It is a silent killer out there. It creeps on its victims, attacks them quietly and unsuspectingly, and initiates a wound that develops over many years, before eventually causes pain. This unstoppable murderer is known as disease.
Mesothelioma is malignant cancer that develops in the mesothelial cells or lung, heart or abdominal organs, and plagues those who have been exposed to asbestos over a long period of time. Many of those who fall victim to this disease are people who have worked in specific trades or fields prior to the 1970s, such as blacksmiths, electricians, millwrights, and oil refinery workers.
Because it may take up to forty years for symptoms to surface, mesothelioma deaths are higher than ever 21. century. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that 1,493 people died from asbestos in 2000, compared to 77 in 1968.
Mesothelioma methods vary depending on tumor stage at diagnosis, the patient's age and personal choice of treatment. Four separate stages of the disease are a factor in determining the type of treatment of disease, which can be carried out. The first stage is when the tumor was limited growth in the pleural lining (the lining of the lungs). At this stage, the sample can be taken to surgically remove the entire tumor. However, if cancer is detected at a later stage, when it invaded the surrounding area, it is considered incurable.
Traditionally, in the later stages of the disease were treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells while radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
Although the method of treatment of disease have been proven to prolong patients' lives, you can not cure the disease. Ongoing clinical trials are dedicated to overcoming this debilitating illness. Current experimental therapies include:
Drug Therapy: a drug called Alimta, developed by Eli Lilly, showed a significant increase in life expectancy of patients and reduce the symptoms of the disease. This is the only chemotherapy drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Gene Therapy: The treatment of the disease is currently in experimental stage. The process involves inserting a "suicide gene" directly into the tumor. This gene makes the cells susceptible to normally ineffective drug called glanciclovir which destroys all the cancer cells and leaves healthy cells unharmed.
Photodynamic Therapy: Still in its experimental stages, Photodynamic therapy uses light to kill cancer cells. The patient receives a first photosensitizer that only collects in the tumor cells. Fiberoptic cables are then placed in the body in order to focus the right frequency of light on the tumor. The photosensitizer is due to the production of toxic oxygen molecule that kills cancer cells.
Immunotherapy: Also referred to as biological therapy, treatment of this disease, the body uses personal immune system to defend itself against disease. It was discovered that the immune system is capable of deciphering healthy cells into cancer cells, thereby winding up of the cells that cause cancer.
Although the methods of treatment are still at the stage of development or experimentation, it is hoped that one day all the victims of the disease will be exempted from the murderous hands of this dreadful disease.
Mesothelioma is malignant cancer that develops in the mesothelial cells or lung, heart or abdominal organs, and plagues those who have been exposed to asbestos over a long period of time. Many of those who fall victim to this disease are people who have worked in specific trades or fields prior to the 1970s, such as blacksmiths, electricians, millwrights, and oil refinery workers.
Because it may take up to forty years for symptoms to surface, mesothelioma deaths are higher than ever 21. century. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that 1,493 people died from asbestos in 2000, compared to 77 in 1968.
Mesothelioma methods vary depending on tumor stage at diagnosis, the patient's age and personal choice of treatment. Four separate stages of the disease are a factor in determining the type of treatment of disease, which can be carried out. The first stage is when the tumor was limited growth in the pleural lining (the lining of the lungs). At this stage, the sample can be taken to surgically remove the entire tumor. However, if cancer is detected at a later stage, when it invaded the surrounding area, it is considered incurable.
Traditionally, in the later stages of the disease were treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells while radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
Although the method of treatment of disease have been proven to prolong patients' lives, you can not cure the disease. Ongoing clinical trials are dedicated to overcoming this debilitating illness. Current experimental therapies include:
Drug Therapy: a drug called Alimta, developed by Eli Lilly, showed a significant increase in life expectancy of patients and reduce the symptoms of the disease. This is the only chemotherapy drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Gene Therapy: The treatment of the disease is currently in experimental stage. The process involves inserting a "suicide gene" directly into the tumor. This gene makes the cells susceptible to normally ineffective drug called glanciclovir which destroys all the cancer cells and leaves healthy cells unharmed.
Photodynamic Therapy: Still in its experimental stages, Photodynamic therapy uses light to kill cancer cells. The patient receives a first photosensitizer that only collects in the tumor cells. Fiberoptic cables are then placed in the body in order to focus the right frequency of light on the tumor. The photosensitizer is due to the production of toxic oxygen molecule that kills cancer cells.
Immunotherapy: Also referred to as biological therapy, treatment of this disease, the body uses personal immune system to defend itself against disease. It was discovered that the immune system is capable of deciphering healthy cells into cancer cells, thereby winding up of the cells that cause cancer.
Although the methods of treatment are still at the stage of development or experimentation, it is hoped that one day all the victims of the disease will be exempted from the murderous hands of this dreadful disease.
