At one time, a diagnosis of cholera was a death sentence. Today, the use of antibiotics, rehydration, electrolyte replacement and rest, dramatically reduce the potential for death to 1 percent. The same is true for mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma has varying types of cells the cancer affects and different areas of the body it affects. Depending on the type and stage you have, your prognosis varies. Epithelioid is the most commonly reported type of mesothelioma. It accounts for 50 to 70 percent of cases.
Epithelioid mesothelioma has the highest survival rate. This type of cancer affects the tissue that covers the internal organs. The sarcomatoid type invades the bones, muscles, cartilage, fat or several of these tissues. You’ll find this type of cancer in only about 7 to 20 percent of the cases. Mixed or biphasic mesothelioma consists of both epithelioid cancer cells and sarcomatoid cancer cells occurring together in the patient, which happens between 20 to 35 percent of the time.
Pleural, peritoneal or benign
The doctor may call the mesothelioma pleural, peritoneal or benign. These describe the location. Pleural means the disease is in the pleural lining of the lung, peritoneal is in the abdominal cavity near the stomach and intestines. Benign mesothelioma isn’t cancerous but it does cause tumors in the lining of both the stomach and lungs. It’s the body’s way of protecting itself. The removal of the tumors is the only necessary step, plus a close watch on other issues, lung or asbestos related.
Obviously, the sooner you receive a diagnosis, the better the prognosis. Newer treatment for the disease proves more effective. Every day research shows not only ways to treat the disease but also improve the quality of life in the patient. One of the newer drugs for mesothelioma that weren’t available earlier is Alimta (Pemetrexed). Doctors find it works better when combined with Cisplatin, a harsher drug approved for use in 1978. Alimta is the first drug specifically made for pleural mesothelioma chemotherapy.
The clinical trials in 2000 showed the drug rapidly improved the condition of 27 former British construction workers with the disease. Professor Hilary Calvert, the trial leader, noted that not only did most patients show a marked improvement in their condition, half of the patients showed a decrease in the size of the tumors.
Alinta and Cisplatin Combined
The therapy combines the use of Alimta and Cisplatin. The first day, the patient receives an intravenous dose of Alimta, followed by Cisplatin. For the next 20 days, doctors only administer Alimta. On the 22 day, the patient then receives a second treatment with Cisplatin. Cisplatin has severe side effects so using it moderately in conjunction with Alimta can help prevent damage to other parts of the body.
Normally, if the option is available, surgery to remove tumors is the first stage of attack for mesothelioma sufferers. Doctors may combine extrapleural pneumonectomy procedures, the name of the surgical procedure to remove tumors, with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or both.
Occasionally the doctors use surgery to relieve the pain caused by tumors. Draining the fluid accumulations tend to help this more and doctors accomplish this by inserting a needle to drain the fluid. Sometime doctors inject either talc or antibiotics to prevent the fluid from returning.
Radiation Treatment
Another traditional treatment for mesothelioma is radiation treatment. The radiation therapy uses X-rays to kill the cancer cells. Treatment takes place similar to that of traditional diagnostic X-rays but you’re exposed for a longer period. This is external beam radiation treatment.
Some radiation therapy involves the use of a radioactive material placed onto the area of cancer cells, in either the chest or abdomen. This type, brachytherapy, proves more effective in mesothelioma patients. A small bit of the material is placed on the area with the tumor. It affects the tumor without damaging the surrounding area, which occurs in external beam radiation. The implanted seeds may be left in the body or removed after a specified length of time.
Good Nutrition
Good nutrition plays a role in the outcome of the disease as well as the patient’s mental state. Just as in any fight, if the patient gives up, the fight is often lost. Considering mesothelioma as a death sentence is almost like writing the death sentence in indelible marker. No matter what prognosis your doctor gives, it doesn’t mean the verdict is final. Doctors are people, not gods. What you do to help yourself makes a tremendous difference in the outcome of the disease.
Most of the chemotherapy and radiation treatments make the patient nauseas and weak. Before you do anything, you have to build your body back to a healthy state. Cancer cannot exist in a health body that has adequate nutrients. Everyone has cancer cells throughout their life but the body attacks the cells and they die. When cancer gets out of control and creates a problem, it comes from the body’s inability to destroy the cancer cells and the continued proliferation of the cells.
Nutritional aides that can help your body heal and fight the cancer cells can be as simple as increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables or adding spices and herbs to your food. Before you start any dietary action, consult your physician to make certain it doesn’t conflict with the treatment. Your physician may negate nutritional treatment and say it won’t work, but don’t let that discourage you. It definitely won’t hurt to improve your nutrition.
Many of the foods that fight cancer also boost your immune system. Many of the medical treatments for mesothelioma lower your resistance and compromise the immune system so dietary supplementation can help.
Certain foods help fight cancer but not necessarily mesothelioma. For instance, the resveratrol found in purple and red grapes offer a powerful benefit to those with colon cancer. However, the anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins in that give the concord grapes their coloring, protect the DNA and help reduce tumor growth.
Drinking green tea also can be a help to slow the growth of cancer. While tea works best for breast, liver and prostate cancers, it can’t hurt to switch to green tea as a drink of choice.
Research done in the 1950′s also shows that a diet created by Johanna Budwig, a German biochemist, worked in treating cancer patients. The diet used quark, a type of cottage or curd cheese made without rennin, flax oil and ground flax seed. There is some evidence this diet is good for lung, skin and breast cancer.
Cooked tomatoes and the lycopene they contain are also cancer fighters.
While many people are exposed to asbestos, not everyone gets mesothelioma. The reason is that the asbestos mutates the p53 suppressor gene. Once you’re left unprotected, the cancer takes hold. Plants that contain curcuminoids and catechins, such as turmeric for the curcuminoids and green tea for catechins, can help not only protect your p53 gene from mutation but also repair the gene.
Using diet therapy and eating healthy, avoiding processed foods, including sugar and white flour, lowering or eliminating meat and dairy and increasing herbs, fresh fruits and vegetables can only improve your heath.
Positive Mental Attitude
Keeping a positive mental attitude also is another way to fight the cancer. The Simonton Method, a guided imagery technique, has shown to be effective in fighting other forms of cancer. Rather than thinking of the destruction of your body, focusing on making your body healthier and living each day to the fullest is a better way to cope with the disease. No one knows when they’re going to die.
Healthy young people can die in an auto crash, but that doesn’t mean they should worry about it constantly. This takes pleasure away from living the days you have. Mental imagery and relaxation techniques help you focus on living and remove the stress. Stress can cause as much damage as the cancer and certainly impedes recovery.