To mainstream doctors, cancer is a localized disease, to be treated in a localized manner. By cutting out the tumor, irradiating it, or flooding the body with toxic (and often carcinogenic) drugs, the orthodox physician hopes to destroy the tumor and thus save the patient. But all too often, the cancer is still present and has metastasized (spread elsewhere). The allopathic, conventional approach, for all its high-tech trappings, is based on a primitive medical philosophy: aggressively attacking an "enemy" disease. Often, the patient is devastated in the process, while the cancer and its underlying causes remain.In contrast, the alternative healer regards cancer as a systemic disease, one that involves the whole body. In this view, the tumor is merely a symptom and the therapy aims to correct the root causes. Instead of aggressively attacking the tumor, many alternative therapies focus on rebuilding the body's natural immunity and strengthening its inherent ability to destroy cancer cells. A number of alternative therapies also include natural measures to directly attack and destroy the tumor, whether by herbs, enzymes, or other means.
The three "proven" methods of treating cancer—chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery—may actually shorten life in many instances. Each of these treatments is invasive, has devastating side effects, and treats only symptoms. Each can cause the spread or recurrence of cancer. While these immunity-damaging approaches may at times be necessary, their successes have mostly been limited to relatively rare forms of cancer or the early stages of the disease. For most adult cancers, the orthodox therapies are virtually noncurative, though they may buy some time. For many patients, the standard therapies shorten the life span: "Most cancer patients in this country die of chemotherapy," observes Dr. Alan Levin of the University of California Medical School. "Chemotherapy does not eliminate breast, colon, or lung cancers. The fact has been documented for over a decade.... Women with breast cancer are likely to die faster with chemotherapy than without it."Most cancers are treated with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or biological therapy. Treatment for cancer depends on the type of cancer; the size, location, and stage of the tumor; the person's general health; and other factors. The doctor develops a treatment plan to fit each person's situation. A team of specialists, which may include a surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, and others, often treat people with cancer.The doctors may decide to use one treatment method or a combination of methods. These are the standard treatments that are being used on cancer patients. But since the treatment of cancer is usually a traumatic and painstaking process, the patient needs other therapies alongside the conventional ones. Cancer needs to be treated and cured not only in body but also in spirit.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Religious support
All ‘believers’ and ‘non-believers’ accept that there is a transcendental component to life that can offer comfort, support and an explanation for the ‘human condition’. Atheists might gain this through fine art, music, literature, poetry and theatre. ‘Believers’, in addition to their access to the arts, may achieve the transcendental via membership of a faith community or by seeking their spiritual salvation through any number of ‘new-age’ belief systems.
However spiritual comfort is achieved, focusing on the transcendental enhances a sense of personal control, builds self-esteem, offers a meaning to both life and death, provides comfort and hope, and if ‘believers’ are members of an organised faith community they will have access to community support too. Of course, belief in God and belief in modern medicine are not mutually exclusive. However, there can be a downside to all this, if religiosity is confused with magic or subverted to be in conflict with a doctor’s duty of care.
Even the word ‘healing’ is open to semantic abuse, where it can be used in a loose way to imply ‘healing of the spirit’ rather than the common usage where ‘to heal’ is meant ‘to cure’. Some charlatans appear content to allow this misconception to stand uncorrected, yet deny ever claiming that their interventions contributed to a cure. Others, who truly believe in their healing powers as a cure, often invoke a view of a lost ‘Golden Age’ when nature offered a cure for all human ailments. In this respect, medical practitioners must take a robust position. There never was such a Golden Age – nature is neutral and ‘left to nature’ would mean observing the natural history of cancer. At the same time, Golden Age beliefs imply a denial of progress. Most sinister of all are the faith systems that look upon disease as ‘God’s will’ and cancer as some kind of punishment, in which case ‘healing’ can only follow prayer. This is an evil doctrine equivalent to those who claimed that the victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia reflected God’s anger at mankind’s corruption.
