Treatment Options for Mesothelioma

Do you know what type/location of mesothelioma this person has and if any diagnostics have been performed to disclose the cell type? The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is a great peer-reviewed resource for you. Give them a call when you can. My husband died from pleural meso in 2016, 10-months post formal diagnosis and we went the standard chemotherapy route for palliative purposes. I regret this decision very much as I feel the treatment hastened his death and greatly diminished his quality of life. I would be curious in hindsight to know how other meso patients (who are not surgical candidates) have fared with just palliative and/or supportive care that does not involve anything toxic or that carriers significant negative side effects. My husband was diagnosed and treated at Mayo Rochester.

@stimme, I moved your message to the Lung Cancer group (https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/lung-cancer/) so that you can connect with other members with experience with pleural mesothelioma, like @lisakuehl and @richm.

There are 4 types of malignant mesothelioma:
- Pleural Mesothelioma: found in the chest cavity, on the surface of the lung and on the diaphragm,
- Peritoneal Mesothelioma: found in the abdomen on the surface of the omentum and visceral organs,
- Pericardial Mesothelioma: growing on the exterior surface of the pericardium, or lining of the heart
- Testicular Mesothelioma: noted as a thickening of the ducts and glands in the testes.

Do you know what type of mesothelioma your friend has?

You might also be interested in this discussion:
- SMART protocol for mesothelioma https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/smart-protocol-for-mesothelioma/

Lisa, whether to have or not have chemotherapy is a difficult decision when standard treatment can only offer minimal extension of life. That is when quality and quantity must be aligned with the desires of the patient and the family. Sometimes there is a significant family event in the future like the marriage of a child or waiting for family members to return from abroad for which treatment can help add time. But the side effects can certainly affect quality of life to such a degree that some may opt out. That's what my dad did with treatment for colon cancer. He started on treatment, but the effects were not how he wanted to live his last months. The treatment didn't hasten his death, but he was much more comfortable with his decision to stop treatment.

Stimme, there are no natural protocols or integrative medicine that will cure mesothelioma. However there are some that can help ease symptoms.
Here's additional information: https://www.asbestos.com/treatment/alternative/ as well as the resource that Lisa recommended:
- Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation https://www.curemeso.org/

Many thanks. I have forwarded this to my friend. Hopefully, he can access the link. I have been following patient blogs for myelofibrosis first on Cancer Compass and now Mayo Clinic and the information I have learned is vital!