Conventional Treatments for Mesothelioma
Conventional Treatments for Mesothelioma
Despite continuing research and studies related to mesothelioma, this cancer is still difficult to treat. This rare but aggressive disease attacks approximately 2,500 people in United States every year. The conventional treatments for mesothelioma are comprised of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Surgery
Surgery may be used in both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma patients. Surgeons usually prefer to provide a surgical procedure when the cancer is localized and debulking of the tumor is practical. Today, many mesothelioma specialists use heated chemotherapy in conjunction with surgery. During the actual procedure heated chemotherapy can be introduced into the surgical cavity to bathe any macro or micro metastasis that the surgeon was unable to excise. In this way, the cytotoxic effects of chemo can be imparted directly to the tissues where it is most needed.
There are different types of surgeries including lung sparring surgery and extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP). In lung sparring surgery, surgeons remove the diseased membrane lining the lung and any visible mesothelioma tumors, but spare the lung. Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) is a more radical surgical procedure that involves removal of the diseased lung, part of the pericardium, (membrane covering the heart), part of the diaphragm (muscle between the lungs and the abdomen), and part of the parietal pleura (membrane lining the chest). EPP is an invasive and complex operation.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy, also referred to as systemic therapy, includes oral and intravenous cytotoxic (cell-killing) medications to kill the cancerous cells. These drugs kill both cancerous as well as healthy cells. Some of the most commonly used chemotherapy drugs to treat mesothelioma are cisplatin and pemetrexed. In fact cisplatin and pemetrexed (brand name Alimta) in combination is the only FDA approved chemotherapy for mesothelioma.
Radiation
Radiation may be an important part of mesothelioma treatment and it can be delivered through various methods. But if the cancer strikes near lungs and heart, it can be challenging for doctors to provide just the right dose for the intensive therapy required to reduce the tumor without creating associated morbidities. There is a newer option, IMRT or intensity-modulated radiotherapy that can target cancer cells more accurately and avoid the healthy cells. When performed by experienced clinicians, one may expect better results with fewer side-effects.
In addition to these modalities, there are many clinical trials today that focus on newer approaches to mesothelioma. These include various biological response modifiers such as anti-angiogenesis. Decades ago, Dr. Judah Folkman discovered that tumors need an expanding network of blood vessels in order to continue growing.
The blood vessels brought oxygen and nutrients to the cancer cells and without the blood vessels the tumor would be starved of what it needed to continue growing. Folkman hypothesized that cutting off the tumor's ability to create new blood supplies (angiogenesis) would be an effective and perhaps less toxic approach to cancer treatment.
Over the last decade, universities and biotech companies have been hard at work identifying, synthesizing and administering anti-angiogenesis drugs - drugs designed to stop the angiogenesis of new blood vessels. There has been some limited success in a number of cancers including mesothelioma. Anti-angiogenesis drugs used in mesothelioma include: bevacizumab, tyrosine-kinase inhibitors and other agents. Today, researchers are still attempting to make this modality effective in mesothelioma but have admitted that the clinical use of angiogenesis inhibitors has been more challenging than anticipated.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this article
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Getting an Attorney - Lawyer for an Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit
There are several things you must remember when you are entering into an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, but the most important of these is to get a good attorney / lawyer to help you. The right attorney / lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit has two qualities which can help you a lot:
Knowledge - This is the main reason why people hire lawyers. When you get an attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, it is because of the fact that you do not have the expertise needed to handle the lawsuit on your own. An attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit will be familiar with the law in order to best help you win your case. Not many people realize the fact that different lawyers have different specializations. You need to make sure that the attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit you get actually specializes in that sort of law. Knowledge will help the attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit in planning a strategy to get you the justice that you need.
Experience - How much experience the attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit has in handling cases like yours determines just how effective he or she can be in the actual litigation. This is because experience will actually help determine a person's ability to cope with the things going on around him or her. In other words, a person with more experience in handling asbestos cases have a higher chance of being able to make the right decisions in a similar case. If you want to hire a attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, then know that a lot of lawyers make use of what you would call gut instinct in order to win a case. This gut instinct helps a lawyer recognize the various pitfalls that can be set by an opponent during the course of a lawsuit. This gut instinct, however, needs experience in order to be properly sharpened. Given enough experience, any attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit will be able to win any cases that he or she handles.
A lot of attorneys today are on the lookout for a client to represent so that they can grab a share of the asbestos-litigation pie. This means that looking for an attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit should be quite easy. Here are some sources you can make use of:
The television - Because of the mass-tort nature of asbestos litigation, most attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits today attempt to gather clients using any sort of ad media they can use. If you watch the television often, you might encounter a scrolling announcement asking for people who have experienced different symptoms and who have been exposed to asbestos to contact a certain number immediately. Since the television is the most widely-used type of media today, it has a high success rate in terms of attracting new clients. This means that you may be able to learn how to get in touch with an attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit through watching the television.
The internet - this remains to be one of the best sources of information today. The internet is able to provide people with the information that they need right at their fingertips and at a speed which will astonish even the Flash. You can use the internet to look for the attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit that you need. Also, you can immediately contact that person through the internet without the need to change into another medium of communication.
Getting an attorney /l awyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit through the internet does have its risks, though. For one thing, you aren't really sure about the various claims made by different firms advertising over the internet.
Yellow Pages - If you want to get in touch with any attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit without first having the privilege of previewing their services, then the phone book is what you need. Some people believe that the phone book is an old and therefore obsolete device better left in the past decade, but it actually pretty much still delivers the information that you need whenever and wherever you need it.
There are, of course, other sources which you can use to gather information needed to contact the attorney/lawyer for an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit you need. However those mentioned above continue to be the most effective methods of all.
