What Is Mesothelioma Palliative Care?
Palliative care for mesothelioma cancer is specialized treatment focused on making a patient’s life better by managing symptoms, reducing pain, and addressing emotional, mental, and spiritual needs.
This type of care helps both patients and caregivers and is sometimes referred to as comfort care or supportive care.
A mesothelioma palliative care team may include:
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Nutritionists
- Social workers
- Spiritual advisors/chaplains
- Other trained health care specialists
Get connected with a specialist who can develop a palliative care plan for you. Use our Free Doctor Match service to get started.
Benefits of Mesothelioma Palliative Care
Palliative care can be beneficial at any point after a mesothelioma diagnosis — and research suggests patients receiving palliative care live longer than those who do not.
Mesothelioma palliative treatment can:
- Relieve pain and other symptoms. Medications and other methods of pain and symptom relief can help you feel more comfortable and better able to enjoy life.
- Improve your ability to undergo treatment. Many life-extending mesothelioma treatments come with severe side effects. Palliative care aims to address these side effects so that you can continue with treatment as comfortably as possible.
- Support carers. Caregivers can benefit from mesothelioma palliative care through education, counseling, or logistical support. Respite care is also available to provide temporary relief.
- Address emotional and spiritual needs. Chaplains and therapists can help you navigate fears and worries and provide emotional support to help you cope with mesothelioma.
- Save you money on medical expenses. A study published in JCO Oncology Practice found that cancer patients who received specialty palliative care had reduced treatment costs.
A Tulane University study found that outpatient palliative care for advanced cancer patients not only improved quality of life but also led to longer survival.
“The survival benefit was comparable to what is often observed in the context of a breakthrough drug trial,” said Michael Hoerger, assistant professor of psychology, psychiatry, and oncology.
Pleural Mesothelioma Palliative Care
Palliative care for malignant pleural mesothelioma focuses on improving the quality of life for people with mesothelioma of the pleura (lung lining).
Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma may include:
- Chest pain
- Difficulty breathing
- Dry, chronic cough
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Pleural effusion
- Weight loss
To address these symptoms, pleural mesothelioma patients may receive palliative care via pain medication, diet and nutrition changes to improve energy levels and combat weight loss, and other methods to alleviate fever and coughing.
Specific pleural mesothelioma palliative care options include:
- Partial pleurectomy: Removal of part of the pleura (lung lining) so fluid can’t fill it. Fluid buildup in the pleura, called pleural effusions, is a common cause of discomfort in pleural mesothelioma patients.
- PleurX catheter: A catheter can be inserted into the pleural space to manage recurrent pleural effusions. Patients can then have the fluid drained at home instead of going to the hospital.
- Talc pleurodesis: The space between the two layers of the pleura is sealed with medical-grade talc so that it can no longer fill with fluid.
- Thoracentesis: Doctors use a needle to drain pleural effusions so patients can breathe more easily.
- Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS): This procedure allows doctors to drain fluid or perform a partial pleurectomy to relieve symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.
All of these options are very helpful because pleural effusions are present in roughly 70% of pleural mesothelioma cases, and are often the first symptom patients experience.
“When it comes to mesothelioma treatment, you want to put quality of life on equal footing with extension of life.”
Peritoneal Mesothelioma Palliative Care
Palliative care for peritoneal mesothelioma addresses symptom management for individuals with mesothelioma of the peritoneum (abdominal lining).
Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include:
- Abdominal fluid buildup (ascites)
- Belly pain
- Bloating
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
Some of the peritoneal mesothelioma palliative care options include:
- Debulking surgery: Aims to remove as much of the tumor as possible to relieve internal pressure and other symptoms of a large tumor.
- Diet and nutrition: Working with a registered dietitian can help your body naturally cope with bloating, loss of appetite, and constipation.
- Paracentesis: Drains fluid in the lining of the abdominal cavity that surrounds nearby internal organs to reduce peritoneal mesothelioma symptoms.
Peritoneal mesothelioma patients may also receive medications to help manage pain, address nausea, and improve bowel movements.
Get help relieving your symptoms today with the help of a trained mesothelioma specialist. Use our Free Doctor Match service to connect with a doctor near you.
When to Get Mesothelioma Palliative Care
Many people associate palliative care with end-of-life care, but it’s not the same as hospice.
While palliative care can bring comfort to advanced-stage patients who may not qualify for life-extending treatments, it can be started at any time.
You may consider mesothelioma palliative care if:
- Your symptoms are becoming harder to manage.
- Treatments are causing severe side effects that impact your daily life.
- You’ve had multiple hospital or ER visits in a short time.
- A family member who has been providing care can no longer do so.
- Side effects are impacting your ability to continue treatments.
“When patients come in for their evaluation, all the relevant members of the team will see them — and that often does include palliative care. Palliative care is integrative. We’re looking at nutrition, physical therapy, and risk management. Those are really important things to get going right away, no matter what your therapy is.”
According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), “Patients and caregivers should be able to request malignant mesothelioma palliative care at any stage, with any prognosis, based on their needs.”
