Mesothelioma is a cancer associated almost solely with asbestos exposure. Because this cancer can take years and even decades before it makes itself known, treatment for this kind of cancer is difficult and often non effective.

One treatment for Mesothelioma that is hotly contested is lung removal. While many doctors feel that Pneumonectomy, removal of the lung or extra pleural pneumonectomy may help relieve some of the symptoms of Mesothelioma and prolong life, others feel these surgeries are far too invasive and offer little hope for the patient.

What Is Pneumonectomy and Extra Pleural Pneumonectomy?

Pneumonectomy and extra Pleural Pneumonectomy are both forms of lung removal surgery. Pneumonectomy consists of the complete removal of the affected lung while extra plural pneumonectomy consists of the removal of the diseased lung, a portion of the membrane covering the heart, part of the diaphragm and the patrietal pleura or the membrane lining the chest cavity.

Although Pneumonectomy has fewer risks and is somewhat the less invasive of the two surgeries it is often ineffective as removing just the affected lung has less chance of slowing the cancer growth than does extra Pleural Pneumonectomy. However, in order for extra Pleural Pneumonectomy to be effective it needs to be done in the earlier stages of this cancer.

The risks of extra Pleural Pneumonectomy are enormous with 5 to 10% of the patients unable to survive this surgery. Because of the risk in surviving the surgery itself and the complications that can occur after surgery many physicians who treat Mesothelioma feel that the surgery does not offer enough benefits to be considered a viable treatment.

Those physicians who disagree site the fact that when the surgery is successful that patients have increased survival rate of 3 to 4 years.

Considerations Prior to Lung Removal Surgery

The truth is though this type of surgery is hotly debated, most patients suffering from Mesothelioma may not even be viable candidates for surgery. There are a number of reasons for this, including the fact that oftentimes Mesothelioma has already begun to affect both lungs by the time it is diagnosed and treatment is started.

There are several other things that those treating patients with Mesothelioma have to consider before lung removal surgery can even be performed. These considerations include:

    *      Overall health of the patient. In many cases age and other illnesses as well as declining overall health makes consideration of lung removal surgery impossible. Those patients who can most benefit from this type of surgery are usually young and are generally in good health other than the cancer. The sooner Mesothelioma is diagnosed the more appealing this option may be.

    *      Whether or not there is Mastitis or spreading to distant sites of the Mesothelioma. If the Mesothelioms has already spread to sites where removing a lung offers little or no hope for prolonging life then surgery will not be considered.

    *      Evaluation of a Patients lung and heart function. If the remaining lung and the heart are not strong they will be unable to withstand the surgery or the long period of recovery. Neither will the remaining lung be in condition to do both it’s job and the job of the lung that is to be removed. Since removing a lung means addition stress on the remaining lung, it needs to be in good shape in order for the patient to survive.

    *      How the patient himself feels about surgery. Patients suffering from Mesothelioma know that there is little chance of surviving this type of cancer in the long run. While some patients may decide that prolonging their life by a few years may give medical science a chance to find a cure other patients simply don’t want to prolong their own suffering.

Since lung removal surgery for Mesothelioma patients is so risky and requires a long recovery time, the patients mind set and attitude going into the surgery will have a lot to do with the surgery’s success. If a patient does not want to undergo such invasive surgery the best the physician can do is offer alternatives to the patient.

Lung removal surgery is never an easy process. For patients suffering from Mesothelioma the surgery offers more than the standard risks and complications. For those patients who do qualify for this type of surgery and decide to have it despite the risks, continued and ongoing support by family members and friends can make a huge difference in the patients chances for survival.

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Mesothelioma is an extremely rare form of cancer mostly developing in people who have been exposed to asbestos. This cancer carries with it a poor prognosis for recovery and can lead to painful complications, extensive medical treatments and a long period of pain and suffering both for the victim and the victims family. At this point this form of cancer is a death sentence. If you have a relative that is suffering with Mesothelioma there is little you can say to give hope to family members.

It is only natural that you feel awkward and unsure of what to say that will bring any real comfort to the families of those suffering this terrible disease. However, there are things you can say that will help the family get the practical help they need to see them through the rough days, weeks and months ahead.

Remember, their main concern is going to be for their husband, wife or parent who is suffering and they just may need someone to help guide them and urge them to get the help they need. You may well be in a position to be of real service to those you love and ease their burden in some small way. Here are a few things you will need to take the time to talk to your loved one about, that can provide them with valuable help.