However spiritual comfort is achieved, focusing on the transcendental enhances a sense of personal control, builds self-esteem, offers a meaning to both life and death, provides comfort and hope, and if ‘believers’ are members of an organised faith community they will have access to community support too. Of course, belief in God and belief in modern medicine are not mutually exclusive. However, there can be a downside to all this, if religiosity is confused with magic or subverted to be in conflict with a doctor’s duty of care.
Even the word ‘healing’ is open to semantic abuse, where it can be used in a loose way to imply ‘healing of the spirit’ rather than the common usage where ‘to heal’ is meant ‘to cure’. Some charlatans appear content to allow this misconception to stand uncorrected, yet deny ever claiming that their interventions contributed to a cure. Others, who truly believe in their healing powers as a cure, often invoke a view of a lost ‘Golden Age’ when nature offered a cure for all human ailments. In this respect, medical practitioners must take a robust position. There never was such a Golden Age – nature is neutral and ‘left to nature’ would mean observing the natural history of cancer. At the same time, Golden Age beliefs imply a denial of progress. Most sinister of all are the faith systems that look upon disease as ‘God’s will’ and cancer as some kind of punishment, in which case ‘healing’ can only follow prayer. This is an evil doctrine equivalent to those who claimed that the victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia reflected God’s anger at mankind’s corruption.
Monday, March 23, 2009
CAM
The first question you have to ask about ‘alternative’ is: alternative to what? Proponents of alternative medicine will describe the practice of doctors in the National Health Service, both in primary and tertiary care, as ‘orthodox’, ‘mainstream’, ‘Western’, ‘reductionist’, and so on. In return, the practitioners of conventional medicine view ‘alternative/unconventional’ medicine as a series of comprehensive health belief systems, superficially with little in common, yet sharing beliefs in metaphysical concepts of balance and similarities which date back to Galenic doctrine from the second century CE, or oriental mysticism 2,000 years older.
So in this parallel universe of alternative medicine, treatments are based on metaphysical concepts, rather than orthodox physiology and biochemistry. Yet it has to be accepted that each view of the other is to some extent pejorative, and if we are to establish a dialogue between the champions on either side of this conceptual divide we must show mutual trust and mutual respect. Perhaps for the time being we might blur these distinctions by using the word ‘unproven’, which can apply equally well to therapeutic interventions on each side. Of course, the issue of the definition of ‘proof’ then raises problems that I will address in a moment.
Next we must consider the definition of ‘complementary’. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as ‘that which completes or makes perfect, or that which when added completes a whole’. In other words, while modern medical science struggles to cure patients, complementary medicine helps patients to feel better, and who knows, by feeling better the act of healing itself may be complemented. Some complementary approaches may be placebos, and the touch of the ‘healer’ or the hand of the massage therapist could be guided by strange belief systems that are alien to modern science. Yet providing that the intention is to support the clinician in his endeavours rather than compete in the relativistic marketplace of ideas, one might set aside these concerns.
Finally ‘holism’, a slippery word whose ownership is competed for by both sides of the therapeutic divide. The word holism was coined by General Jan Smuts in 1926. He used it to describe the tendency in nature to produce wholes from the ordered grouping of units (holons). Chambers’ Twentieth-Century Dictionary describes holism in a precise and economic way: ‘Complete and self-contained systems from the atom and the cell by evolution to the most complex forms of life and mind.’ It can be perceived, then, that the concept of holism is complex and exquisite, and as an open system lends itself to study and experimentation. As such it should be a concept that unites us rather than a continuing source of dispute.
To do justice to General Jan Smuts’ definition of the word holism, we have to start at the molecular level, and then from these basic building blocks attempt to reconstruct the complex organism that is the human subject living in harmony within the complex structure of a modern democratic nation state.
The basic building block of life has to be a sequence of DNA that codes for a specific protein. These DNA sequences or genes are organised within chromosomes forming the human genome. The chromosomes are packed within the nucleus with a degree of miniaturisation, which is awe-inspiring. The nucleus is a holon looking inwards at the genome and outwards at the cytoplasm of the cell. The cell is a holon that looks inwards at the proteins, which guarantee its structure and function contained within its plasma membrane, and at the energy transduction pathways contained within the mitochondria, which produce the fuel for life. As a holon, the cell looks outwards at neighbouring cells of a self-similar type which may group together as glandular elements, but the cellular holon also enjoys cross talk with cells of a different developmental origin.
