Treatment Options
People who are diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma should seek the guidance and medical attention of a cancer specialist. Due to the rarity of this disease, most physicians are not prepared to provide appropriate medical assistance for mesothelioma patients. This is why it is in their best interests to seek the help of experienced cancer centers that are capable of offering treatment for mesothelioma and the help of a personal cancer care team.
While treatment options are available, mesothelioma has a less than promising history of successful treatments. Mesothelioma is a rare but deadly disease. One of the key reasons for this is the fact that because of its rarity, diagnosis of Mesothelioma is exceedingly difficult. Even when symptoms are recognized, it is easy for doctors to misdiagnose mesothelioma as another form of cancer.
By the time that mesothelioma has been diagnosed, the cancer is usually at an advanced stage and survival statistics are low. On the average, the survival rate of mesothelioma patients does not exceed two years after diagnosis. Due to the fact that treatment options for mesothelioma do not have great history of success, people generally seek more than one opinion when discussing treatment options.
However, the cancer’s survivability rate has not deterred medical researchers from continuing their efforts to find new and innovative mesothelioma treatments. Indeed, there are a wide range of clinical trials in progress and researchers are developing new treatments and combinations of treatments all the time. Some of these treatments options include:
- Chemotherapy
- Gene Therapy
- Immunotherapy
- IMRT (Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy)
- Multimodality Therapy
- PDT (Photodynamic Therapy)
- Radiation
- Surgery
- New Treatment Options
As stated above, if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, seek out experienced cancer centers and doctors specializing in cancer, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. They will be able to explain this cancer in greater detail as well as provide information on the newest treatments and clinical trials.