Pericardial Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the heart derived from exposure to asbestos. Most patients who are diagnosed with pericardial mesothelioma have a grim prognosis and few treatment options. Treatment options for pericardial mesothelioma include radiation therapies, physical therapy, chemotherapy and surgical procedures such as pericardiocentesis or extrapleural pneumonectomy.
Each procedure has its own set of risks and benefits for a patient who has been diagnosed with pericardial mesothelioma. A pericardiocentesis is a procedure that relieves fluid pressure by extracting the fluid from the protective lining around the lungs.
A needle is used to extract the fluid around the heart by inserting it into the chest cavity and puncturing the protective lining that is affected by pericardial mesothelioma. A pericardiocentesis is a mid range procedure. While a pericardiocentesis is not considered aggressive, it comes with a few risks, including infection, but is known to effectively reduce discomfort around the heart.
Of course, it's important for a patient with pericardial mesothelioma to remember that a pericardiocentesis comes with the risk of complications, as there is a needle creating suction right next to the heart. This procedure is not one that can often be done by a general surgeon, and most patients seek out a specialist for this type of procedure.
While a pericardiocentesis does have a few risks, it is the less aggressive surgical choice for a patient with pericardial mesothelioma. An extrapleural pneumonectomy is a procedure that is considered much more aggressive, and often applies to healthier candidates as it does take a toll on the body.
An extrapleural pneumonectomy is used when a pericardiocentesis is not effective at relieving chest discomfort. An extrapleural pneumonectomy is a procedure where the affected pleura, pericardium, diaphragm, and lung are removed from the side where the cancer is attacking.
An extrapleural pneumonectomy is considered a very aggressive procedure that is used in an effort to remove the cancer to the fullest extent possible in hopes of providing the patient with a chance at survival.
While an extrapleural pneumonectomy has been performed with mixed results, aggressive doctors tend to favor the procedure, as it provides the highest chance of success in patients who found their pericardial mesothelioma in its early stages.
A procedure as aggressive as an extrapleural pneumonectomy is destined to come with a high likelihood of risks. Infection, internal bleeding, and the inability to heal from such a drastic surgery are just a few.
Whether a patient with pericardial mesothelioma opts for an extrapleural pneumonectomy or a pericardiocentesis, these procedures are not considered a cure for pericardial mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is unfortunately considered a fatal disease, and while an extrapleural pneumonectomy has a chance at allowing a patient to fully recover, it is in no way a guarantee of survival.
Most physicians consider pericardiocentesis and extrapleural pneumonectomy to be procedures that are designed to alleviate discomfort and allow the patient to live as pain free as possible.
Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are typically prescribed along with either a pericardiocentesis or an extrapleural pneumonectomy. These procedures are not considered a replacement for other therapies in the process of trying to alleviate patient discomfort.
As a patient of pericardial mesothelioma, choices are often made that either hope for a cure while enduring great pain or a choice is made to strive for comfort as much as possible while attempting to live a life as pain free as possible while waiting for the inevitable.
These are not choices that anyone wishes to have to make. Mesothelioma of any sort is a nasty, ugly disease. Whether a patient opts for an extrapleural pneumonectomy, a pericardiocentesis, or radiation and chemotherapy alone, the prognosis is not good.
Very few people survive pericardial mesothelioma. Patients with early diagnosis have the best chance, although few people think about asbestos exposure they may or may not have had 30 to 40 years ago, and thus are typically not diagnosed until they experience symptoms.
By the time symptoms occur, it is usually well beyond the stages that a pericardiocentesis or an extrapleural pneumonectomy can do much more than make the patient feel a bit more comfortable.
It is unfortunate that the negligent management of companies has left the three thousand annually diagnosed mesothelioma victims with health that can not be regained. It is a desperate call to aid for those who have suffered needlessly so that a company or a governmental agency could save a few dollars. Mesothelioma is a sad mark on the concept of American business.
Peritoneal Mesothelioma is considerably rare, accounting for only between 10% and 20% of all Mesothelioma cases. Peritoneal Mesothelioma is a cancer caused by asbestos exposure that affects the abdominal tissue, more specifically the lining in the abdominal wall. Peritoneal Mesothelioma is most often deadly, although treatment options are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and the survival rate is ever so slowly creeping upward.
Surgical options for a patient that has been diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma include a procedure known as paracentesis and a procedure called peritonectomy. A paracentesis is a procedure that removes the fluid build up from between the lining of the abdominal cavity and the abdomen.
A paracentesis is usually opted for prior to a peritonectomy. A paracentesis may relieve the fluid pressure for awhile, although some patients get lucky and the fluid does not return to the extent of having to perform the procedure again. However, if a paracentesis is done and the fluid quickly returns, a peritonectomy is typically recommended. This means the removal of the abdominal wall lining, which will prevent future build up of fluid permanently.
Because surgical procedures are stressful even on a healthy body, some patients opt for a peritonectomy immediately and skip the more conservative procedure, the paracentesis. This means one surgery that is guaranteed to prevent the future build up of fluid, however there are risk factors with a peritonectomy.
The risk of infection in the post operative period is quite high, as the body is already in a weakened state from the cancer. Most physicians will perform a peritonectomy with the intention of making the patient more comfortable, as most cases of peritoneal mesothelioma are diagnosed well past the point that the cancer can be surgically removed. A paracentesis or a peritonectomy are purely for the sake of making the patient comfortable.
However, some patients opt for procedures like a paracentesis or a peritonectomy in the hopes of gaining a chance on the slim possibility of a cure. Peritoneal mesothelioma has a very low survival rate, and patients find themselves in the unenviable position of having to choose between procedures that will make them most comfortable and procedures that may extend their life and offer them a small chance at being cured. This of course is a very difficult place to be after being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma.
The physician that a patient chooses after being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma is likely to direct their course of treatment. Some physicians opt for surgical procedures like a paracentesis or a peritonectomy while other physicians do not feel the trade off and side effects of surgery are optimal in the face of a disease like peritoneal mesothelioma.
Treatment options such as a paracentesis or a peritonectomy are intrusive procedures that will weaken the body even more. However, a paracentesis or a peritonectomy often provide relief from the painful pressure of fluid build up that prevents patients with peritoneal mesothelioma from being able to participate in life. Each case is different and each case can only be evaluated on its individual merits.
There is of course no easy answer, and a patient with peritoneal mesothelioma will require a great amount of care to retain any amount of quality of life, and the decisions regarding surgical procedures such as paracentesis and peritonectomy are not easy decisions to make. Peritoneal mesothelioma patients face many decisions along the way, and unfortunately none of them ultimately leads to a cure.
Patients of peritoneal mesothelioma do fair better when they enter cancer programs that have a mesothelioma specialty as well as an entire approach to medicine, including nutritional therapies and emotional therapies.
There are no easy answers when faced with the decision to have a paracentesis performed or the option of peritonectomy, or the alternative option of foregoing surgical procedures altogether. Of course, the stronger and more informed a peritoneal mesothelioma patient's support system, the more equipped he or she will be to make these difficult decisions.
Unfortunately, treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma, including procedures such as peritonectomies and paracentesis are relatively expensive, and factoring the cost of the more conservative approaches to treating this form of cancer such as radiation, chemotherapy, and other therapies, treating peritoneal mesothelioma can be outrageous even with medical insurance.
There is help for those who need it, and patients and family members can be proactive in finding the help they need and deserve. This may mean asking a lot of questions until the right person for the question is found, but there is no reason for a victim of peritoneal mesothelioma or their family members to have to face this disease alone.