These glandular elements group together as a functioning organ which is holistic in looking inwards at the exquisite functional integrity of itself, and outwards to act in concert with the other organs of the body. This concert is orchestrated at the next level in the holistic hierarchy through the neuro-endocrine and immunological control mediated via the hypothalamic pituitary axis, the thyroid gland, the adrenal gland, the endocrine glands of sexual identity, and the lympho-reticular system that can distinguish self from non-self. Even this notion of selfness is primitive compared with the next level up the hierarchy, where the person exists in a conscious state somewhere within the cerebral cortex, with the mind, the great-unexplored frontier, which will be the scientific challenge for doctors in this new millennium.
It could even be argued that complementary medicine is practised at the highest level in the hierarchy that governs the human organism. Providing the ‘complementary’ practitioner concentrates on making the patient feel better and spiritually at ease, then his or her position is secure in the modern world. We would also urge proponents of alternative and complementary medicine to appreciate that the holistic system is an open system that lends itself to the experimental method. There is much research that is urgently required to investigate the psychosomatic aspects of disease, and the spiritual dimension to healing.
So in this parallel universe of alternative medicine, treatments are based on metaphysical concepts, rather than orthodox physiology and biochemistry. Yet it has to be accepted that each view of the other is to some extent pejorative, and if we are to establish a dialogue between the champions on either side of this conceptual divide we must show mutual trust and mutual respect. Perhaps for the time being we might blur these distinctions by using the word ‘unproven’, which can apply equally well to therapeutic interventions on each side. Of course, the issue of the definition of ‘proof’ then raises problems that I will address in a moment.
Next we must consider the definition of ‘complementary’. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as ‘that which completes or makes perfect, or that which when added completes a whole’. In other words, while modern medical science struggles to cure patients, complementary medicine helps patients to feel better, and who knows, by feeling better the act of healing itself may be complemented. Some complementary approaches may be placebos, and the touch of the ‘healer’ or the hand of the massage therapist could be guided by strange belief systems that are alien to modern science. Yet providing that the intention is to support the clinician in his endeavours rather than compete in the relativistic marketplace of ideas, one might set aside these concerns.
Finally ‘holism’, a slippery word whose ownership is competed for by both sides of the therapeutic divide. The word holism was coined by General Jan Smuts in 1926. He used it to describe the tendency in nature to produce wholes from the ordered grouping of units (holons). Chambers’ Twentieth-Century Dictionary describes holism in a precise and economic way: ‘Complete and self-contained systems from the atom and the cell by evolution to the most complex forms of life and mind.’ It can be perceived, then, that the concept of holism is complex and exquisite, and as an open system lends itself to study and experimentation. As such it should be a concept that unites us rather than a continuing source of dispute.
To do justice to General Jan Smuts’ definition of the word holism, we have to start at the molecular level, and then from these basic building blocks attempt to reconstruct the complex organism that is the human subject living in harmony within the complex structure of a modern democratic nation state.
The basic building block of life has to be a sequence of DNA that codes for a specific protein. These DNA sequences or genes are organised within chromosomes forming the human genome. The chromosomes are packed within the nucleus with a degree of miniaturisation, which is awe-inspiring. The nucleus is a holon looking inwards at the genome and outwards at the cytoplasm of the cell. The cell is a holon that looks inwards at the proteins, which guarantee its structure and function contained within its plasma membrane, and at the energy transduction pathways contained within the mitochondria, which produce the fuel for life. As a holon, the cell looks outwards at neighbouring cells of a self-similar type which may group together as glandular elements, but the cellular holon also enjoys cross talk with cells of a different developmental origin.
These glandular elements group together as a functioning organ which is holistic in looking inwards at the exquisite functional integrity of itself, and outwards to act in concert with the other organs of the body. This concert is orchestrated at the next level in the holistic hierarchy through the neuro-endocrine and immunological control mediated via the hypothalamic pituitary axis, the thyroid gland, the adrenal gland, the endocrine glands of sexual identity, and the lympho-reticular system that can distinguish self from non-self. Even this notion of selfness is primitive compared with the next level up the hierarchy, where the person exists in a conscious state somewhere within the cerebral cortex, with the mind, the great-unexplored frontier, which will be the scientific challenge for doctors in this new millennium.
