Surgery is an important step in confirming and knowing the nature of the cancer. It can be conducted on patients with the combination of adjuvant chemotherapies and radiations, before and after the surgery.
Pleurectomy:
The most common surgery for Mesothelioma treatment is pleurectomy, in which doctors open the patient's chest and remove the excessive fluid or tumor from the lining of the lungs (pleura). Although this procedure controls the accumulation of fluid and decreases pain, it still is not a cure. On the other hand, if the tumor is in its initial form and has not extensively grown, a pleurectomy can increase the survival rate of a patient when combined with chemotherapy and radiation. Additionally, a pleurectomy can be performed on patients with less-approving health conditions and has lower mortality rate than the extrapleural pneumonectomy.
Extrapleural Pneumonectomy (EPP):
Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) is an invasive and severe form of surgery conducted on patients with Mesothelioma. In this treatment, parts of the lungs, the pleura (the lining of the lung), the pericardium (lining of the heart) and the hemi-diaphragm, along with the tumor cells, are removed. It decreases the progression of Mesothelioma, while allowing a patient to breathe smoothly. It is usually conducted on patients with early stages of the cancer and when the tumor is in chest cavity. EPP is recommended for patients with good heart and lungs conditions, in order to endure the severities of the post-operative term. Though the surgery combined with chemotherapy and radiation gives promising results, it does not guarantee a cure. Researches have shown that patients treated with extrapleural pneumonectomy and therapies have a medium life span of 35 months after the surgery, compared to only 9 months of pleurectomy. Still, some doctors question the surgery for its high risks, which include internal bleeding, blood clotting, pneumonia, amassing of pus, respiratory failure and even death. Thus, many surgeons recommend the idea of pleurectomy instead of the technically complicated EPP.
Thoracentesis:
A minor surgery is often conducted on patients who cannot undergo EPP or pleurectomy, called thoracentesis. In thoracentesis, a thoracic surgeon inserts a needle into a patient's chest to remove the excessive fluid built up in the lining of the lungs (pleura). This method neither cures nor decreases the cancer, but rather alleviate the painful symptoms of Mesothelioma. In some cases, talc or other agents are infused into a patient's chests to scar the chest wall and help them breathe properly without letting the tumor to increase, to some extent.
Paracentesis:
Paracentesis is a similar method of using a needle to extract fluid, but from the abdominal section of the body. It follows the same procedure of extracting fluid from the lining of the stomach or other abdominal organs. Patients with peritoneal Mesothelioma can benefit from paracentesis surgery.
Author: Jennifer White
Showing posts with label mesothelioma treatment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mesothelioma treatment. Show all posts
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
:: Pleural Mesothelioma ? Cancer of the Lung Lining ::
Pleural Mesothelioma or malignant pleural mesothelioma is cancer in the layer of the lungs that can spread to the lungs. The spread of the tumor over the pleura results in pleural thickening. This hinders the reflexivity of the pleura and encases the lungs in an increasing restrictive belt. With the lungs thus restricted, they get constricted in no time and a person is always out of breath.
Pleural mesothelioma can be:
- Diffuse and malignant (carcinogenic)
- Localized and benign (non-cancerous)
Benign pleural mesothelioma can be removed surgically, but the malignant tumors are the real terror heads.
Most common among other mesothelioma cases, Pleural Mesothelioma is caused due to exposure to blue asbestos for a longer period of time, say 20 years, in which time the disease incubates only to show its fearful countenance via certain symptoms.
The symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma
The symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma include difficulty in breathing, difficulty in sleeping, pain in the chest and abdominal regions, blood vomits, weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, lower back pains, persistent coughing, hoarseness of voice, sensory loss and difficulty in swallowing.
Diagnosis of Pleural Mesothelioma
The first step is to go through a chest X-ray or a CT scan (computed chest tomograph), which will reveal a pleural thickening and an effusion. This is followed by a bronchoscopy. However, it should always be left to a medical practitioner for a better understanding of the respective cases. Another method is a biopsy, which can be a needle biopsy, an open biopsy, or a thoracoscopy, where a mini camera is inserted inside the body and with that a tissue sample is attained for further diagnosis.
Treatment of Pleural Mesothelioma
Treatment is directly proportional to the time of the revelation of the disease, i.e., at an early stage the tumor can be removed through surgery.
A pioneering mesothelioma treatment option is immunotherapy, e.g., intrapleural inoculation of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is a useful mesothelioma treatment in which an effort is made to intensify the immune response.
Radiation treatment and chemotherapy is probably then the answer to the malignant pleural mesothelioma, but this can aid the pain management only; there's no escaping death with Pleural Mesothelioma.
Side effects of Treatment
The side effects and penalty of mesothelioma lung cancer treatment are more than its treatment, which is damaged healthy tissues, a state of absolute fatigue ness; excessive radiation causes the skin to become red, dry and itchy.
Other side effects of radiotherapy are nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, urinary discomfort and a sudden reduction in the number of white blood corpuscles.
The average life span of a person with Pleural Mesothelioma is up to 6 months to a year and the maximum can reach up to 5 years - the magnesium-silicate mineral fibers take its toll that's more than painful.
Other factors that may accelerate the possibility of pleural mesothelioma are chronic lung infections, tuberculous pleuritis, radiation (Thorotrast), exposure to the simian virus 40 (SV40) or mineral fibers (Zeolite) and tobacco smoking to a certain extent.
Pleural Mesothelioma does not give a person the avenue for fair play. Though the existence depends much on the various stages of the disease, it is an ultimate killing menace that sucks out the life of the common man.
Author: Fred Lindell
Pleural mesothelioma can be:
- Diffuse and malignant (carcinogenic)
- Localized and benign (non-cancerous)
Benign pleural mesothelioma can be removed surgically, but the malignant tumors are the real terror heads.
Most common among other mesothelioma cases, Pleural Mesothelioma is caused due to exposure to blue asbestos for a longer period of time, say 20 years, in which time the disease incubates only to show its fearful countenance via certain symptoms.
The symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma
The symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma include difficulty in breathing, difficulty in sleeping, pain in the chest and abdominal regions, blood vomits, weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, lower back pains, persistent coughing, hoarseness of voice, sensory loss and difficulty in swallowing.
Diagnosis of Pleural Mesothelioma
The first step is to go through a chest X-ray or a CT scan (computed chest tomograph), which will reveal a pleural thickening and an effusion. This is followed by a bronchoscopy. However, it should always be left to a medical practitioner for a better understanding of the respective cases. Another method is a biopsy, which can be a needle biopsy, an open biopsy, or a thoracoscopy, where a mini camera is inserted inside the body and with that a tissue sample is attained for further diagnosis.
Treatment of Pleural Mesothelioma
Treatment is directly proportional to the time of the revelation of the disease, i.e., at an early stage the tumor can be removed through surgery.
A pioneering mesothelioma treatment option is immunotherapy, e.g., intrapleural inoculation of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is a useful mesothelioma treatment in which an effort is made to intensify the immune response.
Radiation treatment and chemotherapy is probably then the answer to the malignant pleural mesothelioma, but this can aid the pain management only; there's no escaping death with Pleural Mesothelioma.
Side effects of Treatment
The side effects and penalty of mesothelioma lung cancer treatment are more than its treatment, which is damaged healthy tissues, a state of absolute fatigue ness; excessive radiation causes the skin to become red, dry and itchy.
Other side effects of radiotherapy are nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, urinary discomfort and a sudden reduction in the number of white blood corpuscles.
The average life span of a person with Pleural Mesothelioma is up to 6 months to a year and the maximum can reach up to 5 years - the magnesium-silicate mineral fibers take its toll that's more than painful.
Other factors that may accelerate the possibility of pleural mesothelioma are chronic lung infections, tuberculous pleuritis, radiation (Thorotrast), exposure to the simian virus 40 (SV40) or mineral fibers (Zeolite) and tobacco smoking to a certain extent.
Pleural Mesothelioma does not give a person the avenue for fair play. Though the existence depends much on the various stages of the disease, it is an ultimate killing menace that sucks out the life of the common man.
Author: Fred Lindell
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