How is mesothelioma treated?
The treatment of malignant mesothelioma, unfortunately, can be quite difficult because, often times, if not most of the time, the diagnosis is made when the disease is in a relatively advanced stage when no significant treatment is available. Sometimes, palliative chemotherapy, which means a type of a chemotherapy given just to slow down the progression of the disease, or a chemotherapy to perhaps add several months to somebody's life can be offered, but more often than not, the treatment choices are really quite limited. On occasions, if the disease is caught early enough, there can be very aggressive surgical procedures where the entire lung as well as the pleura are removed in one block, and then that individual is given additional radiation and chemotherapy, and there are certain specialized centers around the country that perform this type of procedure and this type of care. They've actually had some limited success in treating this condition, but again that's really reserved for a relatively small percentage of people in whom the disease is caught at a treatable stage. For most individuals, treatment at best is going to be some type of chemotherapy to perhaps add some period of time to someone's life. But very often, individuals unfortunately go directly into a hospice care program, where they're basically just given palliation and pain control and support for whatever time they have remaining.
