Archive for February, 2010

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Recent Innovations in the Treatment II

Friday, February 12th, 2010


Immunotherapy
This type of therapy uses the same power of the human body’s immune system. Currently studying the possibility of using immunotherapy as a treatment of mesothelioma.

Gene Therapy
In studies of gene therapy for cancer, the goal is to improve the body’s natural ability to deal directly mesothelioma, or make cancer cells more sensitive to other types of therapy.

Brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is radiation therapy applied within the body, unlike that from a machine outside the body. The radioactive sources are placed inside or near the tumor, and to give strong doses of radiation exposure to the tumor while reducing exposure of surrounding healthy areas. This precision helps to minimize side effects.

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Recent Innovations in the Treatment

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Alimta
Doctors and researchers are always looking to discover new forms of treatment of mesothelioma. The following innovations in treatment, even if not a cure for mesothelioma, shows promise in the treatment of evil.

Alimta
The Alimta, when administered in conjunction with another drug called cisplatin, is a drug recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic therapy uses special drugs and a specific type of light to kill cancer cells during surgery. Days before surgery, the patient is injected intravenously, a drug that makes cancer cells more sensitive to light. During surgery, a special light is used to locate the cancer. This treatment is used in the early stages of mesothelioma.

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Radiation Therapy

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Radiation Therapy

With radiation therapy, is achieved by damaging or destroying cancer cells through intensive treatment of X-rays. Although not a cure for mesothelioma, radiation may be used at various stages of treatment of malignant mesothelioma. Often, radiation is the main treatment for patients with health problems. Radiation can also be used to eliminate small formations of cancer cells that surgery might overlook. When radiation is used in conjunction with surgery, radiation is known as adjuvant.

External Beam Radiation
The form of radiation therapy is best known external irradiation. A machine similar to X-ray focusing intense beams of light directly to the tumor, but from outside the body, thus ending the cancer cells under the skin.

Internal Radiation (Brachytherapy)
When the radiation source is placed inside the body, radiation therapy is called brachytherapy. In the case of mesothelioma, the active materials are placed directly into the chest or abdomen.

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Chemotherapy: Treatment with drugs

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer using specific chemical agents or drugs that are only destroying malignant cells and tissues. Your doctor may recommend chemotherapy exclusive of a chemical agent or a combination thereof. The exclusive one chemotherapy agent, as its name implies uses only one. Combination chemotherapy using more than one. Although not a cure for mesothelioma, chemotherapy may help reduce and slow the progression of cancer.

Alimta (Pemetrexed)
Alimta The drug can be prescribed for the treatment of patients with mesothelioma. It indicates the use of Alimta with cisplatin (see below) for the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Normally, Alimta is administered through an IV tube. (IV infusion)

Onconase (Ranpirnase)
A new drug called Onconase could help slow the spread of mesothelioma tumors.

Navelbine (Vinorelbine)
Like Alimta, in combination with other chemicals in chemotherapy, Navelbine is used to treat mesothelioma tumors. Clinical trials are still in process and have already begun testing in some patients. Generally, Navelbine administered intravenously.

Carboplatin (Paraplatin)
Carboplatin is a chemotherapy drug that interferes with the growth of cancer cells, slowing their spread in the body. Carboplatin can cause serious side effects. Generally, Carboplatin is administered intravenously.

Cisplatin (Platinol)
Cisplatin is a clear fluid, usually given in combination with other drugs to treat certain types of cancer, including mesothelioma. In the treatment of mesothelioma, cisplatin is administered in combination with Alimta. As is the case with many of the chemotherapy, side effects may occur. Generally, Cisplatin is administered intravenously.

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Mesothelioma Symptoms

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Mesothelioma Symptoms
Pleural

Pleural mesothelioma symptoms may include breathing problems, chest pains, back pains, pain in the ribs, fluid accumulation in the lung lining, hoarseness, coughing up blood, swelling of the face and arms muscle weakness, paralysis and sensory loss.

Peritoneal

Symptoms may include: stomach pain, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, hernia, fluid in the abdominal cavity or a mass in the abdomen.

From Pericardium

Symptoms may include chest pain and breathing problems. The tumor and / or fluids that accumulate between the heart and the sac can compress the heart, causing the above symptoms.

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Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Peritoneal MesotheliomaPeritoneal mesothelioma, also known as cancer of the peritoneum, is a cancer of the lining of the abdominal tissue. Symptoms may include: stomach pain, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, hernia, fluid in the abdominal cavity or a mass in the abdomen.

One of the ways doctors diagnose peritoneal mesothelioma is by looking inside the abdominal cavity with an instrument called peritoneoscope. In this procedure, a cut is made through the abdominal wall and the device is inserted into the abdomen. This test, called peritoneoscopy, takes place usually in the hospital.

Some patients develop excessive fluid in the abdomen. This is called an effusion. The doctor could take a sample of fluid to diagnose if there is peritoneal mesothelioma. The fluid in the abdomen also may be drained to relieve symptoms of mesothelioma of the peritoneum. This fluid drainage procedure known as paracentesis.

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The Difference Between Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer

The easiest way to understand the difference between lung cancer and mesothelioma is that lung cancer is in the lung tissue, while pleural mesothelioma occurs in the layer of tissue lining the outside of the lung.

Smoking is considered the primary cause of lung cancer, and asbestos as the primary cause of mesothelioma. Asbestos can also cause lung cancer. Smoking does not cause mesothelioma. People who have been exposed to asbestos and who also smoke have up to 90 times more likely to be affected with lung cancer than those who do not smoke.

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MESOTHELIOMA AND ASBESTOS/
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