Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma Treatment

Like radiation, chemotherapy provides no cure for mesothelioma but can be extremely effective in providing relief from the difficult symptoms of the disease. As researchers continue to trial different combinations of chemotherapy drugs, patients will continue to benefit from their findings. The hops is that someday, chemotherapy drugs may go a lot further in prolonging the life of a patient and developing a cure for mesothelioma.
Chemotherapy drugs, in general, are either ingested in pill form or injected into the patient systemically. In the case of mesothelioma patients, the drugs are administered intravenously. Doctors will typically combine two drugs for the best result. One will act as the primary cytotoxin and another will serve as an alkalizing agent to stabilize surrounding healthy cells. At the present the only combination approved by the Food and Drug Administration is Alimta^®; (pemetrexed) and Cisplatin^®, but other drugs are used in tandem if deemed preferable for a specific patient participating in a clinical trial. In some cases, patients can only tolerate a single drug so only one is used for treatment.
Other drugs are given to the patient to combat the unpleasant side effects of chemo, such as medication to relieve nausea and vomiting or vitamins to replace essential ones lost during chemotherapy. Some patients for one reason or another will make a measured determination that the side effects of chemotherapy are too severe and opt not to receive this treatment.

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Radiation Therapy for Mesothelioma Treatment

If a patient’s health is too fragile for surgery or chemotherapy, radiation is often recommended. Radiation is associated with the fewest side effects and is typically more to tolerable than chemotherapy for mesothelioma treatment. There are a few different methodologies of radiation therapy available to mesothelioma patients. Radiation is often used in conjunction with another type of treatment such as an in complementary capacity to an existing chemotherapy regimen.
External beam radiation - the preferred type to treat mesothelioma, this type of radiation comes from a machine outside the body and is aimed toward affected areas. Usually administered 5-days-a-week for up to 5 weeks, this type of radiation is often used for palliative purposes - to lessen breathing difficulties, pain, bleeding, or difficulty swallowing - but has seldom shown true efficacy as a curative mesothelioma treatment. This type of radiation may also be used in addition to surgery.
Brachytherapy - Rarely prescribed for mesothelioma, this 

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Surgery for Mesothelioma Treatment

Surgery can be performed on mesothelioma patients for one of two reasons: in an attempt to cure the disease or for palliative reasons in order to keep the patient more comfortable and improve the quality of life. Because mesothelioma is nearly always diagnosed in its later stages, curative surgery is typically not an option. Once the tumor has metastasized outside the pleural cavity, palliation is typically the only ends for which surgery is utilized.
As tests are developed that may help to diagnose mesothelioma at an earlier stage, surgery may become more of an option in the future. At that point, doctors may be able to attempt to remove the cancer and some of the surrounding tissue in an attempt to stabilize the disease.
More often, however, surgery is used as a palliative measure. For example, doctors may opt for a surgery called a pleurodesis, which involves injecting talc into the lungs to prevent fluid from returning. A thoracentesis, a surgical procedure that removes fluid from the lungs by means of a thin needle, may also be recommended.

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