Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is not for total heal but it helps the patient to reduce pains. Common use of this treatment is for beat the cancer cells and temporarily stop growing. Radiation therapy is used in two stages of the mesothelioma cancer. First stage is after surgery. After a surgery some physicians use radio therapy to stop the cancer comes again. Second one is the most worse one. Some people having mesothelioma in stage where the surgery is not possible.
Common procedure of the radiotherapy is as follows. First thing is to plan the radiotherapy. In this test they plan how much radiation insert and one dose and where to direct. CT scan is commonly used for this kind of testing. Sometimes you have to subject to a MRI or PET scan also. After that scans they will mark a tattoo of pin points on your chest. That is the position where they insert the radiation in to your body.
When giving the radio therapy you feel nothing but you have to stay without any shake for 10 to 20 minutes in the machine. This external radiotherapy does not make your body radioactive. Therefore it is possible to get down to your ordinary life with your family members.
Chemotherapy
At the first stages of mesothelioma diagnosis medical specialists give non-surgical treatments first. Chemotherapy is such a treatment. They are willing to kill mesothelioma cells, stop spreading cancer cells, shrink tumors and to relief symptoms and pain from this chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is also used with other treatments such as surgery to effect them. Treatment measures can change due to the type of mesothelioma. Drug and the method of administration is depend on the mesothelioma type.
Medicines insert via IV or through digestive system. That is the common method. But in intrapleural or intraaperitoneal types insert drug through a small tube directly into the body cavity.
There are lot of side effects of this treatment. Those are temporary hair loss, nausea and vomiting, affect to immune system, body aches, platelet count reducing, anemia, appetite reducing, tingling of feet and hands, constipation or diarrhea, rash, fatigue, fever, etc.