How Asbestos Exposure Occurs

People who worked for an extended period of time in an environment where asbestos dust was regularly released are at greatest risk for pleural mesothelioma. The body's natural defense mechanisms successfully clear many asbestos fibers, but when asbestos exposure is heavy, these defense systems are overwhelmed. Mucus within the airways traps asbestos fibers and other toxins that are inhaled. These trapped foreign particles are either swallowed or coughed up.

These fibers travel to the lungs and become imbedded in the lung lining, outside of the lungs and inside the ribs. These long, pointed fibers can reach the pleural lining of the chest wall and lung. Once the fibers have penetrated the pleura they injure the mesothelial cells. When these jagged particles settle in the pleura, they cause inflammation. The inflammation, in turn, can lead to dangerous cancerous tumors. In some cases, those who've inhaled asbestos fibers will first develop the less-severe asbestosis, followed by mesothelioma several years later.

Upon diagnosis, patients usually exhibit multiple tumor masses affecting both the visceral (further from the lung) and parietal surfaces (closer to the lung) of the pleura. The parietal surface is more often affected than the visceral surface, and the right lung, due to its larger size, often suffers more damage than the smaller left lung. In addition, more asbestos tends to settle in the lower lungs than the upper lungs.

These tumors often grow quickly in size and can cover the entire lung cavity, making it very difficult to breathe and causing excruciating pain. Also, in the advanced stages of pleural mesothelioma, the cancer may spread to other nearby organs, including the heart, abdomen, and lymph nodes.

The tissue changes leading to mesothelioma occur slowly. The symptoms of mesothelioma generally do not appear for 20 to 30 years after the initial asbestos exposure. A latency period of up to 50 years has been known.

This is a Pleural Mesothelioma Symptoms !!!

Pleural mesothelioma patients display all three types of mesothelioma cancer cells: epithelioid mesothelioma, sarcomatoid mesothelioma and biphasic mesothelioma.

Once trapped in the body, asbestos fibers cause cancerous cells to divide abnormally, resulting in the thickening of the pleural membrane layers and mesothelial cells, causing build-up of fluid (called pleural effusion). The fluid begins to put pressure on the lungs and the respiratory system in general, preventing normal breathing.

Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are largely caused by these developments and may include the following:

- Persistent dry or raspy cough

- Coughing up blood (hemoptysis)

- Difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia)

- Breathlessness (dyspnea)
Shortness of breath that occurs even when at rest. Along with shortness of breath, patients may suffer from a cough. Rarely, patients may develop hoarsness or cough up blood (hemoptysis).

- Chest pain
Chest pain is often nonspecific, and may sometimes be felt in upper abdomen, shoulder, or arm. Chest pain and breathlessness are the most common, and usually earliest presenting, symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. Persistent pain in the chest or rib area, or painful breathing.

- Pleural effusion
A pleural effusion is the result of too much fluid building up between the parietal and visceral pleura (linings of the chest and lungs, respectively); a pleural effusion may cause chest pain and difficulty breathing (dyspnea), however, many cause no symptoms and are first discovered during the physical examination or seen on a chest x-ray.

- Development of lumps under the skin on the chest

- Night sweats or fever
Less common, but still cited enough to be considerd a symptom of pleural mesothelioma are fever, chills, and night sweats.

- Weight Loss
Unexplained weight loss is cited as a symptom in about a third of pleural mesothelioma cases.

- Fatigue


Pleural Mesothelioma Diagnosis

As with other types of mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose since symptoms do not typically arise for some time after initial asbestos exposure occurs. Additionally, since the symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are typical of many illnesses, in the early stages of the cancer the symptoms are often mistaken for less threatening diseases such as influenza and pneumonia.

X-rays or CT-Scans are often used to diagnose pleural mesothelioma.
A pleural mesothelioma diagnosis is made partly on the basis of symptoms but additional diagnostic tests are needed to confirm the presence of cancer. Following a medical history review and physical examination, patients must typically undergo imaging tests, such as x-rays or CT scans, to confirm the location of cancer. A patient must also usually endure fluid and tissue tests, also known as biopsies, to confirm the type of cancer involved.

Pleural effusions and peritoneal effusions are experienced by two-thirds of patients. Hemothorax - the collection of blood in the pleural cavity - also is a symptom. To get a diagnosis, doctors use imaging technologies as well as histological analysis and molecular biologic analyses. A pleural smear examines a sample of pleural fluid under the microscope to detect for abnormal organisms. The test is performed when infection of the pleural space is suspected or when an abnormal collection of pleural fluid is noticed by chest X-ray. Sometimes the tumor grows through the diaphragm, making the site of origin difficult to assess.



Top left, A: posterior-anterior chest radiograph in a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma demonstrating significant right-sided pleural effusion and diffuse pleural thickening associated with marked volume loss of the right hemithorax. No definite pleural plaques are seen. Top right, B: CT image from a patient with a right-sided pleural mesothelioma, illustrating complete encasement of the ipsilateral lung with a thick rind of tumor, neoplastic invasion of the interlobar fissures, small residual pleural effusion, and marked unilateral volume loss. Center, C: MRI with transaxial, sagittal, and coronal views from a patient with a right-sided pleural mesothelioma. MRI may be most beneficial in the determination of chest wall, mediastinal, and diaphragmatic invasion. Bottom, D: PET scan with 18-FDG in the same patient as in center panel (C) with transaxial, sagittal, and coronal views. 18-FDG PET scanning in mesothelioma can aid in tumor staging, localization of biopsy sites, and distinguishing between pleural fibrosis and active malignant tissue. (resource : chest journal)

malignant pleural mesothelioma treatments

Have you been suffering from constant coughs and chest pains lately? Or are you beginning to have difficulty breathing? Then you should go and see your doctor right away. You might be suffering from the symptoms of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Unfortunately, by the time the symptoms do appear there is little chance that this cancer can be fully cured.

