetite, constipation, fatigue, fever and chills, low platelet count, generalized aches and pains, tingling in the hands and feet, rash, and depression.

When discussing chemotherapy with an oncologist, it is important for the patient to disclose medical history and be honest about lifestyle, prescriptions, vitamins, supplements and over-the-counter medications, including herbal remedies. Undisclosed medicines may impede the chemotherapy, or worse, produce harmful side effects.

Radiation

Radiation is a number of procedures used to deliver radioactive material to the cancerous cells in the hopes of killing the cancer or slowing the rate of growth, either for curative or palliative purposes. The delivery method may be any of the following:

External beam radiotherapy is the most frequently used type of radiation therapy for malignant mesothelioma patients. The skin covering the cancerous area is externally irradiated, or bathed in radiation from the outside. External beam radiotherapy is not specifically targeted and is unlikely to kill all cancer cells, so it is not an effective cure, but like most malignant mesothelioma treatments, it can help relieve symptoms. The side effects are skin irritation, localized pain, and difficulty swallowing.

Another type of radiation therapy, brachytherapy, is used to implant tiny radioactive rods into the cancerous tumors. This method of delivery delivers a tiny dose of radiation right into the cancer itself. Surrounding healthy tissues are unaffected and there are fewer side effects.

A new procedure on the market is called intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), a procedure that uses a 3-D model constructed by computer imaging to precisely deliver a higher dose of radiation to cancerous areas with far fewer side effects and damage to surrounding tissues.

Experimental Therapies

Several exciting new therapies are currently in the testing stages that may lead to early detection, better treatment, and possibly even a cure for asbestos cancer, malignant mesothelioma and other deadly cancers and diseases. Clinical trials are being performed all over the world, and patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma are prime candidates to participate. Participating in clinical trials can be risky. Each patient must weigh the odds to decide whether the risks associated with experimental treatment is worth the possible gain.

A new drug called Alimta® is the first chemotherapy drug specifically developed to treat malignant mesothelioma. In clinical trials, the drug has been very successful in relieving malignant mesothelioma symptoms and decreaseing cancerous tumor size. Alimta® is usually administered in combination with cisplatin, another chemotherapy drug. Used together, these drugs have proven to extend the life of malignant mesothelioma patients by several months, and relieve pain, discomfort, and ease breathing difficulties.

Gene therapy is a ground-breaking treatment offering promising results for a number of diseases, including asbestos cancer, malignant mesothelioma and other cancers. Simply put, the goal of gene therapy is to replace malfunctioning cancerous genes with functioning genes. Clinical trials have been underway for some time, and the results have been encouraging.

Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses the immune system to help combat malignant mesothelioma. It can be administered by two different methods. Active immunotherapy enhances or stimulates the patient’s natural immune system to fight cancer. Passive immunotherapy uses man-made proteins that mimic the natural immune system functions for patients whose immune systems are compromised.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses drugs that are photosensitizing agents along with light to activate them to kill cancer cells and stop the spread of malignant mesothelioma. This innovative treatment causes far fewer side effects than most malignant mesothelioma, asbestos cancer and other cancer treatments. Photosensitizing agents are chemicals that produce oxygen when exposed to a certain kind of light. The oxygen produced kills cancer cells without causing extensive damage to surrounding tissues and without causing debilitating side effects.

PERICARDIAL MESOTHELIOMA TREATMENT

Pericardial mesothelioma attacks the membranous lining of the heart, called the pericardium or the pericardial sac. Pericardial mesothelioma is a very rare form of malignant mesothelioma, totaling only about five percent of all malignantmesothelioma cases. It is caused by exposure to deadly asbestos fibers, but how that happens is a matter of debate. The common belief is that the asbestos fibers start in the lungs and travel to the heart through the bloodstream, where they become lodged in the pericardium and eventually, after 20 to 50 years, lead to pericardial mesothelioma. Malignant tumor cells grow in the pericardium, causing the membranes to thicken and fill with fluid. In the later stages of the cancer, the tumors put pressure on the heart and cause a variety of symptoms.

