Mesolthelioma Information You Won\'t Find Elsewhere

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles. However, there may have been exposed to dust asbestos fibers in other ways. This could include home renovation working with asbestos or by the use of asbestos cement products or even by washing clothes of a member of the family who worked with asbestos. The resulting disease is rare form of cancer in which malignant (cancerous) cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective bag covers most of the internal organs of the body.

Mesothelioma is most common in men than in women and risk increases with age, but this disease can occur in men or women at any age. About 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year. Although incidence rates have increased in the last 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer.

There are several procedures used for treatment of mesothelioma. The type Treatment depends on the location of the cancer, the stage of the disease and the patient's age and general health.

A common treatment of the disease is through surgery for the removal of part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura, the lung 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 eliminated.

Another method is radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy. This involves using high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy affects cancer cells only in the treated area. Radiation may come from a machine or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes in the area where cancer cells are found.

Anticancer drugs can be used to kill cancer cells throughout the body. This is known as chemotherapy and involves the administration of drugs by injection into a vein (intravenously or IV). Today, doctors also are studying the effectiveness of putting chemotherapy directly into the chest or abdomen.

Because mesothelioma is very difficult to control, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) is sponsoring clinical trials that are designed to find new treatments and better ways to use current treatments.

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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How Can We Treat Mesothelioma?

National Cancer Institute