Urge Them to Get Support

The first thing you can do is urge the person with mesothelioma and their family members to join a support group to help them deal and talk about the disease. These groups are vital in helping to understand the progressiveness of the disease, the treatments that are available and giving the people most affected by the disease a place to go and talk with people who can share their pain and truly understand what they are going through.

Even if the person suffering from the mesothelioma itself is too weak or discouraged to go, encourage other members of the family to attend these support groups. They are going to need an outlet for their pain in the days ahead and by joining one of these groups they can get both emotional support and gain needed information to help them deal with the disease.

Talk To Them About Getting Financial Help

Mesothelioma is an expensive condition that can literally milk a family’s finances dry. It is important to talk to your loved one about getting financial help as soon as possible to help pay the medical bills and relieve at least one worry the family doesn’t need at this critical time. There are several ways a family with a loved one can get financial help either through the government or by suing the employer where the patient was exposed to the asbestos. Contacting the government or an attorney to explore your options and find out what financial help is available will help ease the burden on the family.

Most mesothelioma support groups can give you the names of agencies or attorneys that can help your loved one get the financial support they may need. In cases, where someone has lost a loved one to this dreaded disease family members may be able to get compensation for loss of income and the pain and suffering their loved one faced during their lifetime.

Encourage Them to Not Give Up

Although there is little hope for a cure right now new medicines are being tested everyday in a effort to find something that will treat and possibly cure Mesothelioma. While you don’t want to give your loved ones false hope you do want to encourage them not to give up and remind them that as tough as things are, fighting to the end just might buy time for a cure to be found.

Just Let Them Know You Will Be There For Them

Just telling the family members that you will be there for them and meaning it will help to ease some of their burden. Offer to run errands or make phone calls or sit by in the hospital room while they take a much needed break. Telling them how much you care, and giving them practical helpful advice is the best thing you can say to help them through this most difficult time.

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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.

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Mesothelioma is a relatively rare but particularly devastating form of cancer, which most often affects the lungs or the abdominal area. Scientific research has revealed an undeniable and indisputable link between exposure to asbestos and the development of mesothelioma.

Any kind of cancer is undesirable, to say the least. Cancer is difficult for the both the person who is diagnosed, and the family to overcome. Even so, some types of cancer have a better overall prognosis than others. Mesothelioma, with a low survival rate, is not one of them.

Many Deaths Avoidable

What makes this particular form of cancer even more difficult to come to terms with is that most, if not all of the cases diagnosed from about 1970 on, and many who have yet to be diagnosed could (and should) have been prevented.  I arrived at this estimated time frame by taking the year 1940, by which it was widely known, in the manufacturing world, that asbestos was dangerous, and then adding time for mesothelioma to have manifested in someone if he or she was exposed to asbestos in 1940.

Manifestation after exposure may occur in less than thirty years, but thirty seems to be about the average. Very seldom does a person develop it in less than a fifteen year period after the first exposure to asbestos, and the latency period can even exceed fifty years.

It is very clear however that by the 1920′s people were recognizing the danger that asbestos posed. In 1924 a British doctor coined the name “asbestosis” as the cause of death for a patient, and the first lawsuits filed against manufacturers of asbestos are on record as being filed in 1929.

So, I believe that it is more than fair to say that by 1940; manufacturers knew that asbestos could kill. But that did not stop them from selling it or using it in buildings and ships, and it didn’t stop millions of workers from being exposed to asbestos dust.

Even today, people in many parts of the world are being exposed to asbestos. However use of it has been banned in Europe and Australia, and the United States has placed heavy restrictions on its use. Although many feel it is not enough.

About Mesothelioma and its Symptoms

The mesothelium is a membrane that covers and shields many organs in the body. Mesothelioma is a cancer that manifests in that protective lining. It is nearly always related to exposure to asbestos.

Pleura (Lung) Mesothelioma

There are four kinds of mesothelioma. The most common form is pleura mesothelioma which affects the outer lining protecting the lungs (the pleura), and the chest wall. This type accounts for about 75% of mesothelioma.

 Asbestos dust usually enters the body through inhalation, so it stands to reason that the lungs would be the organ most affected.

Two of the symptoms of pleura mesothelioma are chest pain and shortness of breath, which are often caused by fluid trapped between the wall of the chest and the lung(s). Other symptoms include coughing and/or coughing up blood, hoarseness, wheezing, anemia, and fatigue.

Further complications include tumors, the possibility of a collapsed lung(s), and the potential of the cancer to spread to other organs.

Peritoneum (Abdominal) Mesothelioma

Peritoneum mesothelioma accounts for between ten and twenty percent of mesothelioma cases. The peritoneum is the lining found in the abdominal cavity.