It could even be argued that complementary medicine is practised at the highest level in the hierarchy that governs the human organism. Providing the ‘complementary’ practitioner concentrates on making the patient feel better and spiritually at ease, then his or her position is secure in the modern world. We would also urge proponents of alternative and complementary medicine to appreciate that the holistic system is an open system that lends itself to the experimental method. There is much research that is urgently required to investigate the psychosomatic aspects of disease, and the spiritual dimension to healing.
History of Cancer Treatments
The need of cancer victims is to be cured, or at least to have their lives prolonged.
From the years 200 to 1800 CE, following the teachings of Aristotle and Galen, cancer was believed to be a consequence of the coagulation of ‘black bile’ (melancholia) in the target organ. Black bile was one of the four metaphysical humours (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood) that needed to be in balance for perfect health. The therapeutic responses to this belief were purgation (enemas), leaching, cupping, bloodletting and extreme diets. There was never any evidence that the treatments worked, but undoubtedly the patient’s suffering was increased. Such ‘ancient wisdom’ is best confined to the rubbish bin of history. In the past 200 years, we have learnt much about the exquisite mechanisms of the body at molecular, cellular, whole-organ and whole-person levels. These realities are more beautiful, awesome and mysterious than ever dreamt of in Galen’s philosophy.
In the late nineteenth century, with the development of anaesthesia and antisepsis, surgery began to replace irrational nostrums. Not long after this, radiotherapy was introduced, which increased the chances of local control of cancer. These early successes in functional and symptomatic relief led to a period of complacency in the medical profession, which only began to be shaken with the development of effective (albeit toxic) medical regimens for treating cancer about 30 years ago.
At the same time, the randomised controlled trial (RCT) was introduced to evaluate, critically, combinations of these three modalities, measuring both efficacy (improvement in survival) and tolerability (side effects and quality of life). Using this approach, we have made slow incremental improvements and can now negotiate with our patients ‘trade offs’ between increasing length of life and the toxicity/side effects of the treatments with a degree of precision and individualisation that increases with each trial completed.
We have still a long way to go and once again there is no room for complacency. The challenge for the oncologists of today is to get the correct balance between the curiosity (scientific interest in helping patients of the future) and the compassion (helping patients of the present) in order to reach the optimal-efficiency level of care both in routine clinical practice and for the patient treated in the context of clinical research. Against this background, let us consider the meaning of needs for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
From the years 200 to 1800 CE, following the teachings of Aristotle and Galen, cancer was believed to be a consequence of the coagulation of ‘black bile’ (melancholia) in the target organ. Black bile was one of the four metaphysical humours (black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood) that needed to be in balance for perfect health. The therapeutic responses to this belief were purgation (enemas), leaching, cupping, bloodletting and extreme diets. There was never any evidence that the treatments worked, but undoubtedly the patient’s suffering was increased. Such ‘ancient wisdom’ is best confined to the rubbish bin of history. In the past 200 years, we have learnt much about the exquisite mechanisms of the body at molecular, cellular, whole-organ and whole-person levels. These realities are more beautiful, awesome and mysterious than ever dreamt of in Galen’s philosophy.
In the late nineteenth century, with the development of anaesthesia and antisepsis, surgery began to replace irrational nostrums. Not long after this, radiotherapy was introduced, which increased the chances of local control of cancer. These early successes in functional and symptomatic relief led to a period of complacency in the medical profession, which only began to be shaken with the development of effective (albeit toxic) medical regimens for treating cancer about 30 years ago.
At the same time, the randomised controlled trial (RCT) was introduced to evaluate, critically, combinations of these three modalities, measuring both efficacy (improvement in survival) and tolerability (side effects and quality of life). Using this approach, we have made slow incremental improvements and can now negotiate with our patients ‘trade offs’ between increasing length of life and the toxicity/side effects of the treatments with a degree of precision and individualisation that increases with each trial completed.
