As a person with mesothelioma, you’re in a difficult situation. You may survive for a long time with this disease, but there are no guarantees. The disease, as it progresses, is painful and suffocating.
There are some options for patients who find out that they have mesothelioma, though. Although it’s not curable, there are ways that science and medicine can help you slow the progression of the disease.
Four treatment options to consider
There are four treatments you might want to consider. These include:
- Chemotherapy
- Surgery
- Radiation
- Multimodal treatment
Chemotherapy, like with any other form of cancer treatment, can be an effective way to treat and slow the spread of mesothelioma. Surgery, similarly, may remove cancer for pain relief and to work toward a cure. In some early-stage patients, surgery may remove all mesothelioma from the body. Radiation is sometimes helpful in reducing mesothelioma cells, too.
Most common are multimodal treatments, which means a combination of treatments listed above. When combined, it’s possible to slow and potentially remove the cancer from the body. If not removed, mesothelioma is fatal to patients.
Keep in mind that all treatments have the potential to cause side effects and unexpected symptoms. It’s not unusual for patients to suffer from serious side effects that may impact their daily lives.
Following the treatment of cancer, medical providers determine if it has been eliminated. If so, then adjuvant therapies are provided to prevent recurrence. If not, palliative therapies are used to improve the patient’s quality of life and to relieve symptoms that may bother them in their every day lives.