Mesothelioma is difficult to treat, in part because it is so rare compared to other diseases with similar symptoms, such as asthma or emphysema. Doctor visits are time limited. At least one clinic is known to limit doctor-patient time by patient’s age rather than reason for visit.
This is significant because early diagnosis has shown the most promise for success in treatment leading to reduction in symptoms and discomfort, and longer survival rates. Short visits imply that the clinic assumes that patients’ symptoms reflect the most common causes. For mesothelioma patients this can be disastrous as this practice can discourage doctors from digging deep enough to get a diagnosis until the “early stages” have passed.
Researchers continue to study new treatments for mesothelioma. Around the world a mesothelioma “epidemic” is expected. Over the next ten to twenty years, many workers exposed to asbestos prior to 1990 will begin developing a disease they never knew existed, let alone would devastate their lives so long after exposure.
Some of the most promising treatments currently undergoing clinical trials include:
- Gene therapy involving, of all things a herpes simplex virus
- Drug therapy with several drugs
- Chemotherapy using a combination of Pemetrexed combined with Cisplatin
- Chemotherapy using a combination of Pemetrexed combined with Carboplatin
- Chemotherapy using a combination of Gemcitabine combined with Cisplatin with and without a drug called Bevacizumab
- Photodynamic therapy that works by injecting a drug that makes cells sensitive to light of a specific wavelength then, during surgery directing that light onto the cells
- Immunotherapy, again using gene therapy to improve genetic immune responses
If you suspect you have mesothelioma, or have already been diagnosed with this deadly disease, please contact the experienced mesothelioma lawyers in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C., Brown | Kiely, LLP for a free consultation.
