Mesothelioma is a form of cancer caused when a person is exposed to asbestos fibers or particles. Inside the human body is a protective lining called the "mesothelium" and it covers most of our internal organs. In the disease mesothelioma asbestos cancer, malignant cells form in the mesothelium. This most usually occurs at the internal chest wall. The majority of those who develop mesothelioma contract the disease due to inhaling asbestos particles, dusts or fibers on a job location. Someone who washes that person's clothing can also become exposed due to the particles being on the clothes.

The symptoms of asbestos cancer or mesothelioma include weight loss and shortness of breath caused by liquid forming between the lung and chest wall. Usually a chest X-Ray, CT Scan, tissue sample (biopsy) and microscopic examination will uncover the condition. Often a special camera is inserted into the chest to take pictures and determine if the cancerous cells are present. While mesothelioma carries a poor prognosis several treatment options exist by which a person can possibly overcome the disease and still live a meaningful life. Always consult your doctor or primary physician for the best advice on what to do in your particular situation. This page will provide some brief overviews of treatments for asbestos cancer mesothelioma.

A patient can increase their lifespan generally by five or more years with treatment of malignant mesothelioma (in stage I or II of the disease). This depends on the date of discovery of the asbestos cancer and date the mesothelioma malignant cells developed. There are several types of treatment options available with some used in combination depending on the patient. Surgery, Radiation, and Chemotherapy are the primary forms of treatment with a newer heated chemotherapy also used as treatment of mesothelioma asbestos cancer.  There are some newer experimental treatments for mesothelioma also being tested and developed.  These treatments include photodynamic therapy, gene therapy, and immunotherapy.

Chemotherapy for mesothelioma generally refers to treating the disease by using chemicals that kill cells.  The chemo process targets specific cell processes to prevent them from dividing and spreading.  Chemotherapy involves drugs that aren't too specific yet, so they can also kill off healthy cells, such as those used in hair growth.  This is often why people undergoing chemotherapy lose their hair.  Other side effects someone undergoing chemo treatment may have include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and and an increase in possible infection vulnerability.  While chemotherapy is not a cure-all for mesothelioma asbestos cancer, it has been known to control symptoms better, sometimes shrinking cancerous tumors as well.  This can lead to a better quality of life and longer life expectancy for the mesothelioma patient.

There are three ways mesothelioma surgery is used with treatment and diagnosis of mesothelioma. There is diagnostic surgery, where the cancer is confirmed as present or not in the body, and this procedure is non-invasive. There's also curative surgery, which is performed to remove as much asbestos cancer from the body as possible to cure the patient. Curative surgery is often followed by radiation or chemotherapy treatments. Finally, there is Palliative surgery which works to remove cancerous tissues and provides symptomatic relief.

In Mesothelioma Pneumonectomy, one of the patient's lungs is removed to get rid of cancerous cells in the body. It is primarily used for those with pleural mesothelioma and not those who have cancerous cells that spread to other parts of the body. Mesothelioma Thoracotomy and Mesothelioma Pleurodesis may also be used for patients with pleural mesothelioma.

In Mesothelioma Paracentesis, fluid is removed from the abdominal cavity to alleviate pain and discomfort. This surgical procedure is done for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma.

To diagnose mesothelioma, a procedure known as Mesothelioma Thoracoscopy is used in which a long thin tube is inserted into the chest to take pictures.  These results help confirm the presence of asbestos or other cancer inside a patient.

In radiation therapy, "ionizing radiation" is used to kill existing cancer cells in the patient's body.  Radiation may be used as a single treatment or coupled with surgery/chemotherapy, depending on the patient's specfic case.  The doctors will decide the specific type of radiation treatment used for a patient based on the type of mesothelioma, the stage of the disease, and whether other treatment options might be necessary.

In "External Beam Radiotherapy", which is the most common of the therapies used, the patient either sits or lies down.  The area which needs treatment is exposed and radiation is directed at that area.  Patients may experience side effects during this treatment, such as pain near the area being treated, digestive troubles and trouble coughing.  Usually this radiation treatment is done as a way to relieve symptoms rather than cure or remove cancerous cells alltogether.

Mesothelioma Brachytherapy is also called "sealed source radiation therapy".  In this process, tiny radioactive rods are implanted near mesothelioma tumors.  This is also used for other cancer types including breast, cervical and prostate cancer. The benefits of this treatment are it pinpoints the specfic area very closely with highly-concentrated radiation.  It's used in cases where the mesothelioma may be resistant to other forms of radiation therapy.  The treatment is used either as a temporary or permanent solution.  In the temporary situation, tiny seeds are placed near the cancerous area, then eventually removed.  For permanent treatment, the seeds remain in place.

Again, these treatments are usually used in conjunction with chemotherapy or surgery and are usually intended to alleviate the troubling symptoms and pains of mesothelioma asbestos cancer.

There are three experimental treatments and alternative therapies being used and developed to treat asbestos mesothelioma cancer patients.  The first option, gene therapy, uses a copy of a gene to replace defective genes.  In mesothelioma treatment, a patient is infected with a virus which enters the target cells to cause them to produce normal proteins.  This is often used to make them more susceptible to chemotherapy treatments.

In Mesothelioma Immunotherapy, the patient's immune system is tricked into seeing cancerous cells as foreign, thus rejecting them and killing them off.  These encourage the immune system to actively fight the mesothelioma asbestos cancer. 

A final experimental treatment for mesothelioma is known as "Mesothelioma Photodynamic Therapy".  In this treatment, photosensitivity is used to deliver light energy into the body and destroy cancerous cells, while leaving healthy cells virtually unaffected.  Photosensitizer drugs are introduced into the body which make cells more sensitive to light.  A medication is administered to the patient and then they are exposed to a particular light wavelength.  The treated cells produce a special oxygen which works to kill off nearby cancer cells.

Again these are experimental alternative therapies, which may be explored by your doctors.

To this date Mesothelioma asbestos cancer treatments are still being used to help patients extend their life expectancies and qualities of life.  As with other cancers, there is no known cure, but scientists and doctors continue to explore different forms of treatment to reduce cancerous cells and reduce the awful symptoms mesothelioma brings with it.  With the progress of technology and science in the medical field, cures are always being investigated and developed to help rid patients of this terrible disease.