We have still a long way to go and once again there is no room for complacency. The challenge for the oncologists of today is to get the correct balance between the curiosity (scientific interest in helping patients of the future) and the compassion (helping patients of the present) in order to reach the optimal-efficiency level of care both in routine clinical practice and for the patient treated in the context of clinical research. Against this background, let us consider the meaning of needs for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
Cancer Patients
Patients diagnosed with cancer have many needs. The news comes as a shock, and maybe for the first time the individual must face his or her mortality. So before health service providers even think about the role of medicine, they must consider patients’ needs for moral and spiritual support. At times like this, a close supportive family and membership of a faith community are invaluable. Sadly, there are many cancer sufferers who lack family support and have no spiritual mentor. So perhaps one explanation for the growth in the interest in complementary and alternative medicine even among cancer patients is the unmet need of the patient when conventional medical practice fails to fill this aching void.
The next need for cancer subjects is to be free of whatever symptoms plague their life as a result of the disease. Of course, in the early stages the patients may be symptom-free, but in the later stages suffering is common from pain, nausea and weakness. The science of pain control is well established and palliative care for those close to the end is a well-developed specialty thanks to the British hospice movement. In addition, there may well be a role for interventions such as therapeutic massage, acupuncture and counselling to help the patient feel better.
Relatively new is the discipline of ‘psycho-social oncology’, which aims to identify and manage the more subtle subjective symptoms of cancer, such as anxiety and depression. This field of activity emerged about 20 years ago with the development of psychometric instruments, and it addresses the psychological, social, spiritual and behavioural dimensions thrown up by the diagnosis of cancer from both perspectives: those of the patient and those of his or her friends and family members. Furthermore, there exists a mind-body nexus that, in theory, could be modulated to influence the natural course of the disease so that if the patient ‘feels better’ it might indirectly help them ‘get better’.
The next need for cancer subjects is to be free of whatever symptoms plague their life as a result of the disease. Of course, in the early stages the patients may be symptom-free, but in the later stages suffering is common from pain, nausea and weakness. The science of pain control is well established and palliative care for those close to the end is a well-developed specialty thanks to the British hospice movement. In addition, there may well be a role for interventions such as therapeutic massage, acupuncture and counselling to help the patient feel better.
Relatively new is the discipline of ‘psycho-social oncology’, which aims to identify and manage the more subtle subjective symptoms of cancer, such as anxiety and depression. This field of activity emerged about 20 years ago with the development of psychometric instruments, and it addresses the psychological, social, spiritual and behavioural dimensions thrown up by the diagnosis of cancer from both perspectives: those of the patient and those of his or her friends and family members. Furthermore, there exists a mind-body nexus that, in theory, could be modulated to influence the natural course of the disease so that if the patient ‘feels better’ it might indirectly help them ‘get better’.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Freeze Therapy : New Hope for Mesothelioma Patients
A woman diagnosed with mesothelioma regained hope after learning about a revolutionary treatment option available in the United States that a hospital in Los Angeles, Calif. is beginning to offer mesothelioma patients.
Jan Egerton, a 48-year-old woman diagnosed with mesothelioma eight years ago, from County Durham, England, was told that there was little doctors could do for tumors she had since they were larger than two centimeters.
After researching mesothelioma treatments and options available to help fight the tumors, Egerton learned of a ground-breaking procedure involving the freezing and reheating of a tumor until it dies to treat mesothelioma, a rare, aggressive asbestos-related cancer.
Three weeks after contacting UCLA Medical Center, Egerton and her husband hopped on a plane heading for California, for two sessions of cryoablation, a minimally invasive treatment, costing more than $7,000 per session.
Cryoablation uses cold energy to kill tissue and is commonly used to treat patients with prostate, liver or cervical cancer. Though further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the procedure, cryoablation is being used to treat deep tumors in the body such as those found in the lungs, kidneys, bones and breasts.
“The treatment has made day-to-day life easier. It has stopped me from getting so many back aches. And if we manage to clear all tumors, it will take at least five years for it to grow back, giving me at least five years to live,” Egerton stated.
Egerton’s experience with cryoablation was filmed and she was able to watch the footage after the procedure was complete.
