Mesothelioma is a cancer which is developed in the middle part of the body, such as the lining of the lungs, abdomen, heart and chest wall. If it is not treated in the early stage, then tumor can spread to other parts of the body. Mesothelioma experts offer many types of treatments according to patient’s mesothelioma history. The patients survival rate also increases after a successful treatment.
Different types of treatments are used in mesothelioma:
1. Surgery: Mesothelioma surgery is used when the cancer is restricted in the lining of the lungs and around the lungs or the abdomen. In that case the patient is eligible for aggressive surgery. It is an optimal approach for the treatment of the mesothelioma disease. Before the surgery, doctor’s always test the patient’s body, whether it will be able to recover in the future easily or not. Sometimes after the surgery, the cancer cells left behind in the affected part of the body. In that case expert used to give some types of radiation and chemotherapy to the patient with the aim of destroying the cells. The main aim of this type of surgery is to get relief from the pain and help them to recover faster.
There can be many surgeries included in the treatment of Mesothelioma which are listed below:
Thoracentesis
Paracentesis
Pleurodesis
Thoracoscopy
Peritonectomy/cytoreductive
Thoracotomy
Wedge resection
Lobectomy
Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP)
Pleurectomy/decortications (P/D)
Biopsy
2. Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is an anti-cancer drug which is used in many types of cancer treatments apart from mesothelioma. In systemic Chemotherapy, chemo is injected into the vein. The drug enters into the bloodstream and travels throughout the body to reach the cancer cells. Then it helps to destroy the cancer cells. The most common and successful drugs are cisplatin and pemetrexed for the mesothelioma patients. If you have a peritoneal mesothelioma, then your doctor can suggest you a multimodal treatment called heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). It is also known as heated chemotherapy, it is given immediately after surgery to destroy the microscopic cells. Chemotherapy drugs can affect the cancer cells and as well as healthy cells. That’s why some patient does not choose the chemotherapy. Experienced specialist can help you to understand your problem and opt for a treatment.
Chemotherapy, drugs which are used in mesothelioma treatment are:
Cisplatin
Carboplatin
Alimta (pemetrexed)
Gemcitabine
Doxorubicin
Paclitaxel
3. Radiation Therapy: In the radiation therapy, Doctor’s generally use a higher intensity rays to target the tumor. It is always paired with the other surgeries to shrink and prevent the tumor from the growth. Radiation doesn’t have the strong side effects and it can help to reduce the physical pain in cases of mesothelioma. Radiation can be toxic to various organs. It can damage DNA, while destroying cancer cells. It should be used carefully.
Two types of radiation Therapy is used which are:
External beam
Intraoperative (done during surgery)
4. Multimodal Therapy: Multimodal therapy is a combination of one or more methods of treatment which is offered for the better result. Every mesothelioma expert considers each and every factor related to the disease like type of cancer, type of cells, stage of the cancer, location of the tumor, patient’s overall health and many more things for the better treatment. The main aim of multimodal therapy is to control from the cancer and its painful symptoms. This type of therapy, mostly recommended in the early stages mesothelioma patient. These types of surgeries can help the patient to recover. It is useful to increase the life span of the patient.