Treatment options are limited in the case of pericardial mesothelioma, and the prognosis is rarely good. Because the cancer is almost impossible to detect early, and the proximity to the heart often makes surgery difficult of impossible, the average patient dies within six months of diagnosis. Occasionally, pericardial mesothelioma is caught early enough for successful treatment options, usually when a physician is looking for something else.

Surgery

Most pericardial mesothelioma patients do not qualify for any kind of surgery aside from palliative procedures.

The most common surgery for a pericardial mesothelioma patient is a fine needle aspiration, called pericardiocentesis, where a surgeon inserts a thin needle into the pericardial sac and drains the fluid from around the heart. This palliative and diagnostic procedure relieves pain and pressure. The fluid is tested to aid in diagnosis and treatment.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy refers to chemical treatments designed to kill cells and may take the form of pills, injections, intravenous treatments. In the case of pericardial mesothelioma, chemotherapy, like any treatment, can prove dangerous or deadly. In addition to a long list of unpleasant side effects, anything used to kill the cancer cells surrounding the heart will also kill heart tissue.

Radiation

Ionizing radiation is a procedure used to kill cancerous cells and slow the growth rate of the cancer. While radiation is effective for some forms of cancer, it can be deadly for pericardial mesothelioma patients, because it kills healthy tissue surrounding the affected area, which includes the heart and the protective tissues around the heart.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) may prove to be the most viable radiation treatment for pericardial mesothelioma patients. It is a new procedure that uses an advanced computer-controlled, high-precision radiotherapy to deliver radiation exactly where it’s needed, with very little damage to surrounding tissues. Little information is available about the use of IMRT to specifically treat pericardial mesothelioma, possibly because pericardial mesothelioma is so rare.

PLEURAL MESOTHELIOMA TREATMENT

Pleural mesothelioma, a type of malignant mesothelioma caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos, attacks the lining of the lungs, called the pleura. There are several treatment options, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, that can be used separately, but more often they are combined in a treatment plan called multimodality therapy. Since pleural mesothelioma has no symptoms and there is no effective screening procedure to detect it early, it is usually diagnosed in the late stages when treatment options are limited and often less effective.

The outlook for pleural mesothelioma patients is constantly improving with ongoing research providing new answers and, new hope. Pleural mesothelioma is by far the most common type of malignant mesothelioma and, as a result, more research dollars are spent looking for a cure.

Types of Pleural Mesothelioma Surgery

There are three main types of surgery used in the diagnosis and treatment of pleural mesothelioma.

• A biopsy is often required to confirm diagnosis of the cancer. This is a non-invasive procedure that involves removing a tiny piece of the infected tissue for testing.
• Curative surgery involves removing as much of the cancerous tissue as possible. This procedure is often followed by or combined with radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
• Palliative surgery is used to lessen pain. It also involves the removing of cancerous tissue, with the purpose of relieving pressure on the lungs and other organs to make the patient more comfortable and improve quality of life.

Diagnostic Pleural Mesothelioma Surgery

Several types of biopsy procedures are used to confirm a pleural mesothelioma diagnosis and determine how far the cancer has spread.

A needle aspiration biopsy is performed to take a small sample of tissue. The surgeon inserts a long needle into the chest and scrapes away a few cells from the area suspected to be cancerous. The cells are examined and tested to confirm a pleural mesothelioma diagnosis.

After the diagnosis is confirmed, the surgeon performs an excisional biopsy to remove additional tissue to determine how far the cancer has spread.

Thoracentesis is another minimally invasive surgery used to confirm diagnosis. It is also used to drain fluids to relieve pressure and make the patient more comfortable. Fluid tends to build up in the lungs of pleural mesothelioma patients, making breathing painful and labored. This condition is called pleural effusion. Thoracentesis is a long needle inserted into the lungs to drain away the fluid. The drained fluid is often sent to the lab for testing.

Pleural Mesothelioma Pleurodesis

Pleurodesis is a form of palliative surgery intended to relieve or prevent pleural effusion. Any fluid is drained and the area is treated with a powdery chemical that causes the cells to become inflamed. The pleural spaces swell and close, blocking fluid buildup and making it easier for the patient to breathe.