Still, there are 3 ways by which the spread of this cancer can be slowed down. Here is a short explanation of these 3 ways:

* Chemotherapy. This method of treatment is commonly used for most kinds of cancer. While it cannot remove the cancer from your body, it will prevent the cancer from growing and spreading, to a certain degree. This treatment must be done continuously. It is quite painful and expensive, but it is effective in prolonging one’s life.

* Radiotherapy. In this treatment, radiation is used to prevent the spread of cancer cells in one’s chest wall. While this will not cure your cancer, it will prevent other possible health hazards such as the blocking of a blood vessel. This method also goes a long way in relieving the painful symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.

* Surgical Removal. In this method, the certain parts of your body infected by the cancer will be removed in order to prevent it from spreading throughout your body. This is the most effective means of treating the cancer, but it can only be done during early stages of the cancer—before it spreads throughout your body.

You can choose to undergo one or more of these treatments for cancer depending on how much the disease has spread. It is important to keep in mind that none of these treatments have been proven to stop the cancer completely. The disease was just discovered recently, so the cure should arrive sometime soon.

Keep in mind that these treatments are very expensive. And you shouldn’t even be the one paying for the medical bills you will incur. Instead it should be your employer shouldering the bills for you. It is your employer’s responsibility to ensure that the workplace is safe for all his employees.

Unfortunately, most owners of asbestos factories don’t care to keep the workplace safe. If your employer refuses to give you compensation then you should hire a lawyer to help you with your case. He has already caused your death. The least he can do is help you prolong your life. Take steps in treating your malignant pleural mesothelioma now!!!

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Although the insulating properties of asbestos have been known for millennia, the link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma was not recognized until 1960, when it was first described in South African asbestos miners. The incidence of mesothelioma parallels asbestos usage with a latency of 20 to 40+ years; thus, patient numbers are declining in the United States but rising in the developing world. Radiation, genetics, and possibly simian virus 40 are less common causes. Diagnosis can be challenging, since the results of pleural fluid cytology testing are often negative despite repeated sampling.

No staging system adequately predicts prognosis in the unresected patient. Newly described biomarkers, including soluble mesothelin-related peptide, megakaryocyte potentiation factor, and osteopontin, may predict which asbestos-exposed individuals will develop mesothelioma, and may prove useful in assessing response to treatment. Since surgery cannot eradicate all residual microscopic disease, a multimodality approach is encouraged. 

Metaanalysis suggests that pleurectomy/decortication may achieve outcomes similar to those of extrapleural penumonectomy. The standard first-line chemotherapy for unresectable disease is pemetrexed plus cisplatin. This combination improves response, survival, time to progression, pulmonary function, and disease-related symptoms. Carboplatin is often substituted, with similar results. Other active agents include raltitrexed, gemcitabine, and vinorelbine. Novel agents in clinical trials include inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor, vascular endothelial growth factor, mesothelin, and histone deacetylases. Although disappointing results of early trials did not confirm promising preclinical data, recent studies have suggested that some novel agents may be effective. As we learn more about mesothelioma biology, molecularly targeted agents may become treatment options. 

About 2,500 Americans will be given a diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma this year. Though once viewed with a nearly universal nihilism, recent advances have changed this outlook considerably. This review will provide a brief overview of recent progress that has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a multiauthored book that aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the epidemiology, biology, diagnosis, and treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Edited by Drs. Bruce Robinson and Philippe Chahinian (from Perth, Australia, and New York City, respectively), the book brings together an international group of authors, most of whom are acknowledged experts on this disease. The selection of authors highlights the fact that mesothelioma, though an uncommon disease in many countries, is a considerable problem internationally. The strongest focus of the book is on the epidemiology of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Of the 20 chapters, 7 discuss the epidemiology and history of the disease in North America, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and Japan. One of these chapters chronicles how its author, Christopher Wagner, now deceased, and his colleagues established the link between exposure to asbestos and mesothelioma in South Africa circa 1960, despite initial skepticism from physicians elsewhere.

Chapters devoted to the pathology of mesothelioma and to staging and surgery, gene therapy, photodynamic therapy, molecular pathogenesis (including the role of simian virus 40), and immunotherapy are well written, generally accurate, and thorough. A chapter on the medicolegal aspects of mesothelioma is a useful and highly relevant part of the book in the light of the large volume of litigation concerning asbestos that is related to mesothelioma. In contrast, chapters on clinical and palliative care and on imaging are not so well organized and lack detail. More attention could have been given to descriptions of the clinical and radiologic presentation according to disease stage, and the discussion of the comparative merits of computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging could have been enhanced with additional illustrations.

The discussion of palliative care is cursory and would have benefited from an expert discussion of the methods of pain management. Although the role of pleuroscopy is addressed in a chapter by C. Boutin, a leader in this technique, current clinical practice in North America does not parallel this European experience, and some comment in that regard would have been beneficial. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are grouped together in a single chapter written by Chahinian, a medical oncologist. A full chapter on radiation techniques and results written by a radiation oncologist would have been worthwhile. Finally, the organization of the chapters is puzzling. Chapters on epidemiology are placed at both the beginning and the end of the book, and the progression of the chapters in between is not entirely logical. As is true of all textbooks, this book is not absolutely current because of the inherent delay between the writing of the individual chapters and publication.

lthough a decade ago this delay would not have made a difference for a book dealing with mesothelioma, today it does. Advances in biology and clinical care are now occurring at a rapid pace in this disease, and therefore some of the information presented is subtly out of date. Overall, however, this book provides an excellent review for the practicing clinician. There are few textbooks addressing mesothelioma, and this one is a welcome addition to the literature. Valerie W. Rusch, M.D.

Mesothelioma Help

Mesothelioma Overview

Mesothelial cells are a layer of specialized cells that line the body cavities, including the pleura (lining of the lung), peritoneum (lining of the abdominal cavity), and pericardium (lining of the heart). The tissue formed by these cells is called mesothelium.

