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Chemotherapy for Mesothelioma

Chemotherapy is a treatment in which doctors use drugs on patients which kills the cancer cells. Chemotherapy for mesothelioma can be used in different situations such as


1) To minimize the tumor before surgery

2) To kill remaining cancer cells after surgery

3) To kill cancer tumor that recurs

4) To use on patients who are not surgical candidates.

Chemotherapy is being continually developed by the researchers. Good news for the mesothelioma patients is that, there is considerable progress is the systematic treatment of this disease in last few years. Pemetrexed is seen as the most promising drug to treat mesothelioma. This is an inhibitor of proteins including thymidylate synthase and dihydrofolate reductase which are required in synthesis of DNA.

Chemotherapy drugs are often used in combination of others and this process is called combination therapy. When cancer occurs, bad cells in the body keep growing as exponential rate and the anticancer drugs can help the bad cells keep in control and during the process good cells may also get damaged which is the main reason for side effects. The cells most likely to be affected are the fast-growing normal cells such as the blood cells forming in bone marrow, and cells in the digestive tract which includes the mouth, stomach, intestines, and esophagus. Hair follicles may also be affected, hence, hair loss during chemotherapy. Some drugs affect cells of vital organs, such as the heart, kidney, bladder, lungs, and nervous system.

Mesothelioma Prognosis

As in many of the diseases, the important factor determining the prognosis of mesothelioma is how severe is the cancer. Peritoneal mesothelioma prognosis is particularly crippled as the time by which patient recognizes the symptoms valuable time is lost as the initial symptoms are very light on the body making it difficult to identify.


Peritoneal mesothelioma has multiple stages. Pleural and peritoneal types of mesothelioma are very hard to be treated. They would ultimately be diagnosed at an advanced state and the statistics show that there are very few survivors. There are lot of contradictions among the studies whether peritoneal mesothelioma or pleural mesothelioma is more deadlier than other but one thing which cannot be contradicted is they both are difficult to treat as there is no proper treatment.

Only 10% of all who are diagnosed with mesothelioma live 3 years or more and only 5% of those go beyond 5 years, which shows the deadly nature of the disease. Only in people where mesothelioma is diagnosed in the early states, the survival rate goes till 50% for who lived more than three years. This was a study conducted on more than 200 people of mesothelioma affected people.

There was a broad study conducted in Europe on 5 million people and the outcome of that research is nothing different as only 25 % of people with pleural mesothelioma and 35% with peritoneal mesothelioma survived more than 10 months after study.

The overall health of the patient could also determine the prognosis of the patient. The healthier the higher chances for more days of survival. However, patients should not get disheartened as the statistics represent only the past but the future could be bright and different.

Compensation for Mesothelioma sufferers

The danger of continuous exposure to asbestos is well known to all the companied for decades however many let their employees work with asbestos without proper protection and directly putting them at risk of developing mesothelioma. After several years of work with asbestos, the employees who got now retired are not enjoying their retirement but had to take severe pain and go through the treatment which they did not ask for.


Since there will be long latency for the asbestos related cancer, the employees will not know whether they developed mesothelioma until 20 to 30 years. Once they start observing the symptoms they go to the doctors and finally they discover that they developed mesothelioma cancer as a result of their work which involved asbestos. This would come as a total surprise to so many victims.

The compensation the mesothelioma sufferers get will make them eligible to file for is to cover all the medical expenses which this bloody disease can incur not more than the suffering, pain the victims go through. Another way to look at the compensation is to help the dependants of the victim if he is severely disabled. Four to twelve months is the typical survival rate of a mesothelioma patient.

You must act swiftly to file your claim for compensation. A lot of effort is required to put a solid case or build a solid case and there are certain time limits within which action has to be taken. According to the state laws, the attorney can suggest what to do to hasten the process. The amount the victims get from such cases depends on a number of factors. If your case is very strong, he may try to get a out of the court settlement which saves you lot of time instead of dragging the case in the court for years. The compensation depends on how badly you are affected by the asbestos exposure. Many people claim millions securing the futures of their families and also covering the pain and expenses of mesothelioma treatment. Time is important if you are planning to file a lawsuit on mesothelioma and you should do it as early as possible.

