Most patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma are treated using a multi-modality approach that includes some combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. Whether their goals are curative or palliative, these are the tools that are most frequently used. But a recently-published case study of a 64-year-old patient who chose to follow a different path has yielded surprising results that researchers say warrant further investigation.
Anti-Inflammatory Treatment Provided Long-Term Survival
The mesothelioma clinical trial was offered in London and was chosen by the patient, whose exposure to asbestos came after years of employment as a heating engineer. Though he was offered the standard treatment protocols of chemotherapy, he made the decision to enroll in a clinical trial that was investigating whether anti-inflammatory drugs would provide a benefit. His physicians treated his mesothelioma using nothing but aspirin and other anti-inflammatory treatments
Remarkably, on only the anti-inflammatory medications the patient’s malignant mesothelioma stopped growing. A year after treatment began a CT scan showed no progression of the tumors, and he was still alive four years later, by which time his scan showed “modest but definite” advancement.
Physicians Detail Anti-Inflammatory Mesothelioma Treatment
Writing in Respiratory Medicine Case Reports, A.G. Dalgleish explained the treatment protocol used on the mesothelioma patient. “He was advised to correct his low vitamin D3 level and to start using anti-inflammatories such as aspirin, bromelain and low dose Naltrexone.” After the four-year period a new lump was found on the opposite side of his chest and he began radiation therapy treatment. As the cancer metastasized, he chose to use CBD and THC, both of which sourced from marijuana plants.
Alternative treatments for malignant mesothelioma are options that patients should not pursue on their own, but can be discussed with your physician. For more information about other resources available to you, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net at 1-800-692-8608.
