Posts Tagged ‘mesothelioma treatment’
There are several methods of treatment for mesothelioma, although none of these have a high success rate. In general, the chances of curing a mesothelioma patient depends on how much the cancer has developed and matured during treatment. If tackled aggressively in its early stages, there is a good chance of survival. Due to the difficulty of diagnosing mesothelioma in its early stages, many mesothelioma treatments focus on improving the quality of life of patients.
Before a patient is treated to a physician will determine the best course of treatment is to consider the patient’s age, medical history, weight and even the general welfare. From here, the doctor will decide which of the three most common treatments are best suited to the patient’s condition. These treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Surgery
Surgery comes in two types. Aggressive surgery is the treatment that seeks to gain long term control of cancer and palliative procedures aimed only relieve the patient of symptoms.
Aggressive surgery involves removing the pleura, lung, diaphragm and pericardium. This procedure is known as extra pleural pneumonectomy. The aim of this is to remove as much tumor as possible without harming the patient. However, this is a very dangerous type of surgery and the chances are high mortality of patients in a month. Because of this, only young, fit individuals refer to this form of treatment. palliative procedures only involve the removal of the pleura in order to control the symptoms of cancer. This is done when the mesothelioma is an advanced and it is impossible to cure.
Chemotherapy
This is the best known cure cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat mesothelioma, although many of these drugs have a success rate of poor patients. The drug combinations are often used to improve its effect. Some of these combinations have proven effective. Chemotherapy of mesothelioma is being improved regularly as research labs and pharmaceutical companies are discovering new and more effective drugs.
Radiation Therapy
Radiotherapy uses radiation to kill tumor establishing mesothelioma. However, this procedure is extremely difficult because the tumor grows. Due to the proximity of the tumor and many vital internal organs like the heart and lungs, doctors have to be very careful about the dose of radiation used. Lower doses of radiation can be used however, this reduces its effectiveness.
t known cure for cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat mesothelioma, although many of these drugs have a success rate of poor patients. The drug combinations are often used to improve its effect. Some of these combinations have proven effective. Chemotherapy of mesothelioma is being improved regularly as research labs and pharmaceutical companies are discovering new and more effective drugs.
Radiation Therapy
Double therapy
This is used often and is a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy combined. Surgery removes the majority of tumor cells, while the work of chemotherapy and radiation in the elimination of everything else. This is an effective method and also reduces the symptoms of cancer.
Asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral that was incorporated into more than 5,000 products, was largely utilized for its insulating and fireproofing characteristics. Industries that have felt the largest impact from mesothelioma cancer include the construction, automotive, power plant, chemical plant, manufacturing, electrical and shipyard industry.
Mesothelioma Symptoms and Prognosis
Symptoms of mesothelioma can often be confused with other, less serious conditions. Some of the most common symptoms associated with the cancer include coughing, difficulty breathing, fatigue, night sweats, chest or abdominal pain and shortness of breath. Due to the severe latency period of symptoms, which may take as long as 50 years to arise from the time of someone’s initial exposure to asbestos, patients are often diagnosed during the latest stages of development.
A mesothelioma patient’s prognosis is influenced by numerous factors. Since a mesothelioma diagnosis often occurs after the cancer has progressed to later stages of development, prognosis is typically poor. However, if a patient is diagnosed before the cancer has spread, their prognosis may improve. The average mesothelioma life span ranges between four and 18 months following diagnosis.
Factors that may influence prognosis include the stage of a patient’s mesothelioma at the time of diagnosis, type of mesothelioma, size of the tumor, location of the tumor and whether it may be surgically removed, and the age and overall health of the patient.
Mesothelioma Treatment and Early Detection
Because mesothelioma is often diagnosed during the advanced stages of development, most treatment options are aimed at alleviating symptoms and prolonging life expectancy. Common treatment options for mesothelioma patients include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Surgery, which is used to remove the cancer, is typically used on patients diagnosed during an early stage of development. For this reason, early detection provides patients with the best chance to combat the cancer. To date, there is no cure for mesothelioma even though recent studies and clinical trials are becoming more and more successful at treating the cancer each year.
There are treatments for all patients with malignant mesothelioma. Using three kinds of treatment:
* Surgery (taking out the cancer).
* Radiation therapy (using high doses of X-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells).
* Chemotherapy (using drugs to fight cancer).
Treatment by stage
Treatment depends on where the cancer is, how the disease has spread, your age and general health status.
You might consider a treatment that is considered standard based on its effectiveness in a number of patients in previous studies or may choose to take part in a clinical trial. Not all patients are cured with standard therapy and some standard treatments may have more side effects than are desired.
For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the most current information. Are conducting clinical trials in various parts of the country for many patients with malignant mesothelioma.
This cancer, which is an area of the lungs, known as the mesothelium, is very rare. It is seen most commonly in people who have been exposed to asbestos, such as contractors, construction workers, people who have worked in facilities where asbestos is used and people who have inhaled asbestos in buildings with asbestos contamination. An ye can occur after exposure, which sometimes makes it more difficult to diagnose.
One type of therapy is chemotherapy mesothelioma, which is designed to reduce cancer and limit its spread. Chemotherapy is accomplished through the use of drugs that are infused into the body during a series of chemotherapy sessions. Ada is usually accompanied with serious side effects, because these drugs are toxic.
