MESOTHELIOMA TREATMENT
How malignant mesothelioma is treated
There are treatments for all patients with malignant mesothelioma.
Three kinds of treatment are used:
* Surgery (taking out the mesothelioma).
* Radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy
rays to kill mesothelioma cells).
* Chemotherapy (using drugs to fight the mesothelioma).
Surgery is a common treatment of malignant
mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the
chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. Depending
on how far the mesothelioma has spread, a lung also may be removed
in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the
diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing,
is also removed.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays
to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from
a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy) or from
putting materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) through
thin plastic tubes in the area where the cancer cells are found
(internal radiation therapy).
If fluid has collected in the chest or abdomen, the doctor
may drain the fluid out of the body by putting a needle into
the chest or abdomen and using gentle suction to remove the
fluid. If fluid is removed from the chest, this is called thoracentesis.
If fluid is removed from the abdomen, this is called paracentesis.
The doctor may also put drugs through a tube into the chest
to prevent more fluid from accumulating.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill mesothelioma
cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be
put into the body by a needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy
is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream,
travels through the body, and can kill mesothelioma cancer cells
throughout the body. In mesothelioma, chemotherapy may be put
directly into the chest (intrapleural chemotherapy).
Intraoperative photodynamic therapy is a new type of treatment
that uses special drugs and light to kill mesothelioma cancer
cells during surgery. A drug that makes cancer cells more sensitive
to light is injected into a vein several days before surgery.
During surgery to remove as much of the mesothelioma cancer
as possible, a special light is used to shine on the pleura.
This treatment is being studied for early stages of mesothelioma
in the chest.
Your Legal Rights
If you or someone you know is suffering from lung cancer and/or
lung disease asbestosis, mesothelioma or other asbestos related
diseases caused by asbestos or asbestos containing products,
you may be eligible to file a claim.
CLICK
HERE TO CONTACT THE TOXIC INJURY LAWYERS NOW FOR A FREE CASE
EVALUATION, OR CALL US AT (732) 855-6182.
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