Should Mesothelioma Patients Choose Chemotherapy?

Even if you catch it at an early stage, a cancer diagnosis changes your life forever. You look forward to being cancer-free; some cancer centers even celebrate this moment by having patients ring a bell when they finish their last treatment session. Of course, being in remission only means that you are cancer-free so far; you still need follow-up testing every so often to make sure that the cancer has not recurred.  

Cancer treatment is not easy, especially since many types of cancer involve several treatment modalities, none of which is easy to endure. The complexity of cancer treatment varies according to the type and stage of the cancer, as well as any other underlying health conditions the patient has, but even in the best of cases, it is never as simple as permanently making the problem go away in a single doctor’s office visit, like you can with, for example, impacted wisdom teeth.  

Mesothelioma is a notoriously difficult cancer to manage, and many times, the cure is not much better than the disease. Your doctors will explain your treatment options, and the final decision is up to you.  Unfortunately, all of the options are costly, but a Houma mesothelioma lawyer can help you work out the financial aspects of treatment.

Chemotherapy as a Mesothelioma Treatment

The term ‘chemotherapy’ refers to a category of drugs that destroy rapidly dividing cells. Since cancer cells divide more quickly than any other type of cell in the body, chemotherapy drugs are effective at fighting cancer. The side effects of chemotherapy, such as immune suppression, dry mouth, hair loss, and nausea, are related to the fact that chemotherapy also harms other tissues where the cells divide rapidly, such as hair follicles, bone marrow, and the linings of the mouth and digestive organs.

Mesothelioma patients who undergo chemotherapy have longer survival times, on average, than patients who do not, whether or not they undergo surgery. If doctors are able to remove your mesothelioma tumor through a surgery such as pleurectomy decortication, they will still need to do chemotherapy to make sure that all the cancer cells are gone.

Paying for Chemotherapy

The side effects are only one of the scary things about chemotherapy; the drugs also tend to be very expensive. If you have private health insurance or Medicare, it will cover part of the cost. Likewise, the drug companies may subsidize the cost of the medications if you contact the companies directly or through a patient advocacy group such as the Meso Foundation. Finally, a mesothelioma lawyer can help you seek compensation from the companies responsible for the asbestos exposure that caused your mesothelioma.

Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey About Coping With a Mesothelioma Diagnosis

A mesothelioma lawyer can help you recover compensation for the costs of your mesothelioma treatment, so that your treatment decisions can be based on your health, not on money.  Contact the Law Office of Patrick H. Yancey in Houma, Louisiana to see if you have grounds for a lawsuit.