Tips for Mesothelioma Treatment

Palliative Procedures for Mesothelioma Treatment procedures are performed when the cancer is in its advanced form. These procedures are performed to allay and/or control the symptoms of mesothelioma rather than cure them. Pleurectomy (also decortications) is the surgical removal of the pleura. This reduces the pain caused by the tumor mass and may also prevent the recurrence of pleural effusion (fluid collection that causes breathlessness). For peritoneal mesothelioma, surgery aims to palliate the symptoms, such as ascites, because complete surgical removal of the entire tumor is not entirely possible.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat mesothelioma. The results of the drugs have been mixed and some patients show only partial success to their use. To improve their efficacy, a combination of these drugs may be used at the same time. Some of these combinations have proved successful and new drugs are being developed for the treatment of this cancer.

Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses radiation doses to kill the tumor. This procedure, however, is extremely difficult owing to the location of the malignant cancer. It is surrounded by the heart, lungs and other organs, and they are at the risk of being damaged by the radiation dosage. Lower doses of radiation can be used, though its efficacy is questionable despite its ability to reduce the disease to some extent.

Dual Therapy
Both chemotherapy and radiation are used in conjunction with the surgery after it is performed. They both help in killing any remaining tumor cells that were not removed by surgery and may also help in relieving symptoms of the disease like chest pain.