Treatments For Pleural Mesothelioma

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is used to shrink tumors, and often has palliative uses. As tumors grow, they increase the pressure and pain in a person's chest, and may also make breathing increasingly difficult. Radiation uses specifically targeted beams of radioactive light to target and destroys the tumors.

This treatment does have risks of its own. Radiation therapy might increase the chance of developing a secondtype of cancer, so it should not be used on child mesothelioma patients. However, most pleural mesothelioma patients are middle-aged to elderly. Their cancer development risk is much lower because their life expectancy is shorter. Doctors recommend radiation in cases where it is the most logical option to ease discomfort without surgery. In most cases, radiation will be used alongside other treatment methods.

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