Palliative care for mesothelioma patients

There will be times when you want help managing the symptoms of your mesothelioma. Don't hesitate to ask your doctor for help; he or she can recommend palliative care at any time - that is, treatments that may offer you some relief from pain or other symptoms but do not represent a cure for mesothelioma.. Part of the medical community's commitment to you is to ease your discomfort as much as possible as you fight your disease.

There are a number of non-traditional therapies that may help you manage both your symptoms and the anxiety you may feel at times. They can even be helpful in managing your stress and pain. They include:

• Massage
• Aromatherapy
• Reflexology
• Acupuncture
• Shiatsu

Read more about these in the section Resources & Support.

The following material has been excerpted from www.cancerbacup.org.uk

Easing your breathing

One symptom of pleural mesothelioma (cancer of the lining of the lungs) is called a pleural effusion. If you begin having noticeable difficulty breathing, it may be the result of a build-up of fluid around your lungs. This fluid begins pressing on your lungs, making it difficult to breathe deeply. You may feel increasingly breathless, even at rest, and may also get some chest pain and a cough.

To help relieve these symptoms your doctor may recommend a treatment to slow the build-up of the fluid and drain the fluid to relieve the symptoms.

Your doctor will ask you to sit up and then lean forward over a table with a pillow so that she can see your back. He or she will make a very small cut and insert a needle (cannula) through which fluid will drain out of your chest into a container (it's normal for it to contain a small amount of blood). With a lot of fluid, you will usually need to stay in the hospital for a couple of days. A small stitch holds the cannula in place. If only a small amount of fluid drains, your doctor will remove the cannula immediately and bandage the area. If you have pain or discomfort later, ask the doctor or nurse for some pain relief.

When the doctors think most of the fluid has drained, you will have a chest x-ray to see how well your lung has re-expanded. Sometimes the procedure has to be repeated more than once.

Preventing recurrence

Sometimes your doctor will want to see if he can prevent the fluid buildup from recurring. In a process called pleurodesis, drugs such as bleomcyin or tetracycline may be injected through the drain to help seal the two layers of the pleura together.

For about an hour you'll be asked to lie in various positions in the bed to help the drug circulate around the covering/lining of the lungs. The doctor may apply a small amount of pressure with a suction machine to help the sealing process.

Your doctor may also prescribe some chemotherapy or hormone therapy to treat the cancer and help prevent the fluid from building up again.

Additional information

• Your doctor will want to drain any fluid fairly slowly (a little faster at first) so that your blood pressure remains stable. You should let your doctor or nurse know if you feel dizzy, sick or lightheaded.
• If the drain becomes clogged, your doctor will help you change position to clear it.
• Your doctor will monitor your temperature to watch for signs of any possible infection.
• If a pleurodesis is necessary your doctor can prescribe painkillers for any chest pain you might have for a day or so.
• If your drainage tube is attached to a bottle and you can walk around with it, be sure not to raise it above your chest as the fluid could move back into your lungs.