Mesothelioma Symptoms and TreatmentThe types of mesothelioma symptoms and treatment used will be dependent upon the age and physical health of the patient as well as upon how far the disease has spread and where it is located. SURGERY: the most common mesothelioma treatment for mesothelioma symptoms. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the abdomen and some of the tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura (pleural mesothelioma), a lung may be removed in an operation called a pneumonectomy. RADIATION TREATMENT: also called radiotherapy, is another asbestosis treatment option that involves the use of high-energy rays to kill mesothelioma cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy affects the mesothelioma cells only in the treated area. CHEMOTHERAPY: is the use of anticancer drugs to kill mesothelioma cancer cells throughout the body. Most drugs used to treat mesothelioma are given by injection into a vein (intravenous, or IV).
In most cases, mesothelioma treatment consists in a combination of treatments and a cocktail of drugs have to be used in order to treat Mesothelioma patients. One in every hundred men born in the 1940s will die of die of malignant pleural mesothelioma, which is almost exclusively a consequence of exposure to asbestos, with a lag time that is rarely less than 25 years and often more than 50 years from first exposure. Half of all cases are now aged over 70, with 80% in men. For a man first exposed as a teenager, who remained in a high risk occupation, such as insulation, throughout his working life, the lifetime risk can be as high as one in five to develop Mesothelioma Symptoms. Return from Mesothelioma Symptoms to Home page.  |
PALLIATIVE THERAPIES: may also be used which entail draining excess fluid from the patient through the use of a needle and suction. To prevent further fluid accumulation drugs may be fed through a tube into the patient following the fluid drainage.