Mesothelioma cancer treatment

Factors affecting treatment option:

• The location of cancer
• The stage of the disease
• The patient’s age
• The state of general health

Treatment of mesothelioma symptoms

To relieve symptoms and control pain, the doctor may use a needle or a thin tube to drain fluid that has built up in the chest or abdomen. The procedure for removing fluid from the chest is called thoracentesis. Removal of fluid from the abdomen is called paracentesis. Drugs may be given through a tube in the chest to prevent more fluid from accumulating. Radiation therapy and surgery may also be helpful in relieving symptoms.

Treatment of mesothelioma itself

1.    If the diagnosis is done in the early stages surgery may be recommended to remove all cancerous tissues.

2.    Radiation is prescribed aggressively for mesothelioma patients and is often given in combination with surgery or in order to control symptoms, palliatively. Research on using radiation therapy using implants or UV light therapy is in progress as traditional radiation therapy damages surrounding healthy tissue.

3.    Chemotherapy is an option and around 12-20% of patients respond to the drugs. Anti-cancer drugs destroy cancer cells and prevent their spread. In mesothelioma, chemotherapy is not considered to be curative. The aim is to prevent spread of the disease; shrink the tumor before surgery.

4.    Biological therapy using interleukin 2.

5.    Immunotherapy where the body’s own immune system is stimulated to fight the disease. Biological response modifiers, BRMs, are used in treatment to enhance the functions of the immune system.

6.    Administration of lovastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug.

7.    Photodynamic treatment where a photosensitive medication is activated using a laser. This is done during the surgical removal of cancerous tissues.

8.    Combination therapy or Trimodal therapy which means surgery accompanied by radiation and chemotherapy.

Mesothelioma cancer treatment

Mesothelioma symptoms

Various symptoms of Mesothelioma cancer can occur, but sometimes they don’t appear until 30 to 40 years after exposure to asbestos, hence the importance of following the series of recommendations for prevention of asbestos-related diseases among asbestos workers.

Pleural Mesothelioma

 image from lungmesothelioma.org

The most common Mesothelioma symptoms are shortness of breath, chest pain and a persistent cough, which may lead to coughing up blood. These symptoms occur due to accumulation of fluid in the pleura, what is known as Pleural Mesothelioma. The disease may start in the chest area and spread to other areas of the body.It should be noted that some people with the disease do not experience any serious symptoms at all.

Peritoneal mesothelioma

image from freemesotheliomaresource.com

Peritoneal mesothelioma is rarer than pleural mesothelioma. The symptoms of Peritoneal Mesothelioma include nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, weight loss, abdominal pain and swelling due to accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity.

Peritoneal mesothelioma may cause other uncomfortable symptoms too, such as bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia and fever.

If malignant cancerous cells have spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, other symptoms appear, according to the part to which malignant spread occurred, such as trouble swallowing, pain, and swelling of the neck or face may appear.

pericardial mesothelioma

 image from asbestos.com

The rarest form of the disease is pericardial mesothelioma, which first forms in the area surrounding the heart.  Tumors grow in the tissues around the heart and spread from there.  Chest pain, shortness of breath, constant coughing, and shivering may be symptoms of this form of mesothelioma cancer.