The mesothelium contains both an outer and an inner layer. The inner layer surrounds the organs themselves, while the outer layer lines the body cavities The mesothelial cells themselves produce and secrete a small amount of lubricating fluid between the two layers that permits the organs to move smoothly against adjacent organs and structures.

Like other cells of the body, mesothelial cells can also grow abnormally, leading to the development of tumors. The tumors of the mesothelial cells can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). A malignant tumor of the mesothelium is called a malignant mesothelioma. Because most mesothelial tumors are cancerous, malignant mesothelioma is often simply referred to as mesothelioma. This article focuses on mesothelioma of the lining of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma).

The main risk factor for developing pleural mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is a mineral that occurs naturally as strong, flexible fibers that can be separated into thin threads and woven. Asbestos has been widely used in many industrial products, including cement, brake linings, roof shingles, flooring products, textiles, and insulation. If tiny asbestos particles float in the air, especially during the manufacturing process, they may be inhaled or swallowed.

Prior to the 1970s, enormous amounts of asbestos were used in commercial construction and shipbuilding. After the health risks of asbestos became known, production of asbestos slowed drastically in the 1970s. Governmental restrictions were placed on its use, and alternative materials became available. Despite these changes, asbestos continues to be used.

Occupations that deal with asbestos and typically associated with the onset of mesothelioma later in life include asbestos production, insulation work, heating trades, shipyard work, and construction.

The period between asbestos exposure and the development of mesothelioma is generally 35-40 years. Usually, people who develop mesothelioma have been exposed to asbestos for a prolonged period of time; however, some people with only brief exposures have also developed mesothelioma. On the other hand, not all workers who are heavily exposed develop mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma can also occur in family members and other people living with asbestos workers. It may be a result of exposure to asbestos dust brought home on the clothing and hair of asbestos workers.

In some people with mesothelioma, no specific asbestos exposure can be found. Frequently, such people have worked in a job where the exposure was not recognized. Nevertheless, mesothelioma without asbestos exposure does occur.

Filing a Mesothelioma Asbestos Lawsuit

There's a lot of money to be made these days by filing a mesothelioma asbestos lawsuit if you have a legitimate claim against an employer. This disease is serious, and even if it's been decades since you worked in a profession where you were exposed to asbestos, the disease could well have been lying dormant for all these years. Your present or ex-employer can be held liable for your health problems no matter how long ago you were exposed. If the employer failed to advise workers about the health hazards they were facing, they can be held accountable on the basis of malice, fraud, and oppression. Employees who have filed a Mesothelioma asbestos lawsuit against a company found negligent are receiving millions of dollars in damages.

Take this case for example. A man who was 82-years-old filed a claim against an employer who he had worked for as a machinist clear back in the 1940s. His lawyer proved that although the company had been well-aware of the dangerous environment it was placing workers in, it hadn't shared the information with their employees. As a result of this Mesothelioma asbestos lawsuit, the jury found that the company had conspired against its employees and committed criminal acts causing the man to become ill at a much later date. He was given a $10 million settlement as compensation in this lawsuit.

As far back as the 1920s companies had information telling them how dangerous it was for their employees to work around asbestos. By the 1940s they were being told to quit using asbestos in their manufacturing processes. They didn't listen, though, because it would have meant lower profits for the company. Instead, they made the decision to ignore the findings and allow their employees to continue working in unsafe conditions. This practice continued until the mid 1970s. As a result, thousands of workers inhaled asbestos fibers which could cause this devastating form of lung cancer. Now the only recourse open to this victims of negligence who find their lives destroyed by the disease is to file a Mesothelioma asbestos lawsuit.

If you are facing the same problems being endured by hundreds of workers who were exposed to asbestos prior to the mid 1970s, then it's time for you to do something about it. If it can be proven that your employer was negligent in advising you of your rights and taking the proper safety measures to protect your health, you are entitled to file a Mesothelioma asbestos lawsuit against them demanding compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, and suffering. In addition, most of these cases are awarded punitive damages that are meant to punish companies for their wrongdoing. These damages also serve as messages to corporate America that our society refuses to tolerate the practice of malice, fraud, and oppression against employees.

The first Mesothelioma asbestos lawsuit was filed in 1966, and since that time hundreds of similar cases have been decided in favor of the victims that resulted in millions of dollars in cash settlements. Unfortunately, the political climate has also been changing since that time, and now many of the country's political leaders, the ones who make the laws, are company executives who are supporting corporate interests instead of the rights of the people. This may not bode well for the future of Mesothelioma cases; however, there is still a lot of history and past practice that will stand your attorney in good stead when you file a Mesothelioma asbestos lawsuit.

How to Survive Lung Cancer

Written by a lung cancer survivor who understands what it takes to beat the odds, this book offers unparalleled hope and direction for anyone facing this illness. It is filled with specific exercises and techniques to promote healing and reverse side effects by taking a pro-active approach in helping to restore your mind, body and spirit to an optimum state of health. Endorsed by a Lung Cancer Specialist and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, this book combines what the doctors tell you with critical information they don't tell you.

Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma Treatments

Lung cancer and Mesothelioma Treatments is a comprehensive reference for lung cancer. Comprising 41 chapters and 480 pages, the book reviews chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and gene therapy and many other topics. Learn how the new gene therapies work, what chemotherapy is designed to do, how lung tumors are categorized and why they metastasize. Each form of therapy and each stage of disease has its own chapter for easy reference. Thus you can review material on radiation treatments, or stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer in a single chapter.

The book Mesothelioma Treatments is designed to help you understand a difficult subject and interact with your doctor to make meaningful choices. It examines traditional therapies as well as new drugs like Tarceva and investigational therapies, and provides numerous references and directions for further research.

Utilizing his experience as a caregiver, the author discusses the stresses and practical realities of dealing with lung cancer. There are chapters on chemotherapy side effects, insurance questions, and the pressures of caregiving. Where are support groups located, what help can you provide when someone is hospitalized, and how do you talk about a serious illness are among the questions the book tries to answer.

Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma Treatments

Diagnostic Tests of mesothelioma cases

Determining the presence of malignant pleural mesothelioma and the type of mesothelioma requires examination of tissues removed from the lung. Sometimes this can be accomplished by looking for cancer cells in the sputum or by the removal of fluid from a pleural effusion (thoracentesis) for evaluation under a microscope. More commonly however, a biopsy which is the removal of a small piece of tissue for examination under a microscope is required. While there was once a concern that needle biopsy could spread the cancer, research indicates that a needle biopsy of the pleura is a safe procedure and it detects malignant mesothelioma approximately 86% of the time.[3] A biopsy can be obtained using one or more of the following procedures.

Bronchoscopy: During a bronchoscopy, a surgeon inserts a bronchoscope (thin, lighted tube) through the nose or mouth into the trachea (windpipe) and bronchi (air passages that lead to the lung). Through this tube, the surgeon can examine the inside of the trachea, bronchi and lung and collect cells or small tissue samples.

Fine Needle Aspiration: During this procedure, a surgeon inserts a needle through the chest into the area suspected of cancer in order to remove a tissue sample for examination under the microscope.

Thoracotomy: A thoracotomy is a major surgery, which involves opening the chest in order to remove a sample of tissue.

Sputum Cytology: Sputum cytology is a procedure used to examine mucus that is coughed up from the lungs or breathing tubes. The mucus is examined under a microscope in order to detect cancer cells.

Thoracentesis: During a thoracentesis, a needle is inserted through the chest wall into the pleural space in order to remove a sample of the fluid that surrounds the lungs in order to check for the presence of cancer cells.
Staging Tests

Once cancer has been diagnosed, a careful evaluation will be made to determine how far the cancer has spread (also called stage). In order to begin evaluating and discussing treatment options with their healthcare team, patients need to know the correct stage of their cancer. The following tests may be performed to accurately stage mesothelioma:

Chest x-ray: A chest radiograph may show pleural effusions or pleural thickening.

Computed tomography (CT): A CT scan may show whether there is fluid, thickening, or irregularities in the pleural. CT may also be helpful for determining whether the cancer has spread beyond the pleura into the chest wall, pericardium (sack around the heart), diaphragm (breathing muscle), or the lymph nodes.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): An MRI scan can be particularly useful to determine how extensive the cancer is and whether it can be removed with surgery. In addition to identifying the extent and whether the cancer can be removed with surgery, a special type of MRI, called contrast-enhanced MRI, is also helpful for differentiating mesothelioma from other types of cancer.4

Positron emission tomography (PET): Unlike techniques that provide anatomical images, such as X-ray, CT and MRI, PET shows chemical and physiological changes related to metabolism. This is important because these functional changes often occur before structural changes in tissues. PET images may therefore show abnormalities long before they would be revealed by X-ray, CT, or MRI. PET can sometimes distinguish between malignant and non-malignant fibrous processes in the pleura.[4]
Staging

Following a tissue diagnosis of mesothelioma, it is important to accurately determine the stage of cancer in order to begin treatment planning.

The stage describes how far the cancer has spread and each stage of cancer may be treated differently. There are many staging systems, but TNM is the most common. “T” refers to the size of the tumor, “N” to the number of lymph nodes involved, and “M” to metastasis. TNM staging measures the extent of the disease by evaluating these three aspects and assigning a stage, which is usually between 0-4. Generally, the lower the stage, the better the treatment prognosis (outcome) is.

A new international staging system for malignant pleural mesothelioma that is TNM-based was created in June 1994 at the Seventh World Conference of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.[5] There are currently six stages of malignant pleural mesothelioma: IA, IB, II, III, IV and Occult. While a higher stage number generally correlates with a worse prognosis, this system is relatively new and outcomes cannot be predicted with certainty. Determining mesothelioma stage requires obtaining a sample of lung and lymph nodes, which is typically performed during thoracentesis, and evaluating them under a microscope. Treatment details specific to disease stage may refer to the following:

Stage I-III Pleural Mesothelioma

Patients with stage I-III disease have cancer that can potentially be removed with surgery.

Stage IA: Patients with stage IA disease have cancer limited to the pleura on one side of the chest with no involvement of lymph nodes and no spread to other sites.

Stage IB: Patients with stage IB disease have cancer that has spread to the parietal pleura, including mediastinal and diaphragmatic pleura on one side of the chest and can have scattered foci of tumor also involving the visceral pleura. There is no involvement of lymph nodes or distant spread.

Stage II: Patients with stage II disease have cancer involving both parietal and visceral pleura and can have involvement of diaphragmatic muscle or extension into the lung. There can be lymph node involvement, but there is no distant spread.

Stage III: Patients with stage III cancer have locally advanced but potentially surgically resectable cancer. They have cancer involving parietal, mediastinal, diaphragmatic, and visceral pleura. They can also have spread to fascia, mediastinal fat, and soft tissue of the chest wall or involvement of the pericardium. These patients can have spread to the bronchopulmonary or hilar lymph nodes or to subcarinal or mediastinal lymph nodes, including the internal mammary nodes. They do not have spread to the opposite side of the chest or distant metastasis.

Stage IV Pleural Mesothelioma

Patients with stage IV disease have cancer that cannot be typically removed with surgery. They have spread of cancer to the mediastinal, internal mammary or supraclavicular lymph nodes on the side of the chest opposite to the original cancer. Distant metastasis can also be present.

Pericardial mesothelioma

Pericardial mesothelioma is a very rare form of mesothelioma. It affects the pericardium, which is a very thin lining of tissue that surrounds the heart.Symptoms tend to be similar to other forms of cancer but the most common are heart palpitations. As with any form of cancer, early detection is important. Surgery can have extremely effective results if found early enough. Unfortunately, pericardial mesothelioma is diagnosed often too late, leading to a low survival rate in patients stricken with the illness. Due to the usually tardive detection, prognosis can have disappointing results, anything from 6 weeks to 15 months.

If left untreated, pericardial mesothelioma can lead to cardiac arrest, due to the the unnatural constriction of the heart - which arises from an expanded pericardium.

