A mesothelioma diagnosis can be a frightening thing, especially when the patient doesn't know what to expect. Mesothelioma, also commonly called asbestos cancer, is a type of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos. Asbestos fibers are inhaled or ingested and remain in the body for years, and can eventually cause in cancer. While pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining around the lungs, is the most common type there are also two other types: peritoneal which affects the lining of the abdomen and pericardial which affects the lining of the heart.

Treatments for all types of mesothelioma have several things in common. First of all, most cases of malignant mesothelioma can only be treated with chemotherapy, radiation or alternative treatments. In some cases of pleural mesothelioma, surgery is used to remove a cancerous mass from the lung. But often, the disease has progressed to the point where this is impossible. In most cases of peritoneal and pericardial mesothelioma, chemotherapy and radiation are used as palliative care which means that the care is only to keep the patient as comfortable as possible and to manage the cancer for a better quality of life.

The first treatment option typically looked at is surgery. If a mass in the lining of the lung tissue can be removed, this is one option. Sometimes surgery is an option because it's believed that the cancer is contained in one tumor that can be removed. Because this cancer is aggressive, typically it has already spread beyond the lung by the time it's discovered. How effective surgery is in this case is a highly debated topic in the medical community. If a mass in the lung causes pain and severe difficulty in breathing, sometimes surgery is used to simply relieve those symptoms with no expectation that it will prolong life.

A thoracentesis is a procedure that's used in up to 90% of pleural mesothelioma patients that can offer relief by removing the fluid buildup in the chest. This involves a long needle inside the chest cavity that is used to pull the fluid out. Because the fluid buildup can not only make it difficult to breathe but can cause extreme pain, removing the fluid can offer immediate relief. An antibiotic can be introduced to the chest cavity through a needle as well to try to prevent or slow further fluid buildup. This will not cure the cancer or necessarily even slow its progression, but offers relief for the patient. Peritoneal and pericardial sufferers can also have the fluid removed from the abdomen or from around the heart, but these procedures come with higher risk of complications.