Mesothelioma Treatment Options

The treatment of the cancer mesothelioma follows three standard, accepted procedures: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. There are many different ways these three mesothelioma treatments can be approached. Different physicians may suggest combining more than one of the three. In some cases, the physician may present the case for each mode of treatment and leave the final decision of the course of action up to the patient. This is why the patient needs to understand the basics of each of the three main treatment plans.

Additionally, there are other treatment options available to patients. Experimental treatments are attracting more attention within the medical field, and their encouraging results in clinical trials deem them treatments worth keeping an eye on in the future. These experimental treatments include photodynamic therapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy, ozone therapy and hormonal therapy. Also, many alternative therapies are popular among patients seeking symptom relief; however they do not purport a cure for cancer.

Mesothelioma Cure
While there is currently no cure, those diagnosed with mesothelioma have many options regarding their cancer. Commonly, patients opt to undergo treatments to fight the cancer. Moreover, individuals may have the option to participate in clinical trials. Although clinical trials do not come without risk, patients get the chance to test new treatments and medications before they are recommended for public use. Many promising drugs and therapies have emerged from clinical trials and those involved may find relief from symptoms and even a prolonged life expectancy thanks to the trial.

Multi-modal treatment is another approach that proves to be instrumental in combating mesothelioma. A multi-modal treatment combines two or more treatment options, either completed at the same time, or one after another, in order to treat a disease. Doctors often recommend this option as it has yielded promising results in the past. A multi-modal treatment example from medical journal, Chest, states that a 52 year old man diagnosed with stage I malignant pleural mesothelioma underwent an extrapleural pneumonectomy followed by chemotherapy and finally radiation to the chest wall. The patient is currently alive and shows no disease two years after his surgery. Multi-modal therapy has made great strides in mesothelioma treatment and has increased survival rates for patients.

Knowing that there is no cure for mesothelioma can be scary and discouraging for patients and their loved ones, but survivor stories continue to arise inspiring and giving hope to those battling cancer.