Story of Mesothelioma survivor

A friend of my colleague whose name I cannot disclose here developed severe mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure at work. He was once operated in early 2007. The doctors provided a number of treatment options to him but none of them convinced him .He suspected they might further deteriorate his health. He went through chemotherapy for the cancer which was caused by exposure to asbestos but now he stopped doing that seeing no good improvement.


He stopped talking any medication and he believed running will help him his condition as he got to know it from a fellow sufferer. So he went running day in and day out to prove the doctors wrong who had not much hope to cure the cancer. He is proactive in treating his disease and has participated in several meso races to raise awareness and funding.

Inspite of all this, it is very surprising that asbestos is not banned in United States. This material is still used in various manufacturing industries and particularly construction industry, There was a bill to ban asbestos in 1989 and the Washington senators almost got it passes but the judge overturned it. However, Europe countries have banned the use of asbestos in mid 2005.

There is a lot of medical research going on with treating mesothelioma however the current measures are very ineffective. The reason for him to run is to raise funds for the research so he was kind of great in helping not only him but every sufferer of mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma treatment and settlement help

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that can develop after many years of asbestos exposure. It can affect your lungs, heart or abdomen. New research is going every day for this hard to treat cancer. People with mesothelioma will need medical support as well as legal assistance for settlements and emotional support to keep them going.


You should immediately consult your preferred doctor for diagnosis and early treatment improves the outcome. Tumors which are often hard to get rid of can be removed surgically if they have not yet metastasized. Radiation is another option as a treatment and chemotherapy treatment for mesothelioma is also recommended which will help in slow the growth of cancer. Oncologists are usually recommended by your primary physicians. Even after the treatment, statistics tells us that the survival rate is not impressive but all hope is not lost as there are many people who responded well to the treatment and are living healthier now.

There are a lot of advertisements on the television about this disease that offer legal advice on mesothelioma which will make people wonder if they need attorney when they develop this disease. Legal assistance is required if you want to make a settlement for your case. Legal assistance is always helpful and is free for initial consultations in most cases. Attorney can help people to find where they have significant asbestos exposure and will help you sue the companies that landed you in your situation. They can also help in getting supplemental security income or disability but you might have to pay for this service.

A successful lawsuit can pay for your health care which many time may not be covered in your insurance or could be used to support the dependants of the victim. It will take several years to win mesothelioma lawsuits so patience is required. It is important to look for a lawyer in this area and enquire about the percentage wins.

How do I choose a mesothelioma attorney to file lawsuits?

It is always helpful to choose an attorney or a lawyer who has experience in handling such cases. It is important to know from your attorney how he is going to handle your case. Before proceeding to choose a lawyer for the lawsuit, compile a list of all attorneys that you can find. Don’t forget to ask for referrals.


If you come across other people who have had gone through the mesothelioma lawsuit successfully, ask about their experience and also about their attorney. If you get positive feedback, he could be the person who can go with. If you have suffered asbestos exposure many years ago, you may not come across people who got affected by asbestos.

In such cases, find all your local attorney listings either from internet or any such resource. Call into each attorney and schedule a free consultation. Ask the attorney specific questions related to their experience in dealing with mesothelioma lawsuit cases. Also find if they successfully handled the asbestos exposure cases to get money for their clients.

Pay attention to the details the attorney discusses with you. Make sure your attorney understands your complications and find an attorney with patience. Patience is highly required in dealing such cases. Also talk about the payment arrangements beforehand. Most attorneys accept to handle the case and take money only if they win the asbestos exposure case for you.

Also check the mesothelioma attorney directory.

Mesothelioma settlement and mesothelioma claims

People develop mesothelioma by continuous exposure to asbestos. Western countries use more asbestos compared to others and people from western countries have higher rate of developing mesothelioma compared to others. Those who develop mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure should pursue settlement for compensation.


Mesothelioma is a cancer which develops in lung cancer and spreads to other parts. This is very difficult to treat. Asbestosis on the other hand is a chronic respiratory disease which can impair your lung functionality. People who develop one or the other can pursue an asbestosis or mesothelioma settlement.

If you are planning to seek a mesothelioma settlement, you should first locate an attorney who can deal your case. I will explain in other post how to find an attorney for mesothelioma settlement cases. As with any other cases, it is important to find an attorney who has experience in dealing such cases. Once you find an attorney with whom you are comfortable with, you have to build your case.

