Mesothelioma Treatment Therapies (Conventional Therapies)

By Linka Po

There are many types of treatment therapies available for mesothelioma, both conventional and experimental. This articles talks in details about the conventional therapies.

Conventional therapies available for mesothelomia include:

Surgery: Surgical treatment for mesothelomia may be done for one of the three reasons: for diagnostic reasons, to palliate pain and discomfort caused by tumor, or to cure. Diagnostic surgery is done in order to get mass sample (all or part) for biopsy. Palliative surgery, on the other hand, is done to remove diseased tissues or tumor that has spread beyond the mesothelioma. It is used also when patient is too ill to undergo any extensive treatment. Surgery for curative reasons is performed in cases where patient is in good health and cancer cells are still localized and can be easily removed. Generally, this condition is exhibited only when mesothelioma is still in stage I or II.

Chemotherapy is an aggressive form of treatment that involves use of drug to kill cancer cells in the entire body. The drugs are either administered intravenously or taken as a pill. Chemotherapy usually follows cancer surgery, and is used to kill cancer cells left behind by surgery.

On the downside, chemotherapy drugs also kill some healthy cells that grow as rapidly as the cancer cells. This in the well-known side effects associated with chemotherapy: hair loss, vomiting, loss of appetite, and nausea. Blood cell counts of patients may also be significantly reduced resulting in increased risk of infection, bleeding, loss of energy, and shortness of breath. Many of these side effects disappear once chemotherapy is stopped. Sometimes, chemotherapy is accompanied antiemetic drugs or treatment for side effects.

Radiotherapy or ionization therapy is use of high levels of ionized energy particles to kill cancer cells and contain their growth. This is also used following a surgery. Depending on their suitability, patients may need to undergo one or more types of radio therapy. In external radiation therapy, radiation beams from a machine are directed at cancerous areas to kill cancer cells. Brachetherapy involves the use of concentrated dose of radiation placed directly into the site of mesothelomia. This medical process kills tumors while doing little damage to surrounding tissues.

Our Mesothelioma website offers more information about this deadly cancer disease including Mesothelioma symptoms, stages, risk factors, and etc.