You may want to consider participating in a clinical trial when making the decision about your mesothelioma treatment. Typically held in major cancer centers, clinical trials give you access to new and/or experimental procedures that are not part of the mainstream medical options.

Clinical trials are often sponsored by groups and agencies who are dedicated to finding cures for diseases, including mesothelioma. These include:

• National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Department of Defense
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Pharmaceutical companies
• Medical institutions

Clinical trials have three phases that must be studied before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will approve the drug or treatment for popular use. These phases are:

• Phase I – to find the most effective means to administer a new treatment, including the appropriate amount. Teams administering new drugs and treatments watch carefully for any side effects since human testing begins during Phase I.
• Phase II – the studies are to determine if the drug works. Patients are administered the highest dose that can be safely given based on the information from Phase I.
• Phase III – this is the largest phase, typically involving hundreds of people. In this phase a control group receives a more widely accepted treatment while a second group receives the new treatment. These groups are carefully watched for side effects. If one group shows significant improvement over the other, or if side effects of the new treatments are too severe, the study is stopped.

There are hundreds of clinical trials presently underway studying various drugs and procedures for treating mesothelioma. Finding the right clinical trial requires that you have information on all your options, particularly legal and financial. Mesothelioma treatments are expensive and must be received in a timely manner to be most effective. By contacting an experienced mesothelioma lawyer, you will learn what options you have, as well as information regarding good medical facilities. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelial lining of the lungs and chest which rapidly spreads to nearby organs and then throughout the body, including the lymph nodes. It is overwhelmingly caused by asbestos exposure that often occurred decades ago.

The disease is deadly and there is no cure. Victims are typically, but not always, diagnosed when they are in the latter stages of the mesothelioma when treatment is difficult. By this point, therapy options mostly center on relieving the patient’s pain and making their remaining months more comfortable.

Part of what makes mesothelioma so dangerous is the fact that early symptoms often closely mirror those of less serious illnesses. Patients often visit their family doctor complaining of a persistent cough which they thought was due to a cold, the flu, or bronchitis. Other symptoms, such as fever, shortness of breath, and back pain all can easily be mistaken for something else.

Physicians, especially if they are unaware that the patient has been exposed to asbestos, often overlook mesothelioma as the cause of the symptoms. The patient may go home and try whatever treatment the doctor suggested, and weeks or months may go by before they come back complaining of the same or worse symptoms.

As a result, diagnosis can be seriously and tragically delayed. The patient misses that short window of time when a larger variety of treatment options are available.

As mesothelioma attorneys who know all too well how fast the disease can progress, if you haven’t told your doctor you were exposed to asbestos, we urge you make an appointment as soon as possible. Inform your physician of your exposure and request a mesothelioma screening. It is also recommended that the screenings continue at regularly scheduled intervals.

Radiation therapy utilizes x-rays or high energy particles to kill cancer cells. While in the past mesothelioma has proven difficult to treat with radiation therapy, new techniques may make this procedure more useful in treating mesothelioma.

Radiation may be used in various ways to treat mesothelioma:

• Main treatment in those patients who cannot withstand surgery.
• Post-surgical treatment in those patients to try to kill any small amounts of cancer that could not be seen and removed during surgery.
• Palliative treatment to alleviate symptoms of mesothelioma including shortness of breath, pain, bleeding, and trouble swallowing.

The types of radiation used to treat mesothelioma include:

• External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) which uses x-ray machines to kill cancer cells.
• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) which uses a computer-driven machine that moves around the patient while delivering radiation. This therapy allows for not only shaping the radiation beams and aiming them directly at the tumor, but also for adjusting the intensity of the beams to minimize the dose around more sensitive normal tissue.
• Brachytherapy in which the doctor places radioactive material directly into the area affected by mesothelioma. This radiation therapy is used less frequently that EBRT and IMRT.

As with many mesothelioma treatments, radiation therapy has side effects that include fatigue and mild skin changes resembling sunburn. Depending upon the type of mesothelioma, other side effects may occur include lung damage and shortness of breath (pleural mesothelioma) or nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (peritoneal mesothelioma). Sometimes radiation therapy used in combination with chemotherapy may make the side effects of the chemotherapy worse.

Make sure to discuss all side effects with your doctor, no matter how insignificant they may seem. Often there are additional treatments to lessen the side effects and make you more comfortable. Mesothelioma treatment plans are often extensive in that multiple procedures are necessary. This can cost thousands of dollars that you may not have, or that your insurance will not cover. It may be a good idea for you to speak with an experienced mesothelioma lawyer to understand all your medical, legal and financial options. Contact us today for a free consultation.