Pleural Mesothelioma Thoracotomy

Thoracotomy surgery removes part of a cancerous lung. There are three different types of thoracotomy surgeries: wedge resection, lobectomy, and pneumonectomy.

If the cancerous area is relatively small, the surgeon may opt for a wedge resection to remove only the tumors, leaving as much healthy lung tissue intact as possible.

Each lung is divided into five parts, called lobes. During a lobectomy, one or more of the lobes is removed, leaving the remaining uninfected lobes.

Some patients have pleural mesothelioma in only one lung. In that case, the surgeon may elect to perform a pneumonectomy. This involves removing the infected lung, along with the pleura and diaphragm. He then reconstructs the diaphragm using a man-made material called Gore-Tex, which is also used to make heavy outer clothing, like coats and gloves.

Patients who receive these types of surgery are the most likely to recover well and go on to live long lives free of cancer, but only a very small percentage of early-stage patients who are otherwise healthy qualify.

These surgeries have recently been successfully combined with an infusion of warm chemotherapy directly into the cavity immediately following surgery to kill any cancerous cells that may have been missed by the surgeon.

Pleural Mesothelioma Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a catchall phrase used to describe medications used in the treatment of cancer and a few other diseases and conditions, and refers to chemicals specifically designed to kill cells. Chemotherapy is a difficult course of treatment with many unpleasant side effects.

There are hundreds of chemotherapy options on the market, but only a few approved for pleural mesothelioma patients. A number of factors determine which therapy is best, including the stage of the cancer, the age of the patient, the patient’s general health, and other drugs and treatments the patient may already be on. The oncologist is most likely to prescribe a combination of chemotherapy drugs that will benefit the patient.

When discussing chemotherapy with an oncologist, it is vitally important for the patient to disclose medical history and be honest about lifestyle, prescriptions, vitamins, supplements and over-the-counter medications, including herbal remedies. Undisclosed medicines may impede the chemotherapy and produce harmful side effects.

Pleural Mesothelioma Radiation

Ionizing radiation is a therapy used to kill existing cancer cells and prevent the cancer from spreading. Radiation therapy may be used by itself or in combination with chemotherapy of surgery. It can be curative, to try and kill the cancer, or palliative, to relieve pressure and pain. Two types of radiation therapy are used to treat malignant mesothelioma,:external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy.

External beam radiotherapy is the most frequently used radiation therapy for malignant mesothelioma patients. It is an external treatment similar to an X-ray where the exposed skin covering the cancerous area, in this case the chest, is bathed in radiation. External beam radiotherapy cannot kill all cancer cells, and is usually used in conjunction with other forms of therapy to relieve common symptoms, like breathing difficulties that are caused by tumors pressing on the lungs.

During the procedure, healthy tissue around the affected area is also exposed, causing side effects including skin irritation, pain, and difficulty swallowing.

Brachytherapy involves implanting tiny radioactive rods in the cancerous area. This delivery method is specifically targeted to deliver a deadly dose of radiation directly into malignant mesothelioma tumors. It causes less damage to nearby healthy tissues and, as a result, fewer side effects. Brachytherapy may be temporary or permanent. During a temporary procedure, the radioactive particles are inserted and later removed. Permanent procedures leave the rods in place, where they degrade and eventually stop emitting radiation.

PERITONEAL MESOTHELIOMA TREATMENT

Peritoneal mesothelioma attacks the membranous lining of the abdomen, called the peritoneum. Ten to twenty percent of all malignant mesothelioma cases are peritoneal mesothelioma. Like all malignant mesothelioma cancers, peritoneal mesothelioma is caused by exposure to deadly asbestos fibers. It is thought to develop when victims breathe in the tiny fibers, and then cough them up and swallow them. The minute fibers may also be ingested with food or drink, or they may be inhaled and wind up in the abdomen via the lymphatic system. The asbestos fibers stick to the lining and become lodged between the cells that make up the lining of the abdomen. Malignant mesothelioma develops slowly over decades and is usually discovered in its late stages, which limits treatment options.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is one type of malignant mesothelioma, the other types being pleural mesothlioma, pericardial mesothelioma and testicular mesothelioma.

Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, alone or in any combination. Because there is no effective early detection screening procedure and peritoneal mesothelioma is difficult to identify until the tumors grow large enough to cause discomfort or flood the abdomen with fluid, it is rarely diagnosed early enough to cure. However, recent research focused on early detection using blood markers is encouraging. We may see blood screenings for early detection of malignant mesothelioma in just a few years.

Types of Peritoneal Mesothelioma Surgery

Three types of surgery are used in the diagnosis and treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma.

• Biopsy is a procedure often used to confirm the diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma. It is a non-invasive surgical procedure where a surgeon uses a long, thin needle to scrape out cells from the affected area for testing.
• Removing as much cancerous tissue as possible is called curative surgery. Recent advances in curative surgery combine heated chemotherapy drugs introduced to the abdominal cavity immediately after surgery to kill any remaining cancer.
• Palliative peritoneal surgery is used to relieve pain and other symptoms.

Surgery

Several biopsy procedures may be used to confirm a diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma and determine the extent of the disease.

During a fine needle aspiration, or laparoscopy, the oncology surgeon inserts a thin needle into the abdominal area where cancer is suspected and nips a small sample of tissue for testing.

If the results of the needle aspiration are inconclusive, the surgeon may perform a peritoneoscopy. A local anesthetic is administered for this procedure, and then the surgeon makes a small incision and inserts a tool called a peritoneoscope that allows him to see inside the abdomen with a light and a tiny camera attached to flexible tubing. A tissue sample is often collected during this exploration. In some cases, a more invasive biopsy is called for, and the surgeon may make a larger incision to collect additional tissue.

There are two linings that make up the peritoneum, called the visceral and parietal peritoneum. The visceral peritoneum protects the internal organs and the intestinal tract. The parietal peritoneum covers the abdominal cavity. The cells that make up these linings secret a fluid that lubricates the organs, allowing free movement without friction, much like oil lubricates the moving parts of an automobile. Cancerous cells from peritoneal mesothelioma cause cells to overproduce, flooding the abdominal cavity with fluid. Oncologists use a long needle attached to tubing with a bag at the end to drain the fluid. This procedure serves two purposes. It relieves the pressure of the excess fluid to make the patient more comfortable, and the fluid is analyzed to add to the physician’s store of knowledge about the patient’s condition. This procedure is called an adoparacentesis or peritoneal aspiration.

Peritonectomy

If peritoneal mesothelioma is detected early, a peritonectomy may be performed. This surgery involves removing all or part of the diseased peritoneum. This is often combined with intraperitoneal hypothermic perfusion or bathing the abdominal cavity with heated chemotherapy immediately following surgery to kill any remaining cancer.

Cytoreductive Surgery

Cytoreductive surgery, also called debulking, is used to remove only the cancerous tissues and tumors. The surgeon opens a large incision in the patient’s abdomen and carefully removes the visible infected cells, then often follows the procedure with intraperitoneal hypothermic perfusion.

Not every patient is a candidate for surgery. The cancer has to be in the early stages so that enough healthy tissue remains to allow the body to function, and the patient has to be strong enough to withstand the procedure before it can be considered.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy refers to chemical treatments designed to kill cells and may take the form of pills, injections, intravenous treatments or delivered directly into the body cavity during surgery. Chemotherapy has many unpleasant side effects and is not suitable for patients already in poor health.

Chemotherapy drugs may be used alone or with other drugs, surgery or treatments. While chemotherapy is not a cure for malilgnant mesothelioma, the treatment is used to help slow the growth of the cancer. Other chemotherapy goals are neoadjuvant therapy, used to shrink tumors prior to surgery, adjuvant therapy to destroy tumorous cells following surgery, and palliative therapy to relieve symptoms that cause pain and discomfort to the patient.

It is important for patients to be completely honest about prescriptions, vitamins, supplements and over-the-counter medications, including herbal remedies when discussing chemotherapy with an oncologist. The more information the doctor has, the better the advice he can give.