Many factors influence your case such as a when and where you were exposed to asbestos. Is it a work or home location? Were you aware of it at that time or for the matter has your employer made you aware? You have to build your case in such a way that(only if you want to win), you should prove that you are exposed to asbestos at work location only because of your employer’s negligence.

There are two ways to make your mesothelioma settlement. One is you go to the court along with defendant and the outcome will be determined by the jury. The other is out of the court settlement so your employer will pay you money. Your attorney will be able to advice you which route you should take.

What are the different types of mesothelioma?

1) Peritoneal Mesothelioma


The symptoms occur in the abdomen and spreads to other organs like spleen or bowel. It causes severe discomfort in the abdomen. Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include difficult bowel movements, nausea and vomiting, fever and swollen feet.

The survival rate is even worse for those diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma will patients typically surviving only ten months from time that they first started experiencing the symptoms noted above.

2) Malignant Mesothelioma

This is the cancer that is caused because of asbestos and is most serious and often the symptoms are hard to diagnose. Malignant mesothelioma is diagnosed, it will be in severe stage and patients may not respond well to the treatment by the doctors.

3) Pericardial Mesothelioma

This is the least common form. This involves the heart and as the disease spreads, the heart will not be able to deliver oxygen to the body which in turn causes further bad health. Symptoms are pain in the chest and shortness of breath.

4) Pleural Mesothelioma

This affects the chests and lungs and is not always detectable. This form of mesothelioma can affect lot of organs including brain. The survival rate for patients diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma typically is not high. Patients typically do not live beyond seventeen months from the onset of symptoms. Only 8% of those diagnosed with mesothelioma will live three to five years from the onset of symptoms.

5) Benign Mesothelioma

This affects the peritoneum. This is also extremely difficult to diagnose and requires specialized microscopes and immunologic techniques to aid in diagnosis.

Signs and symptoms of Mesothelioma

Symptoms of mesothelioma are hard to confirm and more over they may not appear until 15-30 years after exposure to asbestos. Common symptoms of mesothelioma are

1) Shortness of breath

2) Pain in chest etc

3) Anemia

4) Fatigue

5) Hoarseness

6) Cough

7) Blood in sputum coughed up


Symptoms also include weight loss, abdominal swelling etc. In very severe cases, the person may have tumor masses. As such mesothelioma is hard to diagnose. Helen Davies, specialist registrar and research fellow at Oxford says, "Pleural effusion, or the accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity, can be maddeningly difficult to diagnose as a wide variety of malignant and benign causes exist". One of the causes, malignant pleural mesothelioma, is a relatively rare cancer, but its incidence is rapidly increasing on a global scale.

The first test for mesothelioma in patients with a pleural effusion is pleural fluid cytology, but it is not very sensitive. Obtaining a prompt diagnosis of mesothelioma has benefits for patients and physicians alike. Because mesothelioma has a median survival time of 12 months, minimizing the number of invasive procedures and tests patients require is crucial to reduce morbidity and the time they need to spend in hospital, says Davies. An earlier diagnosis also allows speedier interventions to relieve symptoms as well as initiation of other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy if appropriate.

Exposure to asbestos is the main risk factor and accounts for the majority of mesothelioma cases. Legislation to prevent occupational exposure to asbestos has been enforced in the developed world; however, unrestricted contact continues in developing countries.

Over 90 percent of patients with mesothelioma present with a pleural effusion and its incidence is predicted to peak within the next two decades. Mesothelioma treatment is one of the highly researched activities in medicine.

What is mesothelioma cancer?

Malignant mesothelioma, a disease in which a tumor of cancerous nature grows on the mesothelium – the lining of the internal body cavities. In this disease, cells in mesothelium develop into malign cells. Its most common site is the pleura but may also occur in the heartm peritoneum, the pericardium or tunica vaginalis.


People who have worked on jobs where they inhale asbestos particles or any other jobs where people are exposed to asbestos dust develop mesothelioma. Compensation via asbestos funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma.

Symptoms of this cancer are,

1) Shortness of breath

2) Chest wall pain

3) Weight loss


This could be diagnosed with X-ray and CT scan but could only be confirmed with a biopsy and microscopic examination. Even after treatment with radiation, chemotherapy etc the disease carries a poor prognosis.

Will cover more signs and symptoms in my next post.

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I do not guarantee the accuracy of information presented on this blog. All the information posted here is collected from other sources and I will try to make every effort to include the source.