Treatment of mesothelioma depends on when a diagnosis is made. If the diagnosis is made early then the chances of a better outlook are possible. When a late diagnosis is made then off times the tumours have spread throughout the body and pain relief is one of the main treatments.
Mesothelioma may be a cause of exposure to asbestos related materials sometimes, but not always, in a persons life. As it takes around twenty or more years to surface as a problem with health, then exposure may have happened before a person reached the middle of their life. Because of the nature of asbestos dust and fibre the body has difficulty eliminating it.
Generally a person who has mesothelioma may begin with obscure health problems. This is recommended as the most promising time for treatment, once the health problems have become advanced then treatment is more difficult and life expectancy is shortened.
One of the treatments for mesothelioma is chemotherapy . It is generally given as two drugs, at the same time, but can be more. This treatment is used to destroy cancer cells. It can be used before a patient is to have surgery by helping to shrink a tumour, and to help with destroying cells that remain after the surgery. It is used to enhance radiation and immunotherapy to work better. It is also used when cancer cells have spread from the original tumour and where surgery is not an option. There are side effects from chemotherapy.
Another treatment is radiation therapy. This is given as a treatment of radiation in a high dose. It is used to reduce malignant tumours or destroy them. There are several different types of radiation used and several ways of administering them. Radiation is often used with other cancer treatments when treating mesothelioma, it is also used for pain relief. This treatment also has side effects.
Surgery for mesothelioma is used to remove parts of the body which are cancerous. This also depend on where the cancer is situated. Surgery is usually used in conjunction with other types of treatments. This may be more effective before the cancer has spread throughout the body.
Immunotherapy is in the trial and research stages. There are several immunotherapies ideas being investigated. Active, where the body's own immune system is stimulated to help fight a problem as with a cancer vaccine. Passive, where components of the immune system are made outside of the body. Also those that are non specific, where the immune system is stimulated and may work against the cancer cells. Research is looking for new methods all the time to help advance results.
Gene therapy is also in the research stage. With mesothelium, gene damage occurs, this complicates methods to find a specific gene which will help control or kill the cancer. The research and trials are in early stages but is showing some promise.
Photodynamic treatment uses photosensitizing drugs administered intravenously to the body. The drug then accumulates in the diseased cells. A fixed frequency light is then used to treat the cancerous cells. This treatment causes side effects.
When trying to treat mesothelium the earlier the diagnosis in a patient the better the outcome.
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