Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer, which affects the protective lining of the body's internal organs.
It usually develops in the outer lining of the lungs and the internal chest wall.
However, it is not limited to this organ.
It can also develop in the lining of the abdominal cavity, the heart, the sac surrounding the heart and the tunic vaginalis (a covering of the testis).
Mesothelioma is nearly exclusively caused by exposure to asbestos.
Though there have been rare cases where the cancer has developed in a person who has no known exposure to the material.
Treatment of mesothelioma depends on many factors.
The part of the body that is affected by the cancer and how far it has spread are important factors in determining the affective treatment for the disease.
Other factors include the patients age, the cancers stage, and the appearance of the cancer cells under a microscope.
Once these factors have been taken into account then a treatment plan can be developed.
There are several types of treatment for mesothelioma.
Most common among these are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Surgery entails the actually removal of the cancer through surgical procedures.
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer through the use of chemotherapy drugs, which usually block the enzymes necessary for DNA copying and cell division.
In radiation therapy, penetrating beams of high energy are used to attack the microscopic cancer cells in the body.
These three traditional treatments for mesothelioma can be used alone or together depending on the treatment plan created by the cancer team.
The prognosis for mesothelioma is not very promising; with the survival time expected, being only eight to twelve months.
This prognosis, however, is improving with the many advances that occur each day in the fight against cancer.