Before this I had been wrote a post about
Mesothelioma which you can read at here. Recently I had been collaborating with Community Outreach Vounteer to share more about Mesothelioma especially for treatment parts.
Although
there is no cure for mesothelioma, there are several mesothelioma treatment
options that are available. The focus of these specific treatments is based on
improving prognosis for mesothelioma patients. Even if a patient does not have
a viable lifespan, alternative therapies and palliative care help in reducing
any type of suffering and pain that is associated with mesothelioma. The choice
of treatment options for mesothelioma
depends on numerous factors. These include the stage of the cancer, type of
mesothelioma, overall health of the patient, patient’s preference and potential
side effects of the treatment. It is important that you learn about the
available treatment options if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with
mesothelioma. Ask your doctor questions about each treatment option as well as
the goals and possible outcomes of each treatment.
Surgery
Surgery
is the most common method that is used to treat mesothelioma when the disease
is diagnosed at an early stage. A surgical procedure can be performed to remove
most of the tumor or all of it. Surgery can include the removal of the
mesothelial lining, lymph nodes, part of or the entire organ like the lung
depending on the location of the tumor.
Chemotherapy
This
treatment option entails the administration of chemotherapy drugs. Upon
administration, the drugs attack the fast-growing cancer cells. Chemotherapy is
usually used with other treatment options. For instance, chemotherapy drugs are
administered to kill all mesothelioma cells that are left behind after the
surgeon is unable to remove them physically.
Radiation therapy
This
treatment option entails the use of radiation that targets mesothelioma tumors.
Targeted radiation shrinks mesothelioma tumors making their removal through
surgery easier. Radiation is delivered using an internal or external source
depending on the location of the tumor.
Experimental treatment options
In
addition to the above conventional mesothelioma treatment
options, there are other treatments for mesothelioma that researchers are
working on. Some of them are extremely promising and they have already
undergone clinical trials successfully. They have also been proven effective in
not only extending mesothelioma patients’ lives but improving the quality of
life as well.
These
include:
• Gene therapy
This
is a mesothelioma treatment approach that is based on the fact that
mesothelioma cancer is caused by a fault in the DNA of the cell. Therefore, the
disease can be fought by overwriting or fixing problematic genes.
• Immunotherapy
The
idea behind this treatment option is that by boosting or kick-starting the
immune system, it harnesses the immune system’s power and enhances the body
defenses to be able to fight mesothelioma cancer. Immunotherapy has been
showing excellent results.
• Photodynamic therapy
Using
photosensitizing drugs and light, researchers have established a way of killing
cancer cells. The way this works is a drug is injected into the patient to bond
to the cancer cells after which a high intensity light is used to activate it.
This treatment approach has few side effects but is definitely worth looking
into.
Emerging treatments and clinical trials
Clinics
across the world perform continuous clinical trials on all sorts of common and
uncommon diseases. These trials are focused on establishing new ways of
treating various cancers including mesothelioma. Clinical trials are the only
treatment options that can provide hope and opportunities for patients that are
still looking for effective treatments for mesothelioma. For instance,
researchers are currently investigating new chemotherapies, targeted drugs and
protocols for providing medications. Some trials also focus on expanding the
realms of immunotherapy (mentioned above).
Other
mesothelioma treatment techniques under investigation include novel
radiotherapy and genetic therapy. It is strongly advisable that you learn about
all the available mesothelioma treatment options so that you can make an
informed decision when choosing a mesothelioma treatment for you or for a loved
one.
Sources
4. http://www.seminoncol.org/article/S0093-7754(02)50058-0/abstract
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