Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma

Chemotherapy is a treatment in which doctors use drugs on patients which kills the cancer cells. Chemotherapy for mesothelioma can be used in different situations such as


1) To minimize the tumor before surgery

2) To kill remaining cancer cells after surgery

3) To kill cancer tumor that recurs

4) To use on patients who are not surgical candidates.

Chemotherapy is being continually developed by the researchers. Good news for the mesothelioma patients is that, there is considerable progress is the systematic treatment of this disease in last few years. Pemetrexed is seen as the most promising drug to treat mesothelioma. This is an inhibitor of proteins including thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase which are required in synthesis of DNA.

Chemotherapy drugs are often used in combination of others and this process is called combination therapy. When cancer occurs, bad cells in the body keep growing as exponential rate and the anticancer drugs can help the bad cells keep in control and during the process good cells may also get damaged which is the main reason for side effects. The cells most likely to be affected are the fast-growing normal cells such as the blood cells forming in bone marrow, and cells in the digestive tract which includes the mouth, stomach, intestines, and esophagus. Hair follicles may also be affected, hence, hair loss during chemotherapy. Some drugs affect cells of vital organs, such as the heart, kidney, bladder, lungs, and nervous system.

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Long Time Mesothelioma Survivors -What Do They Have in Common?

by Bello Kamorudeen

Paul Kraus is one of the long-term survivors of malignant mesothelioma, there are many others and one thing they all have in common to all of them is the fact that they all focused most of their treatment on steps to improve or enhance their immune system. Some used alternative or complimentary therapies (with guidance from licensed clinicians) while others participated in clinical trials of immune therapy.
So does the immune system play a significant role in the control malignant mesothelioma? The experience of Paul Kraus and other long-term malignant mesothelioma survivors gives a lot of credit to the fact that the immune system is indeed very important in the management of malignant mesothelioma.

In quite a number of people with pleural mesothelioma that survived the cancer for a long time, their medical histories have shown that their immune system may have played a major role in their extremely long survival.

In 1986, an article appeared in a medical journal that discussed this very issue of malignant mesothelioma and immunity.(1) This research focused on the immune responses of 118 healthy people compared to 20 patients with malignant mesothelioma and 375 long-term asbestos workers who were cancer-free.

The researchers wanted to know if there were any measurable differences in the immune responses of the mesothelioma patients. Their findings demonstrated a relationship between the immune system and malignant mesothelioma. For example:

* The number of total T (T11+) and T-helper (T4+) cells were normal in asbestos workers with cancer, but were significantly reduced in patients with mesothelioma. T cells orchestrate, regulate and coordinate the overall immune response.

* Most patients with mesothelioma had a profound deficiency in Natural Killer cell (NK) activity which is suggestive of the role the immune system plays in the control of malignant mesothelioma. NK cells are a type of lethal lymphocyte that target tumor cells and protect against a wide variety of infectious microbes.

In the discussion section of the report, the researchers stated: "These findings led us to speculate that biological phenomena generally categorized as chronic immunosuppression associated with the presence of asbestos fibers in the exposed workers may have caused the eventual breakdown of the host's surveillance system and the onset of neoplasm [malignant mesothelioma]."

In other words, the researchers are suggesting that malignant mesothelioma may result from immune suppression. If this is true it would provide the biological basis for the role that the immune system and immune boosting approaches may play in the management of malignant mesothelioma.

Another example of a long time survivor of mesothelioma is James O'Connor.In October 2001, sixty-one year old James Rhio O'Connor ("Rhio") was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma caused by his exposure to asbestos when he was younger. His was given less than a year to live.

His tumor was not operable because the tumor was too close to his spinal cord chemo was also not an option because at the stage of his tumor chemo would not have been of any major help to him, it could not give any significant elongation to his life span. He was basically told to prepare for imminent death in a polite manner.

To soften this message, the doctor also recommended that Rhio take his wife on a cruise and then start hospice care upon his return. Rhio rejected the idea. He was determined to survive this cancer. Working with professional clinicians, he formulated a regimen of over 100 supplements a day, changed his diet, practiced mind-body medicine, most of these treatments were aimed at boosting the immune system, and he relied on his own discipline to see him through the difficult times ahead.

Rhio survived for 7 ½ more years through his determination, knowledge, inexorable spirit, belief in something greater than himself, and the ability to make tough choices -qualities that spell success in any endeavor. Rhio passed away on July 11, 2009. He was 69 years old. Rhio was often asked how he was able to manage his mesothelioma or "Mr. Meso" as he called it.

