In this article, we will watch the treatment procedures for a person when he or she has been diagnosed as suffering from lung mesothelioma.
The doctor usually looks inside the lung cavity using a special thoracoscope. A cut is made in the chest well and the instrument is inserted into the chest between the two ribs. This procedure is called as thoracoscopy. A local anesthetic is administered to these patients. There is usually no hurt experienced, but some pressure can be felt by the patient.
If the doctor finds abnormal tissue growths, then the doctor cuts out some tissue pieces. These are then looked under a microscope to see the growth of possible cancer cells. This arrangement is known as biopsy. Biopsy is common procedure in all forms of cancer, and not restricted to lung mesothelioma.
The treatment for lung mesothelioma can steal three forms.
The first treatment mode is surgery. This is the most common treatment procedure. The doctor removes part of the lung linings and the surrounding tissues. A lung itself may also be removed – this process is known as pneumonectomy. Sometimes a part of the diaphragm, which is a muscle below the lungs, can also be removed.
The second treatment mode is through radiation. This therapy uses high-energy X-rays to kill the cancer cells. The source of radiation can be external or internal. When the radiation comes from a machine it is known as external radiation therapy. If radio-isotopes generating radiation are set aside through thin plastic tubes in the lungs, then it is called as internal radiation therapy.
If some fluid has collected in the lungs, affecting the breathing process, the doctor can choose to drain out the fluid by using a needle to poke into the chest. Then suction can be employed to take the fluid. The process of removal of fluid from the chest is known as thoracentesis. The doctor may put some drugs through a tube into the lungs to prevent accumulation of further fluids.
The third mode of treatment for lung mesothelioma is chemotherapy. Chemotherapy involves taking pills that tend to end cancer cells (oral chemotherapy). In intravenous chemotherapy, drugs are injected into the body. Drugs may be put directly into the lungs (intrapleural chemotherapy).
A new type of treatment known as intraoperative photodynamic therapy is also available. It uses special drugs and special light to kill cancerous cells during surgery. A chemical that causes the cancer cells to become more sensitive to light is injected several days before the surgery. During the surgery itself, special light is shown on the pleura and the lungs. This new treatment is being studied for treating several types of mesothelioma, including the lung mesothelioma.
Malignant lung mesothelioma may be recurrent in many cicumstances. The mesothelioma may come back even after repeated treatments of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In such cases, the treatments need to be gone through again. There is no other option until the newer forms of treatments being tested inaugurate to produce at least some results.
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Filed under Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma by on Aug 24th, 2010. 
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that is usually caused due to exposure to asbestos. In mesothelioma, the malignant cells start developing in the mesothelium, the layer that acts as a protective layer on almost all the internal organs. It is commonly found on the lining of the chest wall and lungs (pleura), but it can also be found in the abdominal cavity lining (peritoneum), the heart, pericardium, and tunica vaginalis.
It is a common case among people who would have worked in places where they would have inhaled the particles of asbestos. It is also found that there is an increased risk of getting mesothelioma if one washes the clothes of a person who works in a place where there is a high concentration of asbestos. There has been no relation established between smoking and mesothelioma, although smoking leads to lung cancer.
Some of the symptoms of mesothelioma include running short of breath resulting from pleural effusion, paining of chest wall, and other general symptoms like loss of weight. The patient can be diagnosed with the help of X-ray of the chest and CT scan. Mesothelioma can be confirmed by conducting limited examination and biopsy. A thoracoscopy can be done in order to take biopsies. Thoracoscopy allows the doctor to introduce substances like talc to extinguish the excess fluid that is putting pressure on the lungs. Even after strong treatments like chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy the prognosis of mesothelioma is poor. There is research still ongoing to detect and prevent mesothelioma in the initial stages.
Typically, the symptoms of mesothelioma occur after twenty to fifty years of asbestos exposure. Some of the symptoms of mesothelioma are cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain due to fluid accumulation around the lungs. Other symptoms of mesothelioma include cachexia and loss of weight, swelling of the abdomen and abdominal hurt, bowel obstruction, abnormalities in blood clotting, fever and anemia. If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body then there may be additional symptoms like swelling of throat and face, pain and difficulty in swallowing. In particular, if the pleura are affected by mesothelioma then the following symptoms and signs will occur:
–Pain in the chest wall
–The fluid surrounding the lungs will be excess, pleural effusion
–One may feel short of breath even if not doing any activity
–One id diagnosed with anemia and is experiencing fatigue
–The person is wheezing, sounds hoarse, or coughs continuously
–The person coughs out blood, a condition called hemoptysis
In cases where mesothelioma becomes very severe, the person may develop several tumor masses. The affected person may also develop pneumothorax, a condition when the lungs collapse. There are chances that mesothelioma may spread to other organs of the body. The tumor that develops in the abdominal cavity does not show any symptoms until it has reached the last stages. Some of the symptoms of mesothelioma that affect the abdominal cavity are:
–Pain in the abdomen.
–Atypical collection of fluid in the abdomen.
–Swelling of the abdomen.
–Trouble in the functioning of bowel
–Abnormal loss of weight
Sources:
http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org
www.maacenter.org/mesothelioma/symptoms.php
www.mesotheliomacenter.org
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Filed under Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma by on Aug 22nd, 2010.
Because asbestos poisoning can take years to show up in the human body, we are now seeing more and more cases of mesothelioma in the news today. According to the Mayo Clinic, an estimated “2,000 to 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the United States each year. Men are more likely to develop mesothelioma than are women. It’s more common in older adults; most people with mesothelioma are 65 and older, though mesothelioma can be diagnosed at any age.
“A special type of mesothelioma that is being reported and researched is peritoneal mesothelioma. The Mayo Clinic reports, Mesothelioma that occurs in the tissue in your abdomen (peritoneum) is called peritoneal mesothelioma and accounts for 10 percent to 20 percent of all mesotheliomas. In rare cases, mesothelioma can also occur in the lining around the heart (pericardium) and in the lining around the testicles (tunica vaginalis).”
The Mayo Clinic has provided some very profitable information on general symptoms of the illness. They include:
Signs and symptoms of mesothelioma vary depending on where the cancer occurs.
Pleural mesothelioma signs and symptoms may include:
* Shortness of breath
* Painful breathing
* Chest pain under the rib cage
* Unusual lumps of tissue under the skin on your chest
* Unexplained weight loss
* Dry (nonproductive) cough
Peritoneal mesothelioma signs and symptoms may include:
* Abdominal pain
* Abdominal swelling
* A change in your bowel habits, such as more frequent diarrhea or constipation
* Lumps of tissue in the abdomen
* Unexplained weight loss
For sufferers of this illness, help is on the way. From medical help to compensation in the form of settlements, the voices of thousands are being answered.
The ITL Cancer Clinic that specializes in peritoneal mesothelioma research adds, “Each alternative cancer treatment plan is customized to the person with cancer. In addition to immune therapy such as cancer vaccine we provide angiogenesis inhibition (blocking new blood vessels that feed tumor), apoptosis inducing agents (help tumor cells to commit suicide), and cytotoxic agents that kill tumor cells while not destroying normal cells, including photodynamic therapy (a dye made from chlorophyll accumulates in the tumor, and a light is applied to activate the dye to kill the tumor).”
For more in formation on treatment possibilities, check out their website at: http://www.immunemedicine.com/
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Filed under Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma by on Jul 22nd, 2010.