Mesothelioma "Treatment is Possible"
Mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium) is a rare form of cancer. Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles.
(PRWEB) April 10, 2006
Mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium) is a rare form of cancer. Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles. It is known that family members of workers exposed to asbestos can contract this disease through exposure to the worker’s clothing. The combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly increases a person's risk of developing cancer of the air passageways in the lung.
This disease is very difficult to assess consistently due to the great variability in time before diagnosis and the rate of progression of malignant mesothelioma. The cancer keep growing until it is treated so it is very important that disease is diagnosed an treated as early as possible Mesothelioma occurs more often in men than in women and risk increase with age, but this disease can appear in either men or women at any age. Most cases of mesothelioma occur 30-45 years after initial exposure to asbestos.
Mesothelium: The mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. The mesothelium has different names, depending on its location in the body. The mesothelium of the chest is called the pleura, the mesothelium of the abdomen is known as the peritoneum and the mesothelium of the pericardial cavity is called the pericardium.
Mesothelioma: Mesothelioma is a disease in which cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and divide without control or order. They can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs.
Asbestos : Asbestos is the name of a group of minerals that occur naturally as masses of strong, flexible fibbers that can be separated into thin threads and woven. It is used in industrial products, like, textiles, cement, and insulation, among others. Tiny particles of asbestos may float in the air and can be inhaled or swallowed.
Http://www. mesothelium. org/ (http://www. mesothelium. org/)
TREATMENT OF MESOTHELIOMA
The mesothelioma treatment method that is chosen will depend on how advanced the disease is and on the patient’s overall physical health and personal preferences. Standard treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Sometimes, these treatments are combined.
Surgery is an important method of controlling the course of mesothelioma. It may also be combined with chemotherapy, radiation, and other therapies. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. In more advanced cases, a doctor may have to remove one of the patient’s lungs, part of the diaphragm or the pericardium.
Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, involves the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumours. It works by destroying the cancer cells in the treated area. 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).
Chemotherapy is a traditional mesothelioma treatment that uses anticancer (cytotoxic) medicines, drugs and chemicals to attempt to kill cancerous cells. These chemotherapeutic agents can be ingested in pill form or they can be injected by needle into a vein or muscle. Chemotherapeutic agents include doxorubicin, cisplatin, methotrexate and various drug combinations.
Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells but also damage some normal cells. Therefore, your doctor will pay careful attention to avoiding or minimizing side effects, which depend on the specific drugs, the amount taken, and the length of treatment.
In addition to traditional treatments, new mesothelioma cancer treatments are continually being tested through medical research studies. These treatments are called clinical trials and they help researchers determine whether new treatments are safe and effective for general use, while giving patients with few treatment options an opportunity to try new treatments.
Http://www. mesothelium. org/ (http://www. mesothelium. org/)
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