Mesothelioma- the silent killer

Treatment for mesothelioma depends on:

• location of the cancer,
  
• the stage of the disease,
  
• and the patient’s age
  
• and general health.
  

Standard treatment options include :

• surgery,
  
• radiation therapy,
  
• and chemotherapy.
  

1. Surgery is a common treatment for mesothelioma. This is an operation in which the doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. E.g. for pleural mesothelioma, pneumonectomy is performed (a part or the whole lung is removed). Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.It can be divided to two types of surgery. Radical surgery and palliative surgery.
2. Radiation therapy is a treatment involves the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. The radiation may come from a machine (external radiation) or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).
3. Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body. Most drugs used to treat mesothelioma are given by injection into a vein (intravenous, or IV). Sometimes, the doctor may use a needle or a thin tube to drain fluid that has built up in the chest or abdomen. This is done on the purpose of relieving symptoms and control pain.
   

Besides, there's also symptomatic treatment. This kind of treatment can't help curing the disease but just to relieve any complication or discomfort caused by the disease itself. Such of this is, pleurocentesis-by drainage of the fluid accumulating in between the pleural cavity. Some others may include antiemetic drug to stop nausea and vomiting, analgesic to relieve pain and etc.