Types of Mesothelioma Palliative Treatment
There are several kinds of palliative care for patients with mesothelioma, from surgery to meditation. Learn about some of the most common ones below.
Palliative Care for Pain Management
Pain management is one of the most common reasons to seek mesothelioma palliative care. Mesothelioma tumors can press on nerves, bones, organs, or major blood vessels, leading to discomfort or severe pain.
Depending on the type of pain you or your loved one are experiencing, there are multiple options to help you manage it.
Common methods for mesothelioma pain management include:
- Nerve blocks: Injections of a local anesthetic or other drug into or near a nerve to block pain from being felt in the body.
- Over-the-counter medications: For milder pain, acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be recommended.
- Palliative chemotherapy for mesothelioma: May be administered after surgery and delivered throughout the body. Chemotherapy can help relieve pain by shrinking tumors.
- Palliative radiotherapy for mesothelioma: Mesothelioma palliative radiation may shrink the size of tumors to alleviate pain caused by them.
- Physical therapy: Certain physical exercises can help improve mobility and strength and help combat pain.
- Prescription medications: Moderate to severe pain may be managed by prescription drugs, such as opioids, including codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, morphine, oxycodone, or tramadol.
Other Palliative Medications
In addition to pain management, medications may be used to manage other uncomfortable mesothelioma symptoms.
Palliative medications may be used to address:
- Anxiety
- Appetite loss
- Constipation
- Depression
- Nausea
- Trouble breathing
- Vomiting
Like any cancer treatment strategy, your care team will aim to balance the impact of each treatment or set of side effects to be in your best interest.
Diet and Nutrition
Another way to support your body during treatment is through dietary changes, also called medical nutrition therapy (MNT). A licensed dietitian can develop a plan that fits your goals and lifestyle.
Some considerations for diet and nutrition include:
- Increasing your caloric intake to avoid weight loss
- Ensuring you’re eating enough protein to support cell growth and repair
- Stimulating your appetite by eating spicy foods or sucking on hard candies
- Controlling your nausea by changing how much and how often you eat
You can find more targeted tips and advice in our Free Nutrition Guide. Contact our Patient Advocates to get your copy.
Alternative Palliative Treatments for Mesothelioma
While alternative mesothelioma treatment should not replace professional medical care, there are certain lifestyle habits and therapies that can help improve quality of life.
Alternative mesothelioma treatment options include:
- Acupuncture
- Cupping
- Gentle movement
- Hypnosis
- Massage
- Meditation
- Reiki (energy healing)
- Yoga
Combined with intentional lifestyle choices, these options have helped some mesothelioma patients reduce stress and improve their overall well-being.
These alternative mesothelioma treatments are not right for everyone. In some cases, they could even negatively affect your standard treatments. For this reason, always talk to your doctor before starting any alternative forms of palliative care.
Learn how other patients have managed their mesothelioma side effects in our Free Survivors Guide.
Get Help Finding Mesothelioma Palliative Care
Choosing to pursue palliative care doesn’t mean you’re not fighting the disease — in fact, it can be a powerful tool to help you continue life-extending treatments. And whether you’ve stopped treatments or are in the middle of them, you deserve to be as comfortable as possible.
“Palliative care is your best friend through this process. You may experience unwanted long-term side effects from treatment, but you can enhance your quality of life by taking charge of it. Your mental and emotional health matters.”
Mesothelioma Hope can help you find the best treatments for your situation to help improve your quality of life and allow you to live longer.
Get help developing a palliative care plan by calling us at (866) 608-8933 or using our Free Doctor Match service today.
Mesothelioma Palliative Care FAQs
What is palliative treatment for mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma palliative treatment aims to improve a patient’s quality of life. It can be used to manage pain and other symptoms to make the patient’s life more comfortable and ensure they are better able to undergo treatments.
Palliative care for mesothelioma may include pain management; OTC or prescription medications; tumor-reducing methods like surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy; fluid removal; and mental, emotional, and spiritual support.
What is the difference between mesothelioma palliative care and hospice care?
Although palliative care and hospice care share some similarities, they are not the same.
- Hospice care is traditionally suited for individuals with terminal illnesses who are expected to live for a limited time, usually less than a year, and often just a few months.
- Palliative care is available to anyone with a serious illness, regardless of life expectancy.
Another key difference is that hospice care focuses solely on symptom relief, primarily pain management.
In contrast, palliative care allows patients to continue active treatment, such as chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, alongside symptom management.
How long can you live with palliative treatment?
Palliative care is mainly used to manage pain and alleviate symptoms in the later stages of mesothelioma. It is not used to improve life expectancy.
However, some studies have found that the earlier palliative treatments are used may have a positive impact on prognosis and life expectancy. It’s important to work with your mesothelioma specialist to determine the best treatment options for your diagnosis.
Can you have palliative care at home?
Yes, some palliative care treatments for mesothelioma can be administered at home. These may include medications or other therapies.
In other cases, you may need to visit an outpatient clinic or undergo a hospital procedure. Your cancer treatment team can help you plan the logistics of palliative care.
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