Is There a Cure for Mesothelioma?
ByMesothelioma, the name given to the cancer associated with long-term exposure to asbestos, is generally a malignant (cancerous) disease with no known cure. However, there are treatments available to help curb or slow down the effects of the disease. The most common of these treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Surgery
While surgery can be performed to physically remove the cancer, the type of surgery performed will depend on several factors:
• Type of Mesothelioma disease
• Stage to which the disease has progressed
• Age and other medical factors of the patient
Chemotherapy
In this treatment, drugs are used to kill the cancer cells. This is known as a systemic treatment because the drugs are injected directly into the bloodstream, allowing the treatment to travel throughout the body killing the cancer cells along the way. Chemotherapy is often the used as the primary treatment for mesothelioma and can also be used in tandem with other treatments.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to destroy the cancer cells and shrink any tumors. There are two forms of radiation therapy available.
• External Radiation: administered by machine from outside the body
• Internal (Implant) Radiation: administered through thin plastic tubes inserted or implanted in the body that transfer radioactive materials directly in and around the cancer cells
In addition to these more traditional mesothelioma treatments, experimental therapies are also being tested.
Photodynamic Therapy
For this treatment, light energy is used to destroy cancer cells. It has been found to also be effective when combined with traditional surgery. Photodynamic Therapy is still in the experimental stage in treating mesothelioma but it is showing great promise in treating other forms of cancer.
Gene Therapy
This treatment is still in the clinical trial stage. Rather than also destroying healthy cells as with chemotherapy, this technique would allow treatment to target the tumors only.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is also referred to as biological therapy. It treats the cancer by using the body’s natural immune system to fight off the cancer cells.
Modern science and medicine continue to search for cures for all forms of cancer, including Mesothelioma. In the meantime, remember than symptoms from asbestos exposure can take decades to present themselves.
Watch the video related to Mesothelioma Treatments
www.mesovideolibrary.com – Mesothelioma is an extremely difficult cancer to diagnose and treat. In this video Mary Hesdorffer, a nurse practitioner and Medical Liaison for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (www.curemeso.org), talks about the effort to find a cure for the disease. For more information visit www.mesovideolibrary.com
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About Author
If you or a loved one fears you have been exposed to heavy levels of asbestos, you could still be at risk. Please contact the Baltimore Mesothelioma Lawyers at Parker, Dumler & Kiely, LLP to determine your next step.
5 Comments
November 16th, 2009 at 8:43 am
The ONLY treatment I've ever seen work (and work often!) is the Immuno Augmentive Therapy (IAT) Clinic in Freeport Grand Bahamas. They are run by British and Bahamian medical doctors, and are in my opinion by far the best alternative cancer treatment center in the world.
For some reason, their treatment (small injections you take several times a day containing immune system proteins) works especially well with mesothelioma, and they are well known for treating it, and often get referrels from Stateside and British MD.s.
Visit their website at either…
November 16th, 2009 at 9:59 am
I didn't check my computer for the answer to this but I have the impression that is is treatable. Of course, many people have lawsuits to help them compensate expenses. I am aware that someone I am now divorced from is now married to a twice cancer survivor. And Mesothelioma from asbestos causing lung forms of carcinoma was one of her forms of cancer survivorship. So keep searching. I am also a cancer survivor but not from this form of cancer.
November 16th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
The mesothelium is a type of tissue lined with special cells referred to as mesothelial cells. The mesothelial cells typically line the abdominal cavity, heart cavity, chest cavity, and the outer surface of most internal organs. Each cavity has a specific name for the mesothelial covered cavity which is:
Read More Here : http://mesothelioma-survivor-info.blogspot.com/
November 17th, 2009 at 8:59 am
November 17th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
It is a non curable cancer in the lungs cause by asbestosis exposure.