Mesothelioma
is a type of cancer typically caused by Fight 4 Family Review exposure to asbestos. The
cancer can take many years to become evident and once it is present,
it can be difficult to detect. Patients who receive treatment for
mesothelioma in the early stages have a better prognosis, but
survival rates are low. The health and age of the patient also affect
the prognosis.
Mesothelioma
treatment fall into two primary categories, curative and palliative.
Curative treatment is aimed at curing a patient's mesothelioma by
removing or killing the cancer cells in the affected area. Palliative
treatments are done merely to reduce a patient's pain and discomfort
and improve their quality of life.
There
are several different mesothelioma treatment methods. Surgery can be
performed. The most common type for patients with pleural
mesothelioma is a pleurectomy/ decortication procedure. This surgery
involves removal of the lining of the chest where the cancer is
contained.
A
less common type of surgery performed in pericardial mesothelioma is
an extrapleural pneumonectomy. The procedure involves the removal of
the lung, the lining of the inside chest wall, the pericardium, and
the hemi-diaphragm. The goal of the surgeries is to reduce the size
of the cancerous tumors. This helps extending the patient's life.
For
patients in the earlier stages of mesothelioma, radiation treatments
can be performed. Radiation is often performed following surgery to
kill additional cancer cells. The entire hemi thorax is treated with
radiation. Radiation therapy is also commonly performed to the sites
of the chest drain insertion. This prevents the growth of the tumor
along the patient's chest wall. Radiation therapy can also serve the
palliative purpose of relieving the symptoms from tumor growth.
No comments:
Post a Comment