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Treatment of Malignant Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma has befuddled the scientific community for a long time now. The treatment of mesothelioma has many complications involved in it. The patient's entire medical history, his age, his physical and emotional fitness are all taken into account before proceeding towards the treatment of the disease. Several methods of treatment are used to alleviate the pain and suffering of the patient suffering from malignant mesothelioma. They are surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The treatment generally involves a combination of these three types.
The surgery: The surgery is not advised to all the patients of mesothelioma. Only those patients who are physically, and mentally fit enough to endure the surgery are given this option. The main aim of the surgery is to clinically remove the cancerous tissue from the afflicted region. There are generally three types of surgeries that are performed on the patients. They are the palliative surgery, the curative surgery, and the diagnostic surgery.
The palliative surgery: In palliative surgery the whole of the cancer is removed from the affected region. The main aim is to provide a symptomatic cure to the patients.
The curative surgery: The curative surgery is generally performed in combination with other methods like radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The main aim is to completely remove the cancerous tissues from the region and to cure the patient.
The diagnostic surgery: This type of surgery is generally non-invasive in nature. This surgery is performed to diagnose the presence of the cancer and to know its location.
The Chemotherapy: In chemotherapy drugs and medicines are administered into the patient's body to remove the cancer. With the help of drugs it is generally hoped to destroy the cancerous tissues. Some of the commonly used drugs are almita and cisplatin.
The older forms of chemotherapy are quite incapable of curing the mesothelioma. However the newer forms of drugs are quite helpful in controlling the cancer.
The radiation therapy: Radiation therapy is one treatment that is often used with other types of treatments. In the older form of radiation therapy the radiation beam is directly focused on the affected tissues in order to destroy them completely. In newer forms of radiation therapy like the brachytherapy, a radioactive beam is directed on the cancerous tissues in order to destroy them completely without causing any harm to near by areas.
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