samedi 21 avril 2012

Mesothelioma Treatment

There are several methods of treatment for mesothelioma, although none of these have a high success rate. In general, the chances of curing a mesothelioma patient depends on how much the cancer has developed and matured during treatment. If tackled aggressively in its early stages, there is a good chance of survival. Due to the difficulty of diagnosing mesothelioma in its early stages, many mesothelioma treatments focus on improving the quality of life of patients.
Before a patient is treated to a physician will determine the best course of treatment is to consider the patient’s age, medical history, weight and even the general welfare. From here, the doctor will decide which of the three most common treatments are best suited to the patient’s condition. These treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Surgery
Surgery comes in two types. Aggressive surgery is the treatment that seeks to gain long term control of cancer and palliative procedures aimed only relieve the patient of symptoms.
Aggressive surgery involves removing the pleura, lung, diaphragm and pericardium. This procedure is known as extra pleural pneumonectomy. The aim of this is to remove as much tumor as possible without harming the patient. However, this is a very dangerous type of surgery and the chances are high mortality of patients in a month. Because of this, only young, fit individuals refer to this form of treatment. palliative procedures only involve the removal of the pleura in order to control the symptoms of cancer. This is done when the mesothelioma is an advanced and it is impossible to cure.
Chemotherapy
This is the best known cure cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat mesothelioma, although many of these drugs have a success rate of poor patients. The drug combinations are often used to improve its effect. Some of these combinations have proven effective. Chemotherapy of mesothelioma is being improved regularly as research labs and pharmaceutical companies are discovering new and more effective drugs.
Radiation Therapy
Radiotherapy uses radiation to kill tumor establishing mesothelioma. However, this procedure is extremely difficult because the tumor grows. Due to the proximity of the tumor and many vital internal organs like the heart and lungs, doctors have to be very careful about the dose of radiation used. Lower doses of radiation can be used however, this reduces its effectiveness.
t known cure for cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to treat mesothelioma, although many of these drugs have a success rate of poor patients. The drug combinations are often used to improve its effect. Some of these combinations have proven effective. Chemotherapy of mesothelioma is being improved regularly as research labs and pharmaceutical companies are discovering new and more effective drugs.
Radiation Therapy
Double therapy
This is used often and is a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy combined. Surgery removes the majority of tumor cells, while the work of chemotherapy and radiation in the elimination of everything else. This is an effective method and also reduces the symptoms of cancer.
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