Mesothelioma Treatment Options

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If you have malignant mesothelioma, you have three main treatment options available. These are:

• Removing the cancer (surgery)
• Using drugs to fight the cancer (chemotherapy)
• Using high-dose X-rays to kill the cancer cells (radiation)

In many cases, these treatment options are combined to produce the best possible results.

Surgery

The following are some procedures that are performed with "curative intent," meaning the goal is to remove as much of the disease as possible, instead of merely treating the symptoms. The microscopic disease, however, will most likely remain.

• Pleurectomy or decortication-this is typically performed on patients with pleural mesothelioma, when the disease is found in its early stages (stage I and II). This surgery strives to remove the gross tumor. If doctors find that the entire tumor can not be removed without taking out the lung, both can be done simultaneously (called a pneumonectomy)

• Extrapleural pneumonectomy-this is a more radical surgical procedure. In addition to removing the tumor, this procedure is combined with traditional chemotherapy and/or radiation. Used to treat patients with pleural mesothelioma,this surgery may also be combined with more innovative approaches such as gene therapy, immunotherapy or photodynamic therapy.

• Cytoreductive surgery-this surgery is performed on patients with peritoneal mesothelioma and seeks to remove all or nearly all of the visible tumor in your peritoneal cavity. In order to treat any remaining cancer cells, heated or Intra-Peritoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy (IPHC) is then delivered to your abdominal cavity.

Chemotherapy

Using chemical substances, chemotherapy works to destroy cancer cells by preventing them from multiplying.

• Neoadjuvant chemotherapy-shrinks tumors prior to surgery or other treatments.
• Adjuvant chemotherapy-destroys microscopic disease that may remain following surgery.
• Palliative chemotherapy-given to relieve symptoms, like pain. Also administered in cases when a drastic reduction of the tumor is not anticipated.

Radiotherapy

Radiation therapy or radiotherapy treats cancer by using penetrating beams of high energy or streams of particles called radiation. In treating mesothelioma, radiation may be used:

• Aggressively, in combination with surgery
• Palliatively to control symptoms or help prevent the tumor from spreading along the tracks left by surgical procedures

If you or a family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestosis, please contact the experienced mesothelioma lawyers in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. for a free initial consultation.

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