What Are The Alternative Treatment Available For Mesothelioma Patients

Many types of therapy are available to mesothelioma patients that can be used in addition to traditional medical treatments. Many patients have found these alternative therapies to be an excellent way to manage pain, improve general health, and get relief from other disease symptoms. These treatments cannot cure the disease, but they can assist patients in living more comfortably by relieving pain and stress. Alternative treatments that have had value for some mesothelioma patients include acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage, meditation, dietary supplements, TENS therapy, yoga and pet therapy.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture is so widely accepted as an alternative therapy that many insurance companies provide coverage for it. Acupuncture is performed by inserting very fine needles into pressure points at specific locations on the skin. Acupuncture is routinely used to give relief from pain and inflammation and from anxiety or stress. You can find more information on acupuncture at The American Association of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine.

Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy uses fragrance to boost physical and psychological well-being. Distilled and highly concentrated plant-based oils are blended and used by aromatherapists to give relief from pain and other symptoms of the disease. Aromatherapy is often combined with massage therapy, which allows patients to receive a massage with oils that have been mixed with small amounts of the fragrant plant-based oils.

You can find out more about aromatherapy at the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy and Precious Aromatherapy, Inc.

Massage
Massage therapy is known to promote blood and lymphatic flow, boost circulation, and aid in relieving muscle tension. In addition, massage stimulates the digestive and nervous systems, and can relieve chronic pain. Many patients report that massage also reduces anxiety and feelings of stress. Get more information about the benefits of massage therapy at HolisticOnline.com and Alternative Medicine Online.

Meditation
Meditation has long been used as a means to reduce anxiety, feelings of stress and depression. It is also believed that meditation can assist in managing pain and other symptoms of mesothelioma. Many cancer patients who supplement their traditional treatment with meditation find that the practice relieves pain, stress, and anxiety.

Supplements
Many patients feel that the use of supplements is beneficial to their overall health during treatment. Vitamins, minerals, herbs, and amino acids are all dietary supplements. The body requires vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to perform essential life functions, and supplements may provide necessary chemicals when such substances are missing from a patient’s diet. In fact, in one clinical trial of chemotherapy for treating mesothelioma patients, the participants’ average survival and time to cancer progression was improved by the vitamin supplementation of B12 and folic acid.

In addition, many herbs can help to provide relief from symptoms of the disease. Of course, when taking any kind of supplement, a patient should discuss the matter first with his or her physician. Supplements can affect the performance of certain prescription medications. Some supplements may even be dangerous when taken with certain medications. For more information on the use of dietary supplements, visit the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and About.com’s Common Herb Mistakes.

TENS Therapy
TENS therapy stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. TENS therapy is somewhat similar in principle to acupuncture, in that it stimulates defined body locations. In contrast to acupuncture, which uses fine needles, TENS therapy uses electrodes that deliver very mild electrical shocks to the body location to be stimulated. Like acupuncture, TENS may provide relief from pain and inflammation and from anxiety or stress. Unlike most other alternative therapies, TENS has been approved by the FDA. This means that, according to the FDA, the procedure is safe and that TENS therapy may be covered by insurance. You can find more information on TENS Therapy at Health Scout and BBC Health.

Yoga
Yoga began in India, where it is practiced more to promote spirituality than physical well-being. But in the U.S., yoga has been recognized as a form of exercise that is also psychologically calming. Simple yoga techniques can help improve a patient’s general health and state of mind.

Pet Therapy
Pet therapy is also referred to as animal-assisted therapy or animal-assisted activities. The goal of pet therapy is to improve a patient’s general health and well-being by allowing the patient to interact with animals. The soothing effects of simply stroking a dog or cat have long been known to improve a patient’s mood and lift the spirits. In addition, the interaction even offers some physical benefits, such as, for example, the temporary lowering of blood pressure. Get more information at The Delta Society.

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What Is Pallative Treatment?

Aside from surgery, radiotheraphy and chemotheraphy, mesothelioma patients can be be treated also with Palliative treat.

Palliative treatment, which is also called palliative care, is treatment designed to relieve the symptoms of disease and improve quality of life. It can address psychological, social and spiritual needs as well as physical symptoms. With regard to physical symptoms, it aims to treat the symptoms of disease but is not meant to cure the illness. In cases of advanced cancer, palliative treatment may sometimes extend life and help the patient live more comfortably, even if the cancer cannot be cured.

Palliative treatment goes well beyond painkillers and anti-nausea drugs. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy and surgery can all be used as palliative treatments under the right circumstances. Often, the level of pain associated with mesothelioma is quite high. Thus, pain control is usually one of the first symptoms addressed by palliative care, and it is important for the patient to be able to help the doctor accurately assess the pain the patient is experiencing. This may include traditional pain management programs, involving several different pain medications. Palliative care can also focus on behavior modification, managing stress, meditation or massage therapy. Palliative surgery may be performed to reduce pain caused by the tumor or to prevent fluid from building up and causing discomfort. Radiation therapy is also useful in relieving pain caused by mesothelioma. Palliative care plays an important role in maximizing the quality of life for mesothelioma patients.

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Asbestos Textile Workers Show High Mortality Rates From Occupational Lung Diseases

A new study by Duke University, in conjunction with the University of Nevada (UNR) and the University of North Carolina, shows that former North Carolina workers employed in asbestos-textile plants have a definitively higher rate of asbestos-related diseases than the population at large.

