Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer associated with exposure to asbestos. At this time there is no known cure for people who suffer from this rare disease and the prognosis remains poor. Treatment for this disease often includes extensive radiation and chemotherapy both of which can make patients suffering from Mesothelioma suffer from debilitating side effects, which makes many patients fear the treatment as much as the disease.
Many patients find themselves wondering why if there is little chance of a positive outcome from such treatments should they undergo these treatments and want to know if there are alternative treatments available that may help them deal with the symptoms of this terrible cancer.
The answer is that there are treatments available that patients suffering from Mesothelioma can try and medical research is striving to come up with even more less invasive and more effective treatments all the time. While some of these treatments have the blessings of the medical establishments others do not.
Patients suffering from mesothelioma need to research these alternatives extensively and speak with their medical professional as well as family members before deciding which course of treatment might be right for them. Here are a few alternative treatments that other suffers of Mesothelioma have used with varying degrees of success.
Anti-angiogensis drugs
Anti angiogensis drugs are drugs that like chemotherapy work to shrink and treat the tumors caused by your Mesothelioma. However, unlike chemotherapy these drugs only work to treat the tumors themselves while not harming other healthy cells in the body resulting in less drastic side effects for the patient.
Cancer cells as they grow and reproduce manufacture their own blood cells to supply the tumor and to help it to grow. Anti angiogensis drugs stops the tumors from creating these new blood cells thus robbing the tumors of their source of food. By doing this it is hoped that these drugs can shrink existing tumors and stop new tumors from growing.
Anti angiogensis are still mostly in the clinical trial stage so those patients wishing to try these drugs as an alternative to chemotherapy may have to find a hospital in which these clinical studies are being done and become part of the clinical trials themselves.
Immunotherapy
Immunotheraphy is another alternative to chemotherapy that is showing some promise for Mesothelioma patients. This therapy uses the bodies own immune system which has some natural ability to fight against cancer cells to aid in the fight against this deadly form of cancer. The theory behind immunotherapy is that by strengthening and enhances the bodies immune system the body can better fight against this dreaded disease.
Some of the things this treatment is trying to do is help the immune system strengthen it’s own cancer fighting cells while making the cancer cells themselves more susceptible to destruction, blocking the process that turns normal cells to cancer cells and prevent cancer cells from spreading to other sites in the body.
Strengthening the immune system may have the added advantage of improving the patients overall health thereby making the entire body stronger and more resistant to other diseases. This will allow the patient the strength to deal better with the Mesothelioma itself.
Other Alternatives
There are many other alternatives that are considered holistic in nature that patients who are suffering from mesothelioma are turning to either in conjunction with traditional treatment or as treatments by themselves. These treatments include such things as herbal and nutritional supplements, which can aid in strengthening the immune system as well as give the patient a more positive outlook which may help to fight the disease.
Acupuncture has also been used quite successfully in the effort to relieve some of the pain caused by this cancer. Massage therapy too has proven to help relieve some of the pain and relax the patient making them feel better able to fight this cancer. Other patients have turned to aromatherapy both as a means to fight the pain of this cancer and as a mood enhancer. Some patients also use aromatherapy in it’s original healing sense to help treat disease itself.
There is still so much that is unknown about Mesothelioma and how to treat this type of cancer. The one thing that is important to remember is that you are the one suffering from this disease and the choice of how to treat it should be up to you.