The Maune Raichle Law Firm

Mesothelioma Treatment

Despite the long held belief that mesothelioma is such an aggressive cancer that treatment is all but impossible, there are many new treatments which are not only improving patients’ survival rates, these treatments are also posing less long term detriment to the lungs and other organs. New chemotherapy and radiation regimens used in tandem have helped to reduce the damage often caused by chemotherapy. Better treatment options are now available, the results of lab research and clinical experimentation.

New chemotherapy and radiation therapies have resulted in a 5-year survival rate of 40% in patients diagnosed with early stage mesothelioma in a few clinics. Like most other types of cancer, mesothelioma is being treated best in a few specialized clinics throughout the country. These clinics tend to have staff experienced with mesothelioma who are forward thinking and willing to develop new therapies in hopes of treating the disease more successfully.

Treatment for mesothelioma usually lasts months, with as many as 3 rounds of chemotherapy being used, often preceded by radiation therapy. The goal of treatment is obviously to give the patient a chance at living the amount of time you would expect of someone who never had cancer, but when treatment can remove the cancer and give a patient 5 or more additional years of life, it is considered very successful. Mesothelioma is an extremely aggressive disease, but improved treatment techniques are helping patients live longer.