The study, headed by Dana Loomis, Interim Director, UNR's School of Community Health Sciences, examined 5,770 employees who worked at least one day between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1973.

The results, which showed that the mortality rate was significantly higher for all causes (1.47 as compared to a value of 1.00 for the general population), also showed that deaths from lung cancer ranked at 1.96 (as compared to a value of 1.00).

The pleura are the membranes that line the inside of the chest cavity and surround the lungs, enabling the lungs to expand to the appropriate degree inside the diaphragm when people breathe. Pleural mesothelioma is a type of pleural cancer caused primarily by asbestos fibers, and is the most common type of mesothelioma.

Asbestos fibers, inhaled, result in irritation of the pleura, or mesothelial lining. Because the body has no way to expel the fibers, the persistent irritation leads to lesions, which in turn lead to cancer.

Pneumoconiosis, the second category of occupational lung diseases, is an interstitial disease, a classic example of which is pulmonary fibrosis. Interstitial diseases affect the walls of the air sacs inside the lungs, rather than the pleural lining over the lungs, and result in scarring. This, in turn, limits a lung's ability to expand properly. Medication can occasionally slow the progress of pneumoconiosis, but many individuals, once affected, never regain the full use of their lungs, and lung transplants are the only option.

Asbestosis is a breathing disorder specifically caused by inhaling asbestos fibers, and is usually a cumulative effect, arising after years of exposure. The fibers cause lung scarring, which can gradually restrict breathing to such an extent that patients are unable to walk more than a few feet without stopping, and require constant oxygen. The symptoms, which can range from mild to severe depending on exposure and a person's general stamina, commonly don't appear until years after exposure to asbestos fibers.

The Duke, UNR study demonstrated a statistical risk across the entire spectrum of 2 to 3 percent higher for each year asbestos fibers were inhaled - figures which were more consistent among white males than for any other group surveyed. The second at-risk category was white females, and both groups scored higher in the risk assessment categories than black males, presumably because the latter group saw fewer smokers and workers who occupied different regions of the asbestos textile plants, namely preparation and carding operations, where fibers were shorter than in the spinning and twisting sections where white males generally worked, according to transmission electron microscopy, or TEM, analyses.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations (limiting asbestos to 1 percent of product by weight or volume) have driven the asbestos textile industry overseas. This is good news for American workers, but not so good for workers in places like Korea and Egypt, for example.

Attempts by the United Nations to add asbestos to the list of hazardous substances already on the Rotterdam Convention have been consistently opposed by Canada, which is the world's largest supplier of chrysotile asbestos.

Read More...

Asbestos Textile Workers Show High Mortality Rates From Occupational Lung Diseases

A new study by Duke University, in conjunction with the University of Nevada (UNR) and the University of North Carolina, shows that former North Carolina workers employed in asbestos-textile plants have a definitively higher rate of asbestos-related diseases than the population at large.

The study, headed by Dana Loomis, Interim Director, UNR's School of Community Health Sciences, examined 5,770 employees who worked at least one day between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1973.

The results, which showed that the mortality rate was significantly higher for all causes (1.47 as compared to a value of 1.00 for the general population), also showed that deaths from lung cancer ranked at 1.96 (as compared to a value of 1.00).

The pleura are the membranes that line the inside of the chest cavity and surround the lungs, enabling the lungs to expand to the appropriate degree inside the diaphragm when people breathe. Pleural mesothelioma is a type of pleural cancer caused primarily by asbestos fibers, and is the most common type of mesothelioma.

Asbestos fibers, inhaled, result in irritation of the pleura, or mesothelial lining. Because the body has no way to expel the fibers, the persistent irritation leads to lesions, which in turn lead to cancer.

Pneumoconiosis, the second category of occupational lung diseases, is an interstitial disease, a classic example of which is pulmonary fibrosis. Interstitial diseases affect the walls of the air sacs inside the lungs, rather than the pleural lining over the lungs, and result in scarring. This, in turn, limits a lung's ability to expand properly. Medication can occasionally slow the progress of pneumoconiosis, but many individuals, once affected, never regain the full use of their lungs, and lung transplants are the only option.

Asbestosis is a breathing disorder specifically caused by inhaling asbestos fibers, and is usually a cumulative effect, arising after years of exposure. The fibers cause lung scarring, which can gradually restrict breathing to such an extent that patients are unable to walk more than a few feet without stopping, and require constant oxygen. The symptoms, which can range from mild to severe depending on exposure and a person's general stamina, commonly don't appear until years after exposure to asbestos fibers.

The Duke, UNR study demonstrated a statistical risk across the entire spectrum of 2 to 3 percent higher for each year asbestos fibers were inhaled - figures which were more consistent among white males than for any other group surveyed. The second at-risk category was white females, and both groups scored higher in the risk assessment categories than black males, presumably because the latter group saw fewer smokers and workers who occupied different regions of the asbestos textile plants, namely preparation and carding operations, where fibers were shorter than in the spinning and twisting sections where white males generally worked, according to transmission electron microscopy, or TEM, analyses.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations (limiting asbestos to 1 percent of product by weight or volume) have driven the asbestos textile industry overseas. This is good news for American workers, but not so good for workers in places like Korea and Egypt, for example.

Attempts by the United Nations to add asbestos to the list of hazardous substances already on the Rotterdam Convention have been consistently opposed by Canada, which is the world's largest supplier of chrysotile asbestos.

Read More...