“You see the cancer turn black and die in front of you. It’s great,” Egerton explained.
Upon Egerton’s return to England, she underwent surgery to remove the lining of her lung and, five weeks later, is optimistic about her future.
Egerton believes she developed mesothelioma after becoming exposed to asbestos secondhand through her father who worked with the toxic mineral. She is eager to inform others about cryoablation, stating she would donate monetary gains incurred as a result of her illness to help fund trips for mesothelioma patients to the United States for treatment
Jan Egerton, a 48-year-old woman diagnosed with mesothelioma eight years ago, from County Durham, England, was told that there was little doctors could do for tumors she had since they were larger than two centimeters.
After researching mesothelioma treatments and options available to help fight the tumors, Egerton learned of a ground-breaking procedure involving the freezing and reheating of a tumor until it dies to treat mesothelioma, a rare, aggressive asbestos-related cancer.
Three weeks after contacting UCLA Medical Center, Egerton and her husband hopped on a plane heading for California, for two sessions of cryoablation, a minimally invasive treatment, costing more than $7,000 per session.
Cryoablation uses cold energy to kill tissue and is commonly used to treat patients with prostate, liver or cervical cancer. Though further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the procedure, cryoablation is being used to treat deep tumors in the body such as those found in the lungs, kidneys, bones and breasts.
“The treatment has made day-to-day life easier. It has stopped me from getting so many back aches. And if we manage to clear all tumors, it will take at least five years for it to grow back, giving me at least five years to live,” Egerton stated.
Egerton’s experience with cryoablation was filmed and she was able to watch the footage after the procedure was complete.
“You see the cancer turn black and die in front of you. It’s great,” Egerton explained.
Upon Egerton’s return to England, she underwent surgery to remove the lining of her lung and, five weeks later, is optimistic about her future.
Egerton believes she developed mesothelioma after becoming exposed to asbestos secondhand through her father who worked with the toxic mineral. She is eager to inform others about cryoablation, stating she would donate monetary gains incurred as a result of her illness to help fund trips for mesothelioma patients to the United States for treatment
Mesothelioma Cure
Mesothelioma is regarded as a highly aggressive cancer, as this disease is exceptionally resistant to current treatment methods. Though a number of treatments are available to mesothelioma patients, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, these options are known to only offer palliative relief - not a cure.
5-Year Survival Rates for Mesothelioma.A number of scientific studies and clinical trials have worked tirelessly to find a cure for mesothelioma to no avail. Those versed in the politics of cancer research posit that since mesothelioma is such a rare cancer, little financial funding has been allotted to support the search for a cure. Hence, the hope for a mesothelioma cure is undeniably reliant upon increased funding to support research efforts.
Thankfully, the general public is becoming increasingly aware of mesothelioma. As more people and specific interest groups recognize the critical need to support research for a mesothelioma cure, funding will undoubtedly increase and this cancer may start to receive financial support that contends with the nation's most recognized forms of cancer. Once adequate funding for research becomes available, the hope for a cure will become a more tangible reality to mesothelioma sufferers across the globe.
5-Year Survival Rates for Mesothelioma.A number of scientific studies and clinical trials have worked tirelessly to find a cure for mesothelioma to no avail. Those versed in the politics of cancer research posit that since mesothelioma is such a rare cancer, little financial funding has been allotted to support the search for a cure. Hence, the hope for a mesothelioma cure is undeniably reliant upon increased funding to support research efforts.
Thankfully, the general public is becoming increasingly aware of mesothelioma. As more people and specific interest groups recognize the critical need to support research for a mesothelioma cure, funding will undoubtedly increase and this cancer may start to receive financial support that contends with the nation's most recognized forms of cancer. Once adequate funding for research becomes available, the hope for a cure will become a more tangible reality to mesothelioma sufferers across the globe.
Surgery
Surgical treatments for mesothelioma include three main types - diagnostic surgery, curative surgery, and palliative surgery. Some types of surgery fall into more than one category.
Surgery can only be performed during mesothelioma stages I and II.For example, thoracentesis may be used as a diagnostic procedure, and as a palliative treatment to provide symptomatic relief. Only curative surgery can potentially remove all cancer from a patient with mesothelioma.