If you have been exposed to asbestos in the past, and are still asymptomatic, it would best best to visit a doctor, preferably a cardiologist. They can then check for any irregularities.

Please do take some time and browse some of our articles concerning pericardial mesothelioma as they contain a wealth of information that may not be mentioned on this page. I've also included some on mesothelioma in general.

The Silent Killer

Mesothelioma cases is a form of cancer that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. Its most common site is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and chest cavity), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) or the pericardium (a sac that surrounds the heart).

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or by home renovation using asbestos cement products. Unlike lung cancer, there is no association between mesothelioma and smoking.

Mesothelioma Cancer

Mesothelioma eventually took his life along with his brothers and hundreds of James Hardie workers. Refusing treatments he believed might incapacitate him, Zevon focused his energies on recording his final album including the song "Keep Me in Your Heart," which speaks of his failing breath. Symptoms include: , or an abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen a mass in the abdomen In severe cases of the disease, the following signs and symptoms may be present: blood clots in the veins, which may cause , a disorder causing severe bleeding in many body organs , or yellowing of the eyes and skin pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the arteries of the lungs A mesothelioma does not usually spread to the bone, brain, or adrenal glands. Mesothelioma Cancer - mesothelioma cancer, Mesothelioma CancerComprehensive information site on mesothelioma diagnosis, treatment, coping, asbestos disease and financial assistance., about Mesothelioma Cancer

Furthermore, genetic alterations in asbestos-activated macrophages may result in the release of potent mesothelial cell mitogens such as β (TGF-β) which in turn, may induce the chronic stimulation and proliferation of mesothelial cells after injury by asbestos fibres.Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer. This approach of using surgery followed by radiation with chemotherapy has been pioneered by the thoracic oncology team at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston.Delivering radiation and chemotherapy after a radical surgery has led to extended life expectancy in selected patient populations with some patients surviving more than 5 years. The Bruce Vento Hopebuilder is awarded yearly by his wife at the Symposium to persons or organizations who have done the most to support mesothelioma research and advocacy.After a long period of untreated illness and pain, rock and roll musician and songwriter was diagnosed with inoperable mesothelioma in the fall of 2002. The National Cancer Institute and other agencies publish more extensive information for the public.

To be prepared for the lawsuit involving a malignant mesothelioma case, you should know right away that the trial may last a few months.

Australian Prime Minister-elect mentioned Banton's extended struggle in his acceptance speech after winning the 2007 was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma on December 22, 1979. Most cases of mesothelioma occur 30-45 years after initial exposure to asbestos.

Mesothelioma Cancer, Mesothelioma Asbestos Lung Cancer Mesothelioma Cancer.

Promising research is going on right now that gives hope for better treatments, and hopefully a cure for this aggressive disease in the future.Mesothelioma has been conclusively linked to asbestos exposure. Shortness of breath and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleura are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. Its most common site is the and chest cavity), but it may also occur in the (the lining of the abdominal cavity) or the (a sac that surrounds the Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or by home renovation using asbestos cement products.

Mesothelioma Treatments

Although science is not certain as to the exact mechanism which causes mesothelioma, it is thought that the asbestos fibers puncture the parenchyma, become lodged in the pleura, and by process of irritation create the change in the cells which causes the mesothelioma.

The chance of recovery for a person with mesothelioma depends on several factors, including:

* Size of the cancer
* Location of the cancer
* Spread of the cancer throughout the body
* Response to treatment
* Appearance of the cells under a microscope
* Age of the patient

Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious of all asbestos-related diseases. Virtually all cases of malignant mesothelioma are attributable to asbestos exposure.

If you have mesothelioma or you know someone who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, remember that time matters. The sooner you consult your doctor and get professional care the better your chances will be of dealing with this dangerous asbestos cancer. There are three traditional methods of fighting cancerous mesothelioma:

* Surgery
* Chemotherapy drugs
* Radiation therapy.

Please contact your doctor as soon as possible to get more information.

Xray Pictures of Mesothelioma Cancer

Mesothelioma is a rare and fatal form of cancer that attacks the mesothelium, the protect sac lining the lungs, stomach and/ or heart. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that is directly caused by exposure to asbestos. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an uncommon type of cancer that begins in the mesothelial cells of the pleura. The pleura is a thin membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the chest cavity. The pleura consists of a visceral surface, which covers the lungs and a parietal surface, which lines the walls of the chest cavity and covers the upper surface of the diaphragm and lungs. The two layers are one continuous sheet of tissue that contains mesothelial cells. There is normally a very small amount of watery fluid within the pleural cavity that lubricates the pleural surfaces and allows the lungs to move freely over the inner surface of the chest wall during breathing.

Types of Mesothelioma
There are different types of mesothelioma cancer, including:

1. Pleural Mesothelioma: affects the lining of the lungs (most common type of mesothelioma, accounting for nearly 70 percent of cases)
2. * Peritoneal Mesothelioma: attacks the lining of the stomach
3. * Pericardial Mesothelioama: attacks the lining of the heart (rarest form of mesothelioma cancer, only accounting for about 5 percent of cases)

Mesothelioma Symptoms
The symptoms of mesothelioma can take up to 50 years to develop after initial asbestos exposure. Although each individual case is different, the most common mesothelioma symptoms include:

1. * Shortness of breath
2. * Chronic cough
3. * Fatigue
4. * Loss of appetite
5. * Weight loss

Treatment Of mesothelioma cases

Treatment of malignant mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer in which malignant cells are found in the sac lining the chest or abdomen. Exposure to airborne asbestos particles increases one's risk of developing malignant mesothelioma. The cancer typically develops 20 to 40 years after a person's initial...

