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Treatment - Surgery
Before you consider surgery, please consider your overall health. Make
sure your health is evaluated carefully by a doctor. Make sure your
doctor have you tested to make sure that you don’t have metastatic
disease. Metastatic disease is cancer that spreads to distant area
of your body.
There may be an occasion where cancer is only in one area of the pleura,
where surgery can be used to cure mesothelioma. Using surgery, it
can remove part, or all, of the pleura and tissues closes to the
cancer. Sometime, the affected side which involves the pleura, whole
lung, and diagram are removed along with the tumor.
Even though you may do the surgery, beware that even surgery may not cure
mesothelioma. It is important that you discuss this with your doctor
before hand so that you have the full understanding of what is
happening/going on with the surgery. Only you can consent the
surgery, so please make sure you have a full understanding of what
is involved.
Sometime, in order to achieve the full effect of surgery, radiotherapy or
chemotherapy may be involved in order to ensure that mesothelioma
is, at best cured.
After operation, sometime it can take many weeks to recover from the
surgery. In order to speed up recovery, it is best to be active as
possible. If you are required to stay in bed, keep regular leg
movements to stay active. To help out with the breathing exercise, a
physiotherapist will work with you on this.
Intravenous infusion and drainage tubes will be on you in order to
maintain and monitor your overall health. Tubes usually go away when
you begin to eat and drink normally and when the overall health
improves.
You may feel some pain or discomfort after the surgery. This is quite
normal and by making a request to the nurse or doctor, you can
control it with painkillers. Be aware that pain or discomfort may
persist for few weeks. Be sure to ask your doctor on what to do
about the pain.
Mesothelioma patients usually go home 5 to 10 days after the operation.
When you go home, be sure to exercise often but gently to build your
strength. Be sure to ask your doctor on type of exercises that are
appropriate for you. Typically walking and swimming exercise will
suffice for those with surgery in the approximation of lungs.
For more information on treatments and solutions after surgery, ask your
doctor. You can also call 1-800-919-3246 for updated list of
Mesothelioma hospitals that do these procedures.
Please note: You should only rely on the advice of your physician when
considering treatment options for mesothelioma, or any other
disease. |