However, for curative surgery to be effective, it is particularly important that mesothelioma be diagnosed as early as possible. Unfortunately, mesothelioma is not usually diagnosed until it reaches Stage III or IV, when surgery is not an option.
Surgical treatments for mesothelioma include three main types - diagnostic surgery, curative surgery, and palliative surgery. Some types of surgery fall into more than one category.
Surgery can only be performed during mesothelioma stages I and II.For example, thoracentesis may be used as a diagnostic procedure, and as a palliative treatment to provide symptomatic relief. Only curative surgery can potentially remove all cancer from a patient with mesothelioma.
However, for curative surgery to be effective, it is particularly important that mesothelioma be diagnosed as early as possible. Unfortunately, mesothelioma is not usually diagnosed until it reaches Stage III or IV, when surgery is not an option.
Chemotherapy
Most forms of chemotherapy involve the intravenous administration of drugs such as Alimta and Cisplatin. Chemotherapeutic drugs are targeted to kill cells that are rapidly dividing by interfering with processes that occur during cell division.
Chemotherapy is an effective treatment option but comes with unpleasant side effects.However, while cancer cells themselves divide rapidly, so do some types of healthy cells, causing some of the unpleasant side effects that are often associated with this form of treatment. Though older chemotherapy medications seemed to do little to fight mesothelioma, newer chemotherapy drugs are showing much promise.
A relatively new form of chemotherapy called heated chemotherapy is an option for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma.
This treatment is carried out following surgery, and involves the perfusion of heated chemotherapeutic medications into the peritoneum.
Most forms of chemotherapy involve the intravenous administration of drugs such as Alimta and Cisplatin. Chemotherapeutic drugs are targeted to kill cells that are rapidly dividing by interfering with processes that occur during cell division.
Chemotherapy is an effective treatment option but comes with unpleasant side effects.However, while cancer cells themselves divide rapidly, so do some types of healthy cells, causing some of the unpleasant side effects that are often associated with this form of treatment. Though older chemotherapy medications seemed to do little to fight mesothelioma, newer chemotherapy drugs are showing much promise.
A relatively new form of chemotherapy called heated chemotherapy is an option for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma.
This treatment is carried out following surgery, and involves the perfusion of heated chemotherapeutic medications into the peritoneum.
Radiation
Radiation therapy, or "ionizing radiation", is used to kill cancer cells and to limit the spread of cancer. For patients with mesothelioma, radiation therapy is most often used in conjunction with surgery.
Radiation is often used in conjunction with surgery.However, in some cases radiation may be used as a stand-alone treatment to relieve pain and other symptoms associated with mesothelioma. In either case, it is rare for radiation therapy to provide more than short-term symptomatic relief.
Mesothelioma patients may receive one of two types of radiation therapies, depending on whether or not they are suitable candidates for either procedure.
External beam radiation therapy is the traditional type of radiation therapy, where tumors are bombarded with beams of radiation to kill cancer cells. Brachytherapy is a newer type of radiation treatment. It involves tiny radioactive rods which are implanted within a tumor to provide a strong, concentrated dose of radiation to tumors while doing very little damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Radiation therapy, or "ionizing radiation", is used to kill cancer cells and to limit the spread of cancer. For patients with mesothelioma, radiation therapy is most often used in conjunction with surgery.
Radiation is often used in conjunction with surgery.However, in some cases radiation may be used as a stand-alone treatment to relieve pain and other symptoms associated with mesothelioma. In either case, it is rare for radiation therapy to provide more than short-term symptomatic relief.
Mesothelioma patients may receive one of two types of radiation therapies, depending on whether or not they are suitable candidates for either procedure.
External beam radiation therapy is the traditional type of radiation therapy, where tumors are bombarded with beams of radiation to kill cancer cells. Brachytherapy is a newer type of radiation treatment. It involves tiny radioactive rods which are implanted within a tumor to provide a strong, concentrated dose of radiation to tumors while doing very little damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic therapy is a highly specialized and specific form of treatment that is most often used to treat skin cancers, some types of lung cancer, and pleural mesothelioma.