using conventional therapies in combination with radiation and or chemotherapy on stage I or II Mesothelioma have proved on average 74.6 percent successful in extending the patient's life span by five years or more [commonly known as remission][this percentage may increase or decrease depending on date of discovery / stage of malignant development] (Oncology Today, 2009). Treatment course is primarily determined by the staging or development. This is unlike traditional treatment such as surgery by itself which has proved only be 16.3 percent likely to extend a patient's life span by five years or more [commonly known as remission]. Clinical behavior of the malignancy is affected by several factors including the continuous mesothelial surface of the pleural cavity which favors local metastasis via exfoliated cells, invasion to underlying tissue and other organs within the pleural cavity, and the extremely long latency period between asbestos exposure and development of the disease.
Surgery

Surgery, by itself, has proved disappointing. However, research indicates varied success when used in combination with radiation and chemotherapy (Duke, 2008) A pleurectomy/decortication is the most common surgery, in which the lining of the chest is removed. Less common is an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), in which the lung, lining of the inside of the chest, the hemi-diaphragm
Thoracic diaphragm
In the anatomy of mammals, the thoracic diaphragm is a sheet of muscle extending across the bottom of the rib cage. The diaphragm separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity and performs an important function in respiration...

and the pericardium
Pericardium
The pericardium is a double-walled sac that contains the heart and the roots of the great vessels.-Layers:There are two layers to the pericardial sac: the fibrous pericardium and the serous pericardium...

are removed.
Radiation


For patients with localized disease, and who can tolerate a radical surgery, radiation is often given post-operatively as a consolidative treatment. The entire hemi-thorax is treated with radiation therapy, often given simultaneously with chemotherapy. This approach of using surgery followed by radiation with chemotherapy has been pioneered by the thoracic oncology team at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. Delivering radiation and chemotherapy after a radical surgery has led to extended life expectancy in selected patient populations with some patients surviving more than 5 years. As part of a curative approach to mesothelioma, radiotherapy is also commonly applied to the sites of chest drain insertion, in order to prevent growth of the tumor along the track in the chest wall.

Although mesothelioma is generally resistant to curative treatment with radiotherapy alone, palliative treatment regimens are sometimes used to relieve symptoms arising from tumor growth, such as obstruction of a major blood vessel. Radiation therapy when given alone with curative intent has never been shown to improve survival from mesothelioma. The necessary radiation dose to treat mesothelioma that has not been surgically removed would be very toxic.
Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the only treatment for mesothelioma that has been proven to improve survival in randomised and controlled trials. The landmark study published in 2003 by Vogelzang and colleagues compared cisplatin
Cisplatin
Cisplatin, cisplatinum, or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug used to treat various types of cancers, including sarcomas, some carcinomas , lymphomas, and germ cell tumors. It was the first member of a class of anti-cancer drugs which now also includes carboplatin...

chemotherapy alone with a combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed
Pemetrexed
Pemetrexed is a chemotherapy drug manufactured and marketed by Eli Lilly and Company. Its indications are the treatment of pleural mesothelioma as well as non-small cell lung cancer.-History:...

(brand name Alimta) chemotherapy) in patients who had not received chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma previously and were not candidates for more aggressive "curative" surgery. This trial was the first to report a survival advantage from chemotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma, showing a statistically significant improvement in median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the number separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest...

survival from 10 months in the patients treated with cisplatin alone to 13.3 months in the combination pemetrexed group in patients who received supplementation with folate and vitamin B12. Vitamin supplementation was given to most patients in the trial and pemetrexed related side effects were significantly less in patients receiving pemetrexed when they also received daily oral folate 500mcg and intramuscular vitamin B12 1000mcg every 9 weeks compared with patients receiving pemetrexed without vitamin supplementation. The objective response rate increased from 20% in the cisplatin group to 46% in the combination pemetrexed group. Some side effects such as nausea and vomiting, stomatitis
Stomatitis
Stomatitis is an inflammation of the mucous lining of any of the structures in the mouth, which may involve the cheeks, gums, tongue, lips, throat, and roof or floor of the mouth...

, and diarrhoea were more common in the combination pemetrexed group but only affected a minority of patients and overall the combination of pemetrexed and cisplatin was well tolerated when patients received vitamin supplementation; both quality of life
Quality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and political science. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of...

and lung function tests improved in the combination pemetrexed group. In February 2004, the United States Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is a Government agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, tobacco products, dietary supplements, Medication drugs, vaccines, Biopharmaceutical, blood transfusion,...

approved pemetrexed for treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. However, there are still unanswered questions about the optimal use of chemotherapy, including when to start treatment, and the optimal number of cycles to give.

Cisplatin in combination with raltitrexed
Raltitrexed
Raltitrexed is an antimetabolite drug used in cancer chemotherapy. It is an inhibitor of thymidylate synthase, and is manufactured by AstraZeneca.-Mechanism of action:...

has shown an improvement in survival similar to that reported for pemetrexed in combination with cisplatin, but raltitrexed is no longer commercially available for this indication. For patients unable to tolerate pemetrexed, cisplatin in combination with gemcitabine or vinorelbine is an alternative, or vinorelbine on its own, although a survival benefit has not been shown for these drugs. For patients in whom cisplatin cannot be used, carboplatin can be substituted but non-randomised data have shown lower response rates and high rates of haematological toxicity for carboplatin-based combinations, albeit with similar survival figures to patients receiving cisplatin.

In January 2009, the United States FDA approved using conventional therapies such as surgery in combination with radiation and or chemotherapy on stage I or II Mesothelioma after research conducted by a nationwide study by Duke University concluded an almost 50 point increase in remission rates.
Immunotherapy

Treatment regimens involving immunotherapy have yielded variable results. For example, intrapleural inoculation of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin is a vaccine against tuberculosis that is prepared from a strain of the attenuated live bovine tuberculosis bacillus, Mycobacterium bovis, that has lost its virulence in humans by being specially cultured in an artificial medium for years...

(BCG) in an attempt to boost the immune response, was found to be of no benefit to the patient (while it may benefit patients with bladder cancer
Bladder cancer
Bladder cancer refers to any of several types of malignant growths of the urinary bladder. It is a disease in which abnormal cells multiply without control in the bladder. The bladder is a hollow, muscular organ that stores urine; it is located in the pelvis...

