For many people, mesothelioma is diagnosed at an advanced stage, and the main aim of treatment is to manage symptoms and keep them under control for as long as possible.
Learn more about:
- Overview
- Fatigue
- Difficulty sleeping
- Breathlessness
- Pain
- Constipation
- Poor appetite and weight loss
- How palliative treatment can help
Overview
Treating symptoms will help improve your quality of life. Treatment may slow tumour growth, make you feel better and help you live longer. This is called palliative treatment.
Palliative treatment aims to manage the symptoms without trying to cure the disease. It can be used at any stage of advanced cancer to improve quality of life. It does not mean giving up hope – rather it is about living as fully and comfortably as possible. Early palliative care is sometimes also called supportive care.
Here we describe treatments and strategies for managing some common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma, such as fatigue, difficulty sleeping, breathlessness, pain, constipation and weight loss. As you may be experiencing several symptoms, you may have a combination of treatments. Keep in mind, however, that you won’t necessarily experience all the symptoms listed here.
If symptoms return after a period of relatively good health, you may be offered a different combination of treatments and strategies.
There are treatments, but there’s no cure. It just gives people a bit more time. At the moment I feel fine. I have my ups and downs and get tired.
SERAFINA
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Dr Anthony Linton, Medical Oncologist, Concord Cancer Centre and Concord Repatriation General Hospital, NSW; Dr Naveed Alam, Thoracic Surgeon, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and Monash Medical Centre, VIC; Donatella Arnoldo, Consumer; Polly Baldwin, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council SA; Dr Melvin (Wee Loong) Chin, Medical Oncologist, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases, WA; Prof Kwun Fong, Thoracic and Sleep Physician and Director, UQ Thoracic Research Centre, The Prince Charles Hospital, and Professor of Medicine, The University of Queensland, QLD; Vicki Hamilton OAM, Consumer and CEO, Asbestos Council of Victoria/GARDS Inc., VIC; Dr Susan Harden, Radiation Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Penny Jacomos, Social Worker, Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia, SA; Prof Brian Le, Director, Parkville Integrated Palliative Care Service, The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Lung Cancer Support Nurses, Lung Foundation Australia; Jocelyn McLean, Mesothelioma Support Coordinator, Asbestos Diseases Research Institute, NSW; Prof David Morris, Peritonectomy Surgeon, St George Hospital and UNSW, NSW; Joanne Oates, Registered Occupational Therapist, Expert Witness in Dust Diseases, and Director, Evaluate, NSW; Chris Sheppard and Adam Barlow, RMB Lawyers.
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