Mesothelioma is an incredibly deadly cancer, with only 8% of people with the disease living to five years after their initial diagnosis.
While many people do turn to traditional cancer treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, clinical trials typically have a higher success rate than these more generic treatment options.
This cancer is primarily caused by exposure to asbestos.
While asbestos is useful with its many insulating properties, it is not biodegradable in our bodies.
Thus, if we inhale or ingest microscopic asbestos fibers, they can become lodged in our lungs, throat, esophagus, etc.
, and form nodules that can become cancerous.
Mesothelioma is cancer of the linings of the body, which means it attacks the lining of the lungs, heart, abdomen, or testes.
This disease has only been recognized as a separate cancer since the late 1950s.
It was researched in South Africa in the 1940s.
After WWII, South Africa created several different asbestos mines.
In 1948, the government built a hospital near a mine that focused on chest problems and infectious diseases.
Doctors there noticed the presence of a lung problem that did not respond to tuberculosis medication.
After years of studying the condition, a team of doctors and researchers finally presented their conclusion that there is a disease, mesothelioma, that is mostly caused by asbestos exposure.
Because this is a fairly newly recognized problem, there is still a lot of ongoing research for treatment.
Thus, many people turn to clinical trials to hopefully treat the disease.
Clinical trials exist in three different phases.
Phase I tests how the new procedure or medication should be used.
Next, phase II helps to devise a plan for dosage, and it determines how well the process actually works.
Phase III includes a large amount of people and is used to see how the new method of treatment compares with existing options.
Currently, there are many different clinical trials available to help treat mesothelioma.
Some of the current trials include: * Gene therapy for pleural tumors * Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid in combination with standard medication to treat advanced tumors * Oxaliplatin combined with gemcitabine chemotherapy * Chemotherapy plus intensity modulated radiation in pleural mesothelioma As you can see, treating mesothelioma and living with this disease can be difficult.
Sadly, many people were exposed to asbestos, so the rate of mesothelioma diagnoses may not peak until 2016.
If you or someone you know has developed this terrible disorder, you should speak to a lawyer about possible financial recompense.