Posted in Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Treatment | 
Tags: chemotherapy mesothelioma, mesothelioma treatment, oncologist, the care of patients with cancer, the quality of life, the stage of cancer stage, the time of cancer diagnosis, Treatment for mesothelioma, Types of Therapy of Mesothelioma | 
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Chemotherapy involves using anticancer drugs that prevent cancer cells from multiplying. In most cases, combinations of drugs used to increase efficiency. Chemotherapy may be used aggressively to retract the tumor or palliative to relieve symptoms such as breathlessness or pain.
The administration of chemotherapy may be by intravenous or intramuscular, oral medication or sometimes, may be administered directly into the pleural or peritoneal cavity. Some of the drugs used most frequently include:
* Pemetrexed (Alimta)
* Cisplatin (Platinol)
* Carboplatin (Paraplatin)
* Gemcitabine (Gemzar)* Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
* Mitomycin
* Raltitrexed (Tomudex)
* Vinorelbine (Navelbine)
Pharmaceutical companies are constantly researching new drugs, so you can always ask your doctor about the most promising new drugs. One such drug, Alimta (pemetrexed), was approved in Europe in September 2005.
Radiotherapy involves using high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and tumors retract. Can be used aggressively with surgery to help eliminate microscopic metastases can cause disease recurrence or palliation for pain caused by tumors that press on nerve endings or other organ. Radiation therapy has proven effective in preventing the spread of tumor in areas of biopsies or chest tube drainage.
The best treatment option for you depends on many factors, including your age, overall health, cancer stage, cell type (which determines the aggressiveness of the cancer) and most importantly, your personal desires. To help you evaluate these options, you will have a “multidisciplinary team (MDT) of doctors who will discuss your case and afford the best treatment option.
Members of this team may include a cardiothoracic surgeon, a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, a specialist in pain management and palliative care specialist. The nurses and other health workers could also be involved in your care.
Conventional treatment of mesothelioma offers several options, and you should discuss fully each with its EMD before making a treatment decision. Be sure to inquire about risk factors, prognosis with treatment, possible side effects and quality of life that offers each of the options.
Surgery
There are two surgical approaches to mesothelioma, pleurectomy / decortication (P / D) and extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). These are highly specialized surgery and may not offer all the facilities. Not all thoracic surgeons are experienced in these types of surgeries.
The ultimate goal of these procedures is to remove as much mesothelioma, with the certainty that will Microscopic traces of the disease. Adjuvant therapy, which uses additional forms of treatment with primary therapy, usually has the goal of eliminating residual disease. The most common forms of adjuvant treatment is chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Pleurectomy / decortication is considered the least radical of the two methods because it involves only the removal of the pleura (lining of the lung) without resecting the underlying lung. In some cases, removed the pericardium and diaphragm, depending on the extent of the tumor.
The advantages of this procedure is usually a shorter recovery time and usefulness in patients who may not tolerate the NEP. Disadvantages include a higher risk of disease recurrence by the inability to remove all the cancerous tumor and the inability to use the high-dose adjuvant radiation because of the possible risk to the underlying lung.
Extrapleural pneumonectomy is a radical procedure that involves removing the lung, the pleura (the lining of the lung), the pericardium surrounding the heart and part of diaphragm. During surgery, the pericardium and diaphragm are reconstructed with Gortex-like material. Patients may be candidates for this surgery only if they meet certain criteria of stages of cancer development and show adequate pulmonary and cardiac function to tolerate the procedure.
The pleura in a double layer covering the lung
The pleura is a membrane consisting of two thin sheets (visceral and parietal). They are the lungs and the inside of the chest cavity. In case of illness the space between the two pleural (pleural cavity) may fill with fluid, which causes breathing difficulties.
Asbestos case
It is assumed that about half of all malignant mesothelioma is caused by asbestos dust. Mesothelioma can develop decades after exposure to asbestos. If the asbestos dust may cause cancer should notify the appropriate accident insurance of the employer with whom the patient was exposed to dust, even if the patient is retired.
The lungs ‘walled’
The pleural mesothelioma is spread across the pleura and may invade nearby organs like the lungs or diaphragm. Arise breathing problems, coughing and chest pain. For the diagnosis is used in radiography, computed tomography or other methods of examination of the chest. It also collects fluid from the pleural cavity.
Surgery, radio and chemotherapy
The type of treatment depends on the spread of cancer. Typically, therapy is a combination of surgery, radio and chemotherapy. If pleural mesothelioma is diagnosed in a very advanced stage of recovery is not possible.
Pleural metastases
Much more frequent pleural mesothelioma are pleural metastasis, ie secondary tumors. Pleural metastases arise mostly from malignant tumors of lung, breast, stomach and esophagus.
Posted in Asbestos, Mesothelioma Surgery |
Tags: Asbestos, asbestos dust, asbestos fibers, Avoid asbestos exposure, Cancer, chemotherapy, Combination therapy, Lung Cancer, Malignant Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma, mesothelioma treatment, Pleural Mesothelioma, radiation therapy, surgery, treatment of mesothelioma, treatments for lung cancer |
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