Treatment of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma patients are provided traditional treatments but the treatments will vary and depend on the stage of the mesothelioma cancer. Traditional treatment of mesothelioma includes surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. These are applied separately or combined to get the best results. Newer treatments have emerged but are still under review and more testing.

Surgery is meant to remove the cancer or tumor and to relieve pain; chemotherapy uses cancer-fighting drugs, and radiation uses powerful dosage of x-rays to kill the cancer cells.
Chemotherapy is done intravenously in several sessions to kill the cancel cells and to stop them from dividing and spreading. In the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma, the drug is infused directly into the abdominal with the use of a catheter. This is used to shrink the tumor prior to surgery. It is also used to destroy left-over cells.

Radiation is applied to control the growth of malignant cells. Presently there are two kinds of radiation therapy for mesothelioma available. The internal radiation therapy, or brachytherapy, involves directly injecting the cancerous tissues with small amounts of radioactive material. External radiation involves the several sessions radiation is applied to stop the cancer cells from spreading.

Presently there are alternative treatments and experimental therapies under scrutiny, which promise new revolutionary ways in the treatment of mesothelioma but TIME is essential in any cancer treatment. Alternative treatment of mesothelioma lists acupuncture and massage as the more popular choices in the category. Meditation and yoga are introduced to help patients relax and lessen the pain.

Although these methods offer no absolute cure to mesothelioma cancer, it can be used in conjunction with traditional treatments. Experimental therapies such as photodynamic therapy, multimodality therapy, and immunotherapy are still being studied. Photodynamic therapy uses drugs and light to kill cancer cells. The drug goes to work they are stimulated by a certain light called the photoradiation therapy or photochemotherapy. The treatment is limited to the areas where light can reach.

Multimodality therapy is using a combination of treatments; the treatment was noted to have lesser negative impacts on the long-term impact. In this method, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are used. The principle of the treatment lies in the premise that the combination of treatments can kill off the primacy tumor and stop the spread of cancer cells. For a patient the combined treatment can be very physically and mentally exhausting, and expensive.

Immunotherapy is an application to stimulate the body’s immune system for the treatment of mesothelioma. The latest development in immunotherapy was the cloning of the body’s own immune cells to treat cancer. Immunotherapy promises to be an effective therapy for cancers in their very early stage.

Palliative treatment of mesothelioma is intended to ease pain in mesothelioma cancer patients. These include among other the fluid drainage, and controlling fluid build-up in the lungs. Whatever course of treatment is decided by the doctor, factors such as age of the patient, severity or stage of the cancer, and the general physical condition of the patient are always taken into account.