The cancer forms tumors in the abdomen but they may go undiscovered ,due to the absence of symptoms, until late in the progression of the disease. This may be a big reason that treatment has not been highly successful.

Once symptoms appear, they include weight loss, abdominal pain, fluid in the abdomen, and bowel problems. This type of mesothelioma is caused by coughing up, and then swallowing, asbestos fibers. This form of the disease can spread many other areas of the body as well.

Pericardial (Heart) Mesothelioma

The protective sac around the heart is called the pericardium. Pericardial Mesothelioma is the form of mesothelioma that begins in the cells of this tissue. This type of mesothelioma is thought to account for as little as one to two percent of mesothelioma cases.

The symptoms can often be relieved by removing the pericardium, although this will not usually cure the disease or prevent it from spreading.

Like Pleura mesothelioma, symptoms include breathing difficulty or abnormal breathing, and coughing. This mesothelioma, however, includes irregular heartbeat, clinically referred to as arrhythmia.

Mesothelioma of the (Scrotum) Tunica Vaginalis

While conducting my research of mesothelioma, this was the only one that kind of threw me, concerning the interpretation of the name. Now, I’m no Latin expert, but when I saw the name-for some reason-I initially assumed that this type of mesothelioma affected women. I could not have been more wrong.

It turns out that the Tunica Vaginalis is actually a fluid membrane which surrounds the testes inside the male scrotum. During fetal development before the sex organs are formed there is an outgrowth of the abdominal lining (peritoneum) that forms in both of the sexes. In males, it eventually closes around the testes once they have formed. In females, it closes on itself and eventually disappears when the ovaries descend.

This is by far the rarest of the mesothelioma types, and I was not able to uncover a lot of information about symptoms or treatment.

Treatment

Sadly, there has not been a great deal of success in treating mesothelioma. Surgery alone does not usually result in a significant remission of the cancer. A combination of surgery and chemotherapy has had limited success in prolonging the life of the patient.

One of the most encouraging studies indicated that if a patient was otherwise healthy and the mesothelioma was discovered early, tri-modality therapy, a mix involving surgery to remove tumors, radiation, and chemotherapy-could extend survival up to 14 years.

The average length of time for most studies of this kind, however, was only about 15 months, with less than 30 percent surviving a full two years.

Coping

Emotionally, coping with mesothelioma requires a great deal of support for both the patient and the family.

One of the best things you can do is allow yourself and your loved ones to express the sadness, fear, and anger that you are all undoubtedly feeling. A professional grief counselor is highly recommended for everyone affected.

There are also support groups for many types of  cancer patients, and for families of cancer patients. Take advantage of these.

Prepare a living will, and make sure that your family and your doctor know what your medical treatment decisions are ahead of time, while you are still able to speak for yourself.

And while I’m usually not a big fan of litigation, in this case, if  you believe that a company or an individual was negligent and is liable for knowingly exposing you to asbestos, without your knowledge, and/or without taking proper precautionary measures, I believe that you and your family deserve to be compensated.

A settlement can help you get better medical treatment, pay off debts and medical bills, cover your funeral costs, and help take care of the people you love after you are gone.

My family has been touched by mesothelioma. God bless every one of you affected by this tragedy.

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Hey Readers! I’ve been comin across some crazy stuff the past few days from a few different blogs around the web which I just had to share with you. Check em out below…

Results of Phase II trial of NGR-hTNF in mesothelioma published by the Journal …

Also on the basis of these results, NGR-hTNF has been granted Orphan Drug designation for the treatment of malignant (more…)

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New Mesothelioma Test – Showing Effectiveness For Pleural Mesothelioma Patients

Mesothelioma is an asbestos related cancer caused by exposure to asbestos over a long period of time. Symptoms for mesothelioma may not become apparent for decades after the initial exposure to asbestos. Thus it is usually not detected until the late stages after serious side effects (more…)

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Ok so you might find the next few links interesting. These are from around the web, just random snippets that I’ve picked up in my reading, but I found some very cool information in them. You might too. Here goes…

A Disease Caused by Asbestos Exposure – Asbestosis | Promo Codes

Exposure to asbestos can cause a rare form of cancer called mesothelioma. Asbestos is (more…)

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New Mesothelioma Research – What Are My Survival Chances?

The survival rate for mesothelioma patients about twenty years ago was less than one year from the time of diagnosis, but with early detection and aggressive treatment mesothelioma patients are living longer that predicted. With new developments and ongoing research mesothelioma sufferers are gaining (more…)

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