). Mesothelioma cells proved susceptible to in vitro lysis by LAK cells following activation by interleukin-2 (IL-2), but patients undergoing this particular therapy experienced major side effects. Indeed, this trial was suspended in view of the unacceptably high levels of IL-2 toxicity and the severity of side effects such as fever and cachexia. Nonetheless, other trials involving interferon alpha have proved more encouraging with 20% of patients experiencing a greater than 50% reduction in tumor mass combined with minimal side effects.
Heated Intraoperative Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

A procedure known as heated intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy was developed by Paul Sugarbaker at the Washington Cancer Institute. The surgeon removes as much of the tumor as possible followed by the direct administration of a chemotherapy agent, heated to between 40 and 48°C, in the abdomen. The fluid is perfused for 60 to 120 minutes and then drained.

This technique permits the administration of high concentrations of selected drugs into the abdominal and pelvic surfaces. Heating the chemotherapy treatment increases the penetration of the drugs into tissues. Also, heating itself damages the malignant cells more than the normal cells.
Notable people who died from mesothelioma

Mesothelioma, though rare, has had a number of notable patients. Hamilton Jordan
Hamilton Jordan
William Hamilton McWhorter Jordan was Chief of Staff to President of the United States Jimmy Carter.-Early life:...

, Chief of Staff for President Jimmy Carter and life long cancer activist, died in 2008. Australian anti-racism activist Bob Bellear
Bob Bellear
Bob Bellear was the first Indigenous Australian judge.Bob was born in the far north-east of New South Wales, and grew up near the town of Mullumbimby...

died in 2005. British science fiction writer Michael G. Coney
Michael G. Coney
Michael Greatrex Coney was a British science fiction writer who spent his last years in Canada. Born in Birmingham, England on September 28, 1932, he moved to Victoria, British Columbia in 1972...

, responsible for nearly 100 works also died in 2005. American film and television actor Paul Gleason
Paul Gleason
Paul Xavier Gleason was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Gleason was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Eleanor , a registered nurse, and George L. Gleason, a restaurateur, professional boxer, iron worker, and roofing manufacturer. Gleason was raised in Uleta, however the...

, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Principal Richard Vernon in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen film written and directed by John Hughes. The storyline follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes...

, died in 2006. Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most, born Michael Peter Hayes , was a successful English record producer, with a string of Number One singles with his own RAK Records, and with acts such as The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, and Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group.-Early career:Most was born in Aldershot, Hampshire...

, an English record producer, died of mesothelioma in 2003. Paul Rudolph, an American architect known for his cubist building designs, died in 1997.

Bernie Banton
Bernie Banton
Bernard Douglas Banton AM was an Australian social justice campaigner. He was the widely-recognised face of the legal and political campaign to achieve compensation for the many sufferers of asbestos-related conditions, which they contracted after working for the company James Hardie.Banton...

was an Australian workers' rights activist, who fought a long battle for compensation from James Hardie
James Hardie
James Hardie Industries Ltd. is an industrial building materials company headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange which specialises in fibre cement products. James Hardie manufactures and develops technologies, materials and processes for the production of...

after he contracted mesothelioma after working for that company. He claimed James Hardie knew of the dangers of asbestos before he began work with the substance making insulation for power stations. Mesothelioma eventually took his life along with his brothers and hundreds of James Hardie workers. James Hardie made an undisclosed settlement with Banton only when his mesothelioma had reached its final stages and he was expected to have no more than 48hrs to live. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the centre-left Australian Labor Party . Under Rudd's leadership, the Labor Party won the 2007 federal election on 24 November against the incumbent centre-right Liberal/National coalition government led...

mentioned Banton's extended struggle in his acceptance speech after winning the 2007 Australian federal election.

Steve McQueen was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma on December 22, 1979. He was not offered surgery or chemotherapy because doctors felt the cancer was too advanced. McQueen sought alternative treatments from clinics in Mexico. He died of a heart attack on November 7, 1980, in Juárez, Mexico, following cancer surgery. He may have been exposed to asbestos while serving with the U.S. Marines as a young adult—asbestos was then commonly used to insulate ships' piping—or from its use as an insulating material in car racing suits. (It is also reported that he worked in a shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...

during World War II, where he might have been exposed to asbestos. )

United States Congressman Bruce Vento
Bruce Vento
Bruce Frank Vento , American politician, was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 until his death in 2000, in the 95th, 96th, 97th, 98th, 99th, 100th, 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, and 106th congresses, representing .Vento was born in Saint...

died of mesothelioma in 2000. The Bruce Vento Hopebuilder is awarded yearly by his wife at the MARF
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is a non-profit organization that funds mesothelioma research, provides services to patients, educates the public, and advocates in Washington, DC for governmental funding for mesothelioma research...

Symposium to persons or organizations who have done the most to support mesothelioma research and advocacy.

After a long period of untreated illness and pain, rock and roll musician and songwriter Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon
Zevon redirects here. For his son Jordan, see Jordan ZevonWarren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his strange, sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical...

was diagnosed with inoperable mesothelioma in the fall of 2002. Refusing treatments he believed might incapacitate him, Zevon focused his energies on recording his final album The Wind
The Wind (album)
The Wind is the last studio album by American singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, released in 2003. Zevon began recording the album shortly after he was diagnosed with inoperable mesothelioma, and it was released just two weeks before his death on September 7 2003 .The album was awarded the Grammy...

including the song "Keep Me in Your Heart," which speaks of his failing breath. Zevon died at his home in Los Angeles, California, on September 7, 2003.

Christie Hennessy
Christie Hennessy
Christie Hennessy was an Irish folk singer-songwriter.- Early life :...

, the influential Irish singer-songwriter, died of mesothelioma in 2007, and had stridently refused to accept the prognosis in the weeks before his death. His mesothelioma has been attributed to his younger years spent working on building sites in London
London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...

.

