Preparing For Peritoneal Mesothelioma Treatment | Shrader Law
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Peritoneal mesothelioma treatment occurs with patients that have been exposed to asbestos. This form of mesothelioma is the second most common type. Other forms of the disease include pleural mesothelioma, pericardial mesothelioma and testicular mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma is diagnosed at a rate of 250 cases a year which is up to 15% of all mesothelioma cases.

This cancer presents in the abdomen, on the surface of the omentum and visceral organs. It is linked to exposure to asbestos after the micro fibers are ingested either by swallowing or inhaling them. As the disease develops in the abdomen, it has been passed from the trachea or lungs and settles in the peritoneum. As the disease develops around the abdominal lining, fluid accumulation occurs – which in turn leads to increased abdominal swelling.

Symptoms of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Peritoneal mesothelioma treatment is usually aggressive as the advanced latency period of diagnosis has aligned the disease to have taken its toll on organs. Some 20-45 years could go by without an asbestos exposure victim knowing the true cause of their ailments. Mesothelioma symptoms are often mistaken for flu or cold-like symptoms and people begin to believe they are susceptible to these types of ailments when in reality they are experiencing early stage symptoms of the cancer.

Because this particular cancer occurs in the abdomen, the symptoms are a result of fluid accumulation or spreading tumors in the abdomen. Most symptoms will present as appetite and weight loss, elevated white blood count and/or pain in the abdomen.

Peritoneal mesothelioma sarcoma is a rare cancer which assaults the peritoneum which is the abdominal lining. Because of the latency period of accurate mesothelioma diagnosis, patients with peritoneal mesothelioma often go undiagnosed until the disease is in its final stages.

Many treatments at this stage are palliative and not curative because the cancer has spread too far. Medical professionals and mesothelioma specialists can provide treatment options that include chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Many mesothelioma centers now provide peritoneal mesothelioma treatment that encompasses several hours of surgery over a specific interval.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Surgery – Cytoreductive surgery combined with Intraperitoneal chemotherapy is now regarded as the standard of care in peritoneal mesothelioma treatment. Tumors that are visible are removed from the peritoneum during this surgery. This is normally not curative, but is useful to extend the life of the patient.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Treatment – Chemotherapy is not measured as curative or a primary treatment option. This is not to say that it is not without benefit to a patient with mesothelioma. Studies have confirmed that tumor reduction can reach 40% in patients and thus extend life in those that respond to chemotherapy.

Peritoneal Radiation Treatments – Radiation has shown to have partial effect as a primary treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma. However, as a palliative treatment during and after surgery, it has demonstrated its usefulness in preventing malignant seeding of the incision sites.