Photodynamic therapy uses light energy to kill cancer cells.However, this treatment is usually unsuitable for patients with metastasized cancer; it is most effective in patients who have localized disease.
This type of therapy involves the use of light energy to kill cancer cells. In photodynamic therapy treatment, the patient is given an intravenous solution of a medication that makes cancer cells highly sensitive to a particular kind of light.
One to three days after this treatment, the patient is exposed to the light, and cancer cells that have absorbed the medication are killed.
Photodynamic therapy is a highly specialized and specific form of treatment that is most often used to treat skin cancers, some types of lung cancer, and pleural mesothelioma.
Photodynamic therapy uses light energy to kill cancer cells.However, this treatment is usually unsuitable for patients with metastasized cancer; it is most effective in patients who have localized disease.
This type of therapy involves the use of light energy to kill cancer cells. In photodynamic therapy treatment, the patient is given an intravenous solution of a medication that makes cancer cells highly sensitive to a particular kind of light.
One to three days after this treatment, the patient is exposed to the light, and cancer cells that have absorbed the medication are killed.
Gene Therapy
Gene therapy involves using genetic material to specifically target cancer cells and make them more vulnerable to chemotherapy treatment.
"Suicide Gene Therapy" is the most popular form of gene thearpy being used.The main type of gene therapy being developed for use in mesothelioma patients is called "suicide gene therapy," because it forces cancer cells to produce substances that cause their death.
When undergoing this type of gene therapy, the patient is treated with a non-infectious virus that has been altered with genetic material that makes them produce a particular protein.
Following this procedure, the patient is then treated with a chemotherapeutic medication that is specially formulated to be toxic only to cancer cells. This type of therapy has produced some promising results for mesothelioma patients, but it is still only available through clinical trials.
Immunotherapy is a type of treatment in which the patient's own immune system is 'tricked' into killing cancer cells. A healthy, normally-functioning immune system does not kill cancer cells, because even though these are diseased cells, the immune system is unable to recognize them as being harmful.
There are two main types of immunotherapy: active and passive. In active immunotherapy, mesothelioma cancer cells are removed from a patient and then treated in a laboratory to turn them into a vaccine. Following this laboratory treatment, the patient is injected with the vaccine and if the treatment is successful, the patient's immune system recognizes the vaccine as a harmful substance, thus recognizing the cancer as being harmful as well.
Passive immunotherapy is somewhat different in that it does not attempt to activate the patient's immune system. Instead, it uses substances such as cytokines (molecules that direct and regulate the immune system) and other agents to help boost the patient's immune response to their cancer.
Gene therapy involves using genetic material to specifically target cancer cells and make them more vulnerable to chemotherapy treatment.
"Suicide Gene Therapy" is the most popular form of gene thearpy being used.The main type of gene therapy being developed for use in mesothelioma patients is called "suicide gene therapy," because it forces cancer cells to produce substances that cause their death.
When undergoing this type of gene therapy, the patient is treated with a non-infectious virus that has been altered with genetic material that makes them produce a particular protein.
Following this procedure, the patient is then treated with a chemotherapeutic medication that is specially formulated to be toxic only to cancer cells. This type of therapy has produced some promising results for mesothelioma patients, but it is still only available through clinical trials.
Immunotherapy is a type of treatment in which the patient's own immune system is 'tricked' into killing cancer cells. A healthy, normally-functioning immune system does not kill cancer cells, because even though these are diseased cells, the immune system is unable to recognize them as being harmful.
There are two main types of immunotherapy: active and passive. In active immunotherapy, mesothelioma cancer cells are removed from a patient and then treated in a laboratory to turn them into a vaccine. Following this laboratory treatment, the patient is injected with the vaccine and if the treatment is successful, the patient's immune system recognizes the vaccine as a harmful substance, thus recognizing the cancer as being harmful as well.
Passive immunotherapy is somewhat different in that it does not attempt to activate the patient's immune system. Instead, it uses substances such as cytokines (molecules that direct and regulate the immune system) and other agents to help boost the patient's immune response to their cancer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)