Radiation

Ionizing radiation is a therapy used to kill existing cancer cells and prevent the cancer from spreading. It may be used by itself or in combination with chemotherapy and/or surgery. Radiation may be curative, to kill the cancer, or palliative, to reduce tumors and make the patient more comfortable. Two types of radiation therapy are used to treat malignant mesothelioma: external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy.

External beam radiotherapy is the most frequently used radiation therapy for malignant mesothelioma patients. It is an external treatment where the exposed skin over the cancerous area, the abdominal area in the case of peritoneal mesothelioma is irradiated. External beam radiotherapy is not specifically targeted enough to kill all cancer cells, and is most often used in conjunction with other forms of therapy to relieve symptoms and reduce pressure. During this procedure, tissue around the affected area is equally exposed and side effects typically result that include skin irritation, pain, and difficulty swallowing.

Brachytherapy involves implanting tiny radioactive rods, sometimes called seeds, directly into the cancerous area. This delivery method delivers a tiny dose of radiation directly into the cancerous tumors. Less damage is done to surrounding healthy tissues and as a result, there are fewer side effects.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a new procedure involving an advanced mode of delivering computer-controlled, high-precision radiotherapy. IMRT carefully controls the dose of radiation to conform precisely to tumors using three-dimensional (3-D) modeling. This allows a higher dose of radiation, tightly focused on diseased cells, while minimizing impact on healthy surrounding tissues and, as a result, minimizing side effects.

MESOTHELIOMA TREATMENT

Receiving a diagnosis of mesothelioma is extremely difficult. The cancer is aggressive; it is resistant to treatment; and it is often discovered in its late stages. But patients and their families do have options for mesothelioma treatment—many more than existed a decade or two ago.

Each mesothelioma patient is different and each mesothelioma treatment plan is different. Finding the right course of mesothelioma treatment will depend on a number of factors. Physicians use several diagnostic tools such as x-rays, MRIs, CT scans and biopsies to determine the type, location and extent of a patient’s cancer. Decisions about treatment can be made once these preliminary issues are resolved.

Several ways to treat mesothelioma are offered to patients with the cancer—some recommended more frequently than others. The most common mesothelioma treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. In addition, some doctors are working with experimental treatments that are showing encouraging results in clinical trials. You physician will talk to you about ways to treat mesothelioma.

The Medical Team

Mesothelioma patients are typically treated by a team of specialists, each with critical knowledge about different aspects of the disease. A general practitioner is usually the first doctor to suspect mesothelioma. He is likely to refer the patient to an oncologist, a doctor who specializes in the treatment of cancer. To perform a biopsy or if surgery is recommended, a thoracic surgeoncan be called in. A pulmonologist, and also in some cases a pulmonary therapist, may help the patient deal with diminished lung function. A psychologist may help the patient and the family deal with emotional issues related to the disease.

Finding a Mesothelioma Doctor

For most patients, finding the right doctors with experience in treating mesothelioma will be the first step toward finding the right mesothelioma treatment. Search by state for a doctor who specializes in the treatment of mesothelioma.

Find a Mesothelioma Treatment Center

Search by state for a cancer center where mesothelioma patients are treated. Some centers provide only certain types of treatment, and the doctor you work with and treatment you choose can help you choose the appropriate treatment center.

Types of Treatment for Mesothelioma

Today, there are a number of ways to treat mesothelioma: surgery,chemotherapy and radiation . Mesothelioma doctors have learned that most patients who are strong enough respond best to a combination of surgery and chemotherapy or radiation. Often, surgery is performed to remove as much of the tumor as possible, and then chemotherapy or radiotherapy is used as adjuvant therapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells. For patients unable to withstand surgery, radiation therapy may be the best option.

Enrolling in a clinical trial may be an option for some patients, and they provide information that could help improve mesothelioma treatment in the future.

Patients should consider all of these options with the assistance of their doctors. Patients who educate themselves about their disease and their doctors are in the best position to make good choices for their mesothelioma treatment and their quality of life.

How To Fuck Mesothelioma

Natural Remedies to Delay the Onset of Mesothelioma, or potentially Cure Asbestos Cancer

"Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and chest cavity), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) or the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart).

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or by home renovation using asbestos cement products. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking."