Mesothelioma is a very serious disease and patients and their families should have the support and resources they need to better deal with their diagnosis. The following information should aid patients diagnosed with mesothelioma in determining the best course of treatment:
Surgery
A mesothelioma treatment used either to remove the tumor or to alleviate pain and suffering. If the cancer is relatively contained, surgery can be used to remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen. The objective is to remove the cancer cells from the body by removing the tissues with large numbers of cancer cells. If the cancer has spread to several organs, it is impossible to remove all of the tissue infected with cancer. In this case, surgery can only be used to relieve pain and suffering. Types of surgeries incude:
Pneumonectomy - An aggressive surgery in which a lung is removed. It can be performed in two ways:
Traditional Pneumonectomy- Only the disease lung is removed.
Extrapleural Pneumonectomy- When the diseased lung, along with part of the pericardium, part of the diaphragm and the parietal pleura on the same side of the chest is removed.
Click here for more information on pneumonectomy.
Palliative Procedures - The goal of these procedures is not to cure the disease, but rather to relieve and/or control symptoms associated with mesothelioma:
Thoracentesis- A procedure where a needle is inserted into the chest cavity either to obtain a diagnosis or to drain the fluid to relieve breathlessness and pain.
Pleurectomy/Decortication- The surgical removal of the pleura which is performed to reduce pain caused by tumor mass or to prevent the recurrence of pleural effusion.
Chemotherapy
This treatment consists of using drugs to treat the cancer. The drugs can be swallowed in pill form or can be injected by a needle into a vein or muscle. Most of the drugs used in the treatment of lung cancer either directly kill cancer cells or stop them from dividing into new cells. The drug enters the bloodstream and circulates throughout the body to reach and destroy the cancer cells. Chemotherapy targets the entire body and can kill normal cells as well as the diseased cells, causing severe side effects.
Chemotherapy can be used in combination with a variety of drugs to increase the total effect and is often used in combination with other treatments, especially surgery.
Side effects can be wide ranged and include nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, loss of hair, fatigue, constipation, coughing, decreased appetite and mouth sores. These side effects can be treated and they will usually cease after the treatment has ended.
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Radiation
Radiation therapy is the use of high level radiation to kill cancer cells in a localized area. The radiation injures the cancer cells so they cannot divide or multiply further. With each treatment, more of the cells die and the tumor shrinks. The dead cells are broken down and excreted by the body. Most of the healthy cells are able to recover from this injury, but the damage to them is the cause for the side effects of radiation therapy.
Radiation may be used before surgery to shrink the tumor, after surgery to prevent the cancer from coming back, to prevent the growth of cancer, to treat symptoms, and also in combination with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is sometimes used as the main treatment of Mesothelioma, especially patients whose general health is too poor to undergo surgery.
Side effects of radiation can be severe. They can include: fatigue, hair loss, skin irritation, nausea, and difficulty breathing.
The process of contacting your doctor in the off office hours needs to be simple and accessible. It should include coverage by a competent oncologist at all times, who can speak with you directly about your medical problem. Most office practices have a doctor on call to take calls from patients 24 hours/day.
Click here for more information on radiation therapy.
Experimental Mesothelioma Treatments
Gene therapy
An experimental medical intervention that involves altering the patient’s genetic material of living cells to fight or prevent disease. The therapy involves injecting a modified gene directly into a patient’s chest cavity. The goal of gene therapy is to supply cells with healthy copies of missing or altered genes. Many different strategies are currently under study.
Click here for more information on gene therapy.
Immunotherapy
An experimental therapy that uses the body's natural defenses to fight cancer. This can include stimulating your own immune system to work harder, or using an outside source, such as man-made immune system proteins. Immunotherapy is usually used in conjunction with another type of therapy.
Click here for more information on immunotherapy.
Photodynamic Therapy
An experimental treatment which combines a photosensitizing agent (a drug activated by light) with a light source to destroy cancer cells. The theory is that the photosensitizing agent collects more readily in cancer cells than in normal cells. Thus, when the agent is subsequently exposed to light, it reacts with oxygen to create chemicals that can kill the cancer cells.
Click here for more information on photodynamic therapy.
Mesothelioma Law
Litigation is, unfortunately, a required element to secure speedy, just compensation.
For individuals stricken with asbestos related mesothelioma, there may be substantial compensation available if they act quickly to engage an experienced mesothelioma lawyer who is proficient in asbestos legal issues and proving asbestos exposure. Most often mesothelioma lawsuits end up with a settlement without ever going to trial or even into a court. In our experience, this is the preferred scenario for most families with a mesothelioma case.
Since the only known cause of mesothelioma in the United States is asbestos, the key to successful case is proving exposure to the product(s) responsible for the injury. That is why you need to hire an experienced asbestos related disease attorney.
This is not to say that the asbestos industry will simply give away any money. The large corporations that we routinely go up against will hire some of the best attorneys that money can buy to defend and delay against paying compensation to you. This is why retaining an experienced mesothelioma lawyer with a background in this type of case can help you and your family get the asbestos settlement or verdict you deserve.
Coady law firm attorneys have represented many hundreds of clients stricken from asbestos related mesothelioma with compassion, diligence and success. They began their works in mesothelioma case 25 years ago, and they are still hard at it today.
Listed below is mesothelioma information related to xrays and other pictures
Positron emission tomography, also called PET imaging or a PET scan, is a diagnostic examination that involves the acquisition of physiologic images based on the detection of radiation from the emission of positrons. Positrons are tiny particles emitted from a radioactive substance administered to the patient. The subsequent images of the human body developed with this technique are used to evaluate a variety of diseases.
PET scans are used most often to detect cancer and to examine the effects of cancer therapy by characterizing biochemical changes in the cancer.
Hossein Jadvar, MD, PhD Alan J. Fischman, MD, PhD
The series of coronal PET images, from anterior (top left) to posterior (bottom right), show asymmetric abnormal hypermetabolism surrounding the left hemithorax highly suspicious for malignancy.
[full reference] http://www.med.harvard.edu/JPNM/TF98_99/Mar16/WriteUp.html
Lung, mesothelioma, high power microscopic. Image
Mesotheliomas have either spindle cells or plump rounded cells forming gland-like configurations, as seen here at high power microscopically. They are very difficult to diagnose cytologically.
[full reference] http://medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/LUNGHTML/LUNGIDX.html
Pleural mesothelioma is a malignant tumour that develops in the pleura. The pleura is a very thin layer of tissue that wraps itself around the lung and lines the inside of the chest wall. Mesothelioma may occur with very little asbestos exposure. Even owner/renovators of fibro homes have developed mesothelioma, as have wives who regularly shook out asbestos workers' overalls ready for washing.
Mesothelioma tends to grow into the tissues of the chest wall, interfere with nerves and may produce fluid that can compress the lung. X-Ray Image
[full reference] at http://www.lchs.com.au
Mesothelioma Related Occupations Asbestos has been used in association with a number of occupations in addition to those above. For instance, a number of former military personnel, particularly naval, came into contact with asbestos during their service. Massive amounts of asbestos were used in shipbuilding and commercial construction prior to the mid-1970's. Anyone involved with those industries is at a higher risk for developing an asbestos-related disease, including mesothelioma. Exposure may have been direct or indirect, lengthy or brief. The typical exposure period is lengthy, but some persons with short, even indirect exposure to asbestos develop mesothelioma later in life. Mesothelioma can also occur from non-occupational exposure, as evidenced by manifestation of the disease in women whose exposure came from washing the clothing of men (father, husband, son) who worked with, or around, asbestos. A unique feature of asbestos-related injuries is the long latency period between exposure to asbestos and the onset of the injury or disease. For mesotheliomas, the latency period is generally between 15 and 50 years, or more. That means that a person could have been exposed to asbestos years ago, and develop mesothelioma today. The average mesothelioma latency period is approximately 35 - 40 years. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 3,000 new cases per year of malignant mesothelioma are being reported in the United States, and the incidence appears to be increasing. The disease is three times more common in men than in women. In men, the occurrence of mesothelioma is ten times higher in men between the ages of 60-70 as compared to men between the ages of 30-40. Occupational exposure to asbestos over the past fifty years in the United States is calculated to have occurred in approximately eight million people. These are additional occupations that may also deal with asbestos:
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