Jun 24, 2009 - Complementary Therapy Treatments for Mesothelioma: Explanation of Terms
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer primarily caused by exposure to asbestos. Similar to other types of cancer, mesothelioma is diagnosed in stages depending on the extent of the cancer. To diagnose and determine the extent of the disease, a thoracoscopy is most commonly performed.
Mesothelioma is defined in four stages. In Stage I mesothelioma the tumor is least advanced and confined to one area whereas in Stage IV the malignancy has metastasized throughout the body. Pleural malignant mesothelioma is the most common type, with a median survival range of 8 to 18 months after diagnosis. Mesothelioma may also develop in the peritoneal cavity (abdomen) and pericardial spaces (heart).
The key to long term survival from treatment is early diagnosis, enabling the greatest potential for success from conventional therapies. Combination therapy, when more than one type of treatment is used, is most common. Standard treatments for mesothelioma include:
- Surgery – if the malignancy is localized, the tumor and nearby tissue may be surgically removed. This is often only possible if mesothelioma is detected in the early stages. Pleurectomy is the most common surgery used to manage patients with diffuse mesothelioma and includes the complete resection of the visceral pleura.
- Chemotherapy – used to stop or slow tumor growth by preventing cancer cells from dividing. Because mesothelioma usually recurs locally after surgery, chemotherapy is often used as adjuvant treatment to optimize local control. Several drugs have shown promise at treating mesothelioma: Pemetrexed (also known as Alimta), Cisplatin, and Carboplatin are standard front line treatments, used alone or in combination.
- Radiation therapy – delivers streams of radiation (x-rays) to cancer cells in efforts to destroy them or reduce local recurrence. Radiation is also often used in combination either with surgery and/or chemotherapy.
Despite these standard treatments, the management of malignant mesothelioma continues to present difficult challenges for patients and their treating physicians. Postoperative management requires good palliative care and pain management. Many complementary therapies can help before, during and after standard treatments are utilized.
To help in navigating the terminology often associated with complementary therapies we list the following explanations:
- Complementary therapy is any treatment that is used in combination with standard, mainstream, or frontline medical treatments. Most often complementary therapies are used to help relieve symptoms of cancer, relieve side effects from cancer treatments, reduce pain, or improve patients’ sense of well-being. Also can be referred to as non-traditional and not usually considered to be part of conventional medicine.
- Integrative therapy is the combination of standard or conventional medicine and complementary or alternative therapies.
- Alternative therapy refers to an unscientifically proven therapy that is used instead of standard or first line treatment methods.
All three types of non-conventional therapies are intended to address biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of health affected by having mesothelioma. For more information on the different types of alternative or complementary therapies, please read our full article Alternative Pain Management for Mesothelioma Cancer Patients.
A collaborative approach between you and members of your health care team, involved family members, and other carers is found to be the most effective, raising levels of satisfaction and healing among all involved.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, we recommend discussing with your oncologist and health care team ways of combining complementary and alternative therapies with traditional treatment approaches. Choosing integrative therapies can ease your pain, address your concerns, and improve your quality of life in ways that standard therapies alone can not. For more information, please call 1-800-440-4262.
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