Managing symptoms

In this section we discuss ways to manage the symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma and its treatment.

Learn more about:

• Overview
• Fatigue
• Difficulty sleeping
• Breathlessness
• Pain
• Constipation
• Lack of appetite and weight loss
• How palliative treatment can help

Overview

For many people, mesothelioma is diagnosed at an advanced stage, and the main aim of treatment is to manage symptoms and keep them under control for as long as possible. Treating symptoms will help improve your quality of life. Treatment may slow tumour growth, make you feel better and help you live longer. This is called palliative treatment.

Palliative treatment aims to manage the symptoms without trying to cure the disease. It can be used at any stage of advanced cancer to improve quality of life. It does not mean giving up hope – rather it is about living as fully and comfortably as possible. Early palliative care is sometimes also called supportive care.

This section describes treatments and strategies for managing some common symptoms of mesothelioma, such as fatigue, difficulty sleeping, breathlessness, pain, constipation and weight loss. As you may be experiencing several symptoms, you may have a combination of treatments. Keep in mind, however, that you won’t necessarily experience all the symptoms listed here.

If symptoms return after a period of relatively good health, you may be offered a different combination of treatments and strategies.

→ READ MORE: Managing fatigue

There’s treatments, but there’s no cure. It just gives people a bit more time. At the moment I feel fine. I have my ups and downs and get tired.

SERAFINA

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