To answer these questions and help and inspire others, Rhio wrote a book called "They Said Months, I Chose Years: A Mesothelioma Survivor's Story." In this book Rhio discusses what he did to live his life with "Mr. Meso" and much of the science behind his decisions. In his book he cites nearly one hundred medical articles that support the concept of using nutrition to help manage a chronic disease like cancer. Rhio's inspirational life and book reminds us that there may be other ways to manage cancer and extend life beyond the conventional methods of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

About the Author
Bello Kamorudeen.For more information about Mesothelioma prognosis go to http://www.mesotheliomacorner.blopgspot.com

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Fresno, California Police Department Employees Exposed to Asbestos On September 21, a Fresno, California-area newspaper reported the exposure of about 90 city employees to asbestos as a result of construction crews installing fire suppression equipment in two computer rooms next to the police department’s communications, or dispatch, center. Asbestos exposure can lead to a number of

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How A Diagnosis of Mesothelioma Is Made

by Thomas Ajava

Being diagnosed with any form of cancer is rough. Mesothelioma is very rough because the prospects of a successful recovery are low. That being said, many are confused about how this form of cancer is actually diagnosed.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelium. The mesothelium is a two layer lining that surrounds all the internal organs in the chest and abdomen area. It acts as a lubricating wall that lets organs move about with a minimum of problems. How does cancer get into the mesothelium? The most common cause by far is exposure to asbestos. Yes, it is "that" cancer you've read about in all the big class action cases and on 60 Minutes and other television shows.

One of the big hurdles with Mesothelioma is treating it. It is a devilish form of cancer because of two reasons. The first is the gestation time. Up to 50 years can pass before it starts causing symptoms. By that time, it is often too late to do anything. The second reason it is hard to diagnose is the symptoms are the same as many other health problems that are less dire. In many cases, the disease is actually initially misdiagnosed as something else. Only when repeated treatment options don't work is an accurate diagnosis made.

So, how does one diagnose Mesothelioma? It usually starts with a chest x-ray. Lung function tests are then undertaken. No blood is drawn as this form of cancer does not have any biomarkers, the items looked for in cancer blood tests. Depending on results, your doctor may then also order an MRI to isolate some area of the body. What does all of this tell your doctor? That you MIGHT have something going on. Mesothelioma is that hard to find.

If Mesothelioma is expected, a biopsy will be ordered. There are different types of biopsies for the different areas you might be having problems. The mesothelium runs through the chest and abdomen, so it could be anywhere. Regardless, the biopsy will generally involve an oncologist making a small insertion into the body cavity and then running a scope into it. The area in question will be viewed and small samples will be taken. The samples will be sent to pathology where lab tests will determine if cancerous cells are present or not. Then, and only then, will you really know if you have Mesothelioma.

About the Author
Thomas Ajava is with PortArthurMesotheliomaAttorneys.com - find top quality Port Arthur Mesothelioma attorneys for your case.

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Mesothelioma Prognosis

As in many of the diseases, the important factor determining the prognosis of mesothelioma is how severe is the cancer. Peritoneal mesothelioma prognosis is particularly crippled as the time by which patient recognizes the symptoms valuable time is lost as the initial symptoms are very light on the body making it difficult to identify.


Peritoneal mesothelioma has multiple stages. Pleural and peritoneal types of mesothelioma are very hard to be treated. They would ultimately be diagnosed at an advanced state and the statistics show that there are very few survivors. There are lot of contradictions among the studies whether peritoneal mesothelioma or pleural mesothelioma is more deadlier than other but one thing which cannot be contradicted is they both are difficult to treat as there is no proper treatment.

Only 10% of all who are diagnosed with mesothelioma live 3 years or more and only 5% of those go beyond 5 years, which shows the deadly nature of the disease. Only in people where mesothelioma is diagnosed in the early states, the survival rate goes till 50% for who lived more than three years. This was a study conducted on more than 200 people of mesothelioma affected people.

There was a broad study conducted in Europe on 5 million people and the outcome of that research is nothing different as only 25 % of people with pleural mesothelioma and 35% with peritoneal mesothelioma survived more than 10 months after study.

The overall health of the patient could also determine the prognosis of the patient. The healthier the higher chances for more days of survival. However, patients should not get disheartened as the statistics represent only the past but the future could be bright and different.

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Mesothelioma Cancer Awareness

by Tahir Jamil

Mesothelioma cancer is an uncommon form of cancer in which malignant (cancerous) cells are found in the mesothelium. It is very fast-growing lethal cancer of the mesothelium, in which cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and divide rapidly and uncontrollably. They can encroach and damage nearby tissues and organs. Most cases of the disease begin in pleura , the thoracic cavity or peritoneum, the abdominal cavity.

Asbestos, a natural mineral, is the only known cause of the disease. The mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. It is composed of two layers of cells. One layer immediately surrounds the organ and the outer layer forms a sac around it. The peritoneum is the mesothelial tissue that covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The pleura is the membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. The pericardium covers and protects the heart.

Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 cases of mesothelioma cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States. This cancer occurs more frequently in men than in women. All forms of the disease are fatal except benign or non-malignant forms. The prognosis for mesothelioma cancer is as less as one year. Median survival is less than one year. Obviously, prognosis depends on how early the cancer is diagnosed and how well it is being treated. Mesothelioma is considered localized if the cancer is confined one organ. It is considered advanced if it has spread beyond that organ to other adjacent parts of the body such as the lungs, chest wall, abdominal cavity or lymph.

About the Author
Author has developed a comprehensive website on Mesothelioma cancer. Website is easy to understand and covers all aspects of disease. Website is designed beautifully on latest platform. Website links are provided below. Mesothelioma Signs and Symptoms
Benign or non-malignant Mesothelioma

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