According to many medical scientists, malignant mesothelioma is incurable. Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma die from the disease within two years after diagnosis.

The person diagnosed with mesothelioma and that person's family are frequently at a loss about what to do. Their own doctor may have told them, "There is nothing to be done, come and see me if you have a lot of trouble breathing or when the pain starts getting real bad."

If mesothelioma cannot be cured, is there anything effective that can be done to prolong life and to provide more quality of life?

There are several approaches to treat mesothelioma. The latest approach appears to be gene therapy. At this time, gene therapy is experimental. Specific questions should be asked of your health-care provider when evaluating treatment.

Current treatment options for mesothelioma are:

• Minimal Medical Cancer Treatment
• Aggressive Medical Cancer Treatment
• Alternative Cancer Treatment
• Gene Therapy and Other Experimental Treatments

Further Reading

A review of treatment for mesothelioma can be found in the following published medical article:

Sterman, Kaiser and Albelda, Advances in the Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma. CHEST, Volume 116, Number 2, August 1999, pages 504-520.

CHEST is a medical journal that is widely available; it can be located in most medical libraries. Medical articles can also be obtained over the Internet. The authors of this article are doctors working at the Thoracic Oncology Research Laboratory/Mesothelioma Program, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA.