Mesothelioma Health Article, mesothelioma Treatment

Treatment team

A person with symptoms of mesothelioma will most likely seek help from a primary physician initially. During the diagnostic phase, various technicians will perform the imaging studies. A specially trained physician—a thoracic surgeon or, rarely, a pulmonologist— performs other diagnostic tests like pleural bi
opsy and thoracoscopy.

 A pathologist will view the tissue samples and make the tissue diagnosis. Following diagnosis, the patient will be offered some form of treatment, which may entail surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of these.
 The patient may receive care from a thoracic surgeon, an anesthesiologist, medical and radiation oncologists, and specially trained nurses who administer chemotherapy.
Clinical staging, treatments, and prognosis

The treatment and outlook for those with mesothelioma depends a great deal on the stage of their cancer. Because the most frequently occurring type of mesothelioma is pleural, and it is also the one most studied, it is the only type for which a staging system exists. The following stages are based on a system known as the Butchart system, which divides mesothelioma into four stages:
Stage I: Mesothelioma is found within the right or the left pleura and may also involve the lung, the pericardium, or the diaphragm on the same side.

Stage II: In this stage, mesothelioma has spread to the chest wall or involves the esophagus, the heart, or the pleura on both sides. The lymph nodes in the chest may be involved as well.
Stage III: Mesothelioma has gone through the diaphragm and into the lining of the abdominal cavity. Additional lymph nodes besides those in the chest may be involved.
Stage IV: There is evidence that mesothelioma has spread through the bloodstream to distant organs or tissues.