Outstanding cancer care requires an unparalleled team. Our specialists in medical oncology, chemotherapy, radiation medicine, pathology and surgical oncology work and consult together to deliver you the most effective treatments.
Chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected. This medication moves throughout the body, seeking cancerous cells to attack. Over a series of treatments, chemotherapy works to destroy mesothelioma and keep cancerous cells from multiplying. Depending on the specific case, multiple types of chemotherapy may be combined for best results.
Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a one-time administration of chemotherapy directly into the abdominal cavity, this treatment is most often combined with cytoreductive surgery described above. This specialized cutting-edge procedure allows your team to deliver a higher dose of chemotherapy directly onto the tissue and directly target microscopic cancer cells which are not visible on scans or to the human eyes. Markey Cancer Center is a high-volume center for HIPEC and has several experienced, surgical oncologists trained in the procedure.
Instead of relying on chemotherapy or other external therapies, immunotherapy uses the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. The process begins with a special therapy that encourages the immune system to do its job better.
A special machine aims high-dose radiation at cancerous cells. Radiation therapy stops the growth of cancerous cells, destroys cancerous cells and reduces symptoms of mesothelioma. Learn more about our services by visiting our Radiation Oncology website.
Mesothelioma surgery typically involves removing the cancerous area. This may be a small bit of tissue or an entire organ. Nearby tissue is also removed to ensure cancerous tissue isn’t accidentally left behind.
For mesothelioma in the lung, a special procedure called pleurodesis is used to surgically place medication in the affected area. Over time, the medication scars the lung and prevents fluid build-up, which often occurs with mesothelioma of the lung.
This makes use of drugs and other substances that find and fight cancerous cells. In most cases, target therapy results in less damage to healthy cells than radiation therapy or chemotherapy. One type of targeted therapy for advanced malignant mesothelioma is called bevacizumab.