Bob Miner
Bob Miner
Bob Miner co-founded Software Development Labs in August 1977 with Larry Ellison, and Ed Oates. Software Development Labs later became Oracle Corporation.If Larry Ellison was the brain behind Oracle, Bob Miner was its heart...

, one of the founders of Software Development Labs, the forerunner of Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation specializes in developing and marketing enterprise software products — particularly database management systems. Through organic growth and a number of high-profile acquisitions, Oracle enlarged its share of the software market...

died of mesothelioma in 1994.

Scottish Labour MP John William MacDougall died of mesothelioma on August 13, 2008, after fighting the disease for two years.

Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

journalist and news presenter, Peter Leonard
Peter Leonard
Peter Antony Leonard was an Australian journalist and newsreader. He was born in Yass, New South Wales, the son of a Greek immigrant father who died when Peter was 17. He was educated at Yass Primary School then at Canberra Grammar School as a boarder...

also succumbed to the condition on 23 September 2008.

Terrence McCann
Terrence McCann
Terrence John McCann was an American wrestler who won the Gold Medal in the bantamweight division of freestyle wrestling at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, and later helped found the United States Wrestling Federation...

Olympic gold medalist and longtime Executive Director of Toastmasters, died of mesothelioma on June 7, 2006 at his home in Dana Point, California.

A Dreaded Cancer

When the cough, chest pain, and breathlessness become unbearable with a history of asbestos exposure, any doctor should consider the possibility of mesothelioma, a dreaded cancer. It is the cancer affecting the serous lining of lungs, peritoneum, and/or pericardium. It is a very dangerous cancer with a bad prognosis unless diagnosed and treated fast. Moreover, mesothelioma is a cancer that requires excellent treatment facilities with availability of various clinical trials too.The mesothelioma cancer patient certainly is a victim of asbestos exposure in most cases and the culprit is the employer that did not care for their well-being at workplace. The worst part is that the disease does not express itself immediately but takes several years or decades to express. The cough that comes merely as viral cough does not resolve with normal treatment and many times breathlessness gets severe beyond measure. Biopsy of lung tissue gives perfect diagnosis and also the CT scan.

The cancer spreads rapidly too but in different people, the speed of metastasis varies. With this comes the staging of cancer before one proceeds to the treatment regimen. After one knows how much exactly cancer is spread, one can take apt measures to kill the cancer cells by chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or other alternative modes of treatment. One thing is sure though. With little caution, all these hassles can be avoided. Just pay attention to your safety at workplace and avoid many such occupational disorders! And when it comes to a dreaded disease like mesothelioma, prevention is obviously better than cure!

Mesothelioma in the abdomen

Mesothelioma in Your abdominal cavity (the bit below your diaphragm) and bowel are also covered by a lining. Like your chest lining, it has two layers. The inner layer covers the organs in your abdomen (your stomach, etc), and the outer layer lines the wall of your abdomen. A tumour can start within this lining. It causes the lining around the organs in your abdomen to thicken. Lots of fluid can also be produced, which causes swelling of the abdomen.

Mesothelioma in the chest

Your chest lining has two layers. The inner layer lines your lung, and the outer layer lines your chest wall. The space between the two layers contains a small amount of fluid. This lubricates the two surfaces and lets the lung and chest wall move and expand as you breathe. When a tumour grows within the chest lining, it causes it to thicken at first. Then it spreads within the space between the layers. The tumour often produces fluid, sometimes several litres.

Medical Procedures Mesothelioma

The chance of recovery (mesothelioma prognosis) depends on the size of the cancer, where the cancer is, how far the cancer has spread, how the cancer cells look under the microscope, how the cancer responds to mesothelioma treatment, and the patient's age and general health. Standard mesothelioma treatment may be considered because of its effectiveness in patients in past studies, or participation in a clinical trial may be considered.

There are a number of mesothelioma treatment options available to mesothelioma patients. Extrapleural pneumonectomy in selected patient with very early stage disease may improve recurrence-free survival, but its impact on overall survival is unknown. Pleurectomy and Decortication can provide palliative relief from symptomatic effusions, discomfort caused by tumor burden, and pain caused by invasive tumors. The use of radiation therapy in pleural mesothelioma has been shown to alleviate pain in the majority of patients treated. Unfortunately, the duration of symptom control is short-lived. Single agent and combined chemotherapy have reported higher response rates in STAGE II patients, but the toxicity reported is also higher, and there is no evidence that combination treatments result in longer survival or longer control of the mesothelioma symptoms.

Standard Treatments

There are treatments for all patients with malignant mesothelioma.

Three kinds of treatment are used:

chemotheraphy (using drugs to fight the cancer).

surgery (taking out the cancer).

radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells) chemotherapy (using drugs to fight the cancer).

Surgery is a common treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. Depending on how far the cancer has spread, a lung also may be removed in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy) or from putting materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) through thin plastic tubes in the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy). If fluid has collected in the chest or abdomen, the doctor may drain the fluid out of the body by putting a needle into the chest or abdomen and using gentle suction to remove the fluid. If fluid is removed from the chest, this is called thoracentesis. If fluid is removed from the abdomen, this is called paracentesis. The doctor may also put drugs through a tube into the chest to prevent more fluid from accumulating.

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. In mesothelioma, chemotherapy may be put directly into the chest (intrapleural chemotherapy).

Intraoperative photodynamic therapy is a new type of treatment that uses special drugs and light to kill cancer cells during surgery. A drug that makes cancer cells more sensitive to light is injected into a vein several days before surgery. During surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, a special light is used to shine on the pleura. This treatment is being studied for early stages of mesothelioma in the chest.

Side Effects

Cancer treatments all have side effects. It is hard to kill cancer cells at the same time as keeping all healthy cells safe. Side effects of treatment depend on the type of treatment and the person's overall health when treatment starts.

Experimental Treatments

Not all patients are cured with standard therapy, and some standard treatments may have more side effects than are desired. Clinical trials, therefore, are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the most up-to-date information. Clinical trials are ongoing in many parts of the country for many patients with malignant mesothelioma.