Best Doctors in India for Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment
Best Hospitals in India for Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment
CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram
- City: Gurugram, India
Hospital Highlights:
- The CK Birla Hospital in Gurugram is a NABH-accredited multi-specialty hospital.
- The hospital strives to increase the quality of healthcare by focusing on UK NHS nurse and midwife training requirements. Policies and practices derived from the National Institute for Health and Treatment Excellence (NICE) recommendations in the United Kingdom ensuring that a strong focus on safety, high-quality clinical care, and sanitation is maintained.
- The hospital’s cutting-edge technology and facilities allow for real-time communication and seamless collaboration among caregivers, ensuring accuracy and the best possible results. Those with foreign experience and accreditations make up part of the hospital’s team of clinicians.
KIMS Hospital, Hyderabad
- City: Hyderabad, India
Hospital Highlights:
- KIMS Hospital (a brand name of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences) is one of the largest and best multi-speciality hospitals in Hyderabad. The hospital provides various treatments to an enormous number of patients.
- The hospital has a capacity of more than 3000 beds. KIMS Hospitals offers different healthcare services in more than 25 specialities and super specialities.
- The hospital is equipped with modern medical equipment and technology. It has robotic equipment to provide minimal invasive techniques for patients.
- The hospital is aimed at providing world-class healthcare facilities and services at an affordable cost for patients.
- The various specialities and departments of the hospital include neurosciences, gastroenterology & hepatology, robotic science, reproductive sciences, dental science, oncological sciences, organ transplantation, heart and lung transplantation and mother and child care.
Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh
- City: New Delhi, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh is a multi-super specialty hospital that strives to provide world-class patient care by leaving no stone unturned.
- Fortis, Shalimar Bagh, with 262 beds and a 7.34-acre footprint, provides the best level of medical care through its team of doctors, nurses, technicians, and management professionals.
Reliance Hospital, Mumbai
- City: Mumbai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Reliance Hospital is one of the best super-specialty care hospitals in Navi Mumbai.
- The main purpose of this hospital is to become a trustworthy place for the best health and hope for society. The hospital is well connected to the suburbs of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
- The hospital has various specialty departments, viz., Accident & Emergency, Anesthesiology, Dental Services, Dermatology, Diabetology, Dietetics Nutrition, Endocrinology, ENT, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Gynaecology And Obstetrics, Hepato Pancreato Biliary Surgery, Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, Interventional Radiology, Laboratory Medicine, Minimal Access Laparoscopic Surgery, Nephrology, Neurosciences, Opthalmology, Orthopaedics, Paediatrics, Pain Management Palliative Care, Physical Medicine Rehabilitation, Plastic And Reconstructive Surgery, Psychiatry, Pulmonary Medicine, Radiology, Rheumatology, Transplant, Urology Andrology, Vascular Surgery
Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre, Mumbai
- City: Mumbai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre is India’s premier multi-speciality tertiary care hospital and has been recognised as a global medical excellence centre.
- Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre has built an unrivalled level of trust with its patients over the years, thanks to a solid foundation that comprises cutting-edge facilities, the best medical competence, research, education, and charity endeavours.
- The hospital is quite proud of the fact that it now serves patients from all kinds of backgrounds, not just from the United States but from all around the world.
- The hospital has a total of 323 beds, one of the largest Intensive Care Units (ICUs), 12 Operation Theatres with modern amenities, over 300 consultants, and almost 1,800 personnel.
MGM Healthcare, Chennai
- City: Chennai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Located in Chennai, India, MGM Healthcare is a top multispecialty hospital that provides all medical services under one roof.
- Since its founding in 2019, MGM Healthcare has quickly become a leading national referral centre, creating several innovative flagship initiatives.
- MGM Healthcare combines next-generation medical and digital technologies to provide better patient results.
- With 12 centres of excellence, more than 400 inpatient beds, 100 intensive care unit beds, and 24/7 emergency care, MGM Healthcare leaves no chance in redefining the patient experience in Chennai.
- MGM Healthcare boasts 250+ expert doctors across 30+ departments, including Cardiology, Pulmonology, Neurology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and more.
- They house 12 specialized Centres of Excellence, including Neurosciences, Orthopaedics, and Multi-Organ Transplantation.
- Their team of doctors, nurses, and paramedics works together to give every patient individualized treatment.
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a type of aggressive and deadly cancer. It occurs in the thin layer of tissue that covers the majority of your internal organs, also termed as the mesothelium.
Although treatment options are available for this condition, for many patients suffering from Mesothelioma, a cure is not possible. The average life expectancy for a patient after diagnosis is 12-21 months, though prognosis might improve with treatment.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of this condition generally depend on where this cancer occurs-
Pleural Mesothelioma: This type of Mesothelioma affects the tissue surrounding the lungs, and can cause various signs and symptoms such as:
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Painful coughing
- Unexplained weight loss
- Lumps of tissue under your chest skin
Peritoneal Mesothelioma: This type of Mesothelioma occurs in tissue in the abdomen, and can lead to signs and symptoms such as:
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Abdominal swelling
- Unexplained weight loss
Other forms:
Although other forms of Mesothelioma also exist, but signs and symptoms are generally unclear, since these forms of the disease are generally rare.
Causes & risk factors
The most common and main risk factor for mesothelioma is working with asbestos. Asbestos is a group of minerals containing thin microscopic fibers, which are resistant to heat, fire as well as chemicals, and do not conduct electricity. Due to this quality, they are generally used widely in the construction, automotive, and other industries.
In the manufacturing process for asbestos, the fibers are released into the air, and they might be inhaled and swallowed, which can lead to serious health problems. The majority of mesothelioma cases are linked with exposure to asbestos during work. There is also evidence to suggest that family members and anyone living with asbestos workers also have an increased risk of developing this condition. This risk is generally the result of the dust brought home on the clothing and hair.
In some cases, Mesothelioma has also been reported in individuals with no known exposure to asbestos. Some of the uncommon but possible causes include:
Zeolites- These types of minerals are related to asbestos chemically. Exposure to erionite, another one of these related minerals, is also believed to be responsible for high rates of mesothelioma rates in areas such as Turkey, where it is commonly found.
Radiation- According to The American Cancer Society, there have been a few published reports of Mesothelioma that developed after exposure to high doses of radiation to the abdomen or chest after injections of thorium dioxide or thorotrast. This material was used by doctors in chest X-rays in the 20th century.
Genetics- According to some experts, certain people are also genetically predisposed to mesothelioma. Rates of the disease can vary among populations.
SV40 virus- Some studies in laboratory animals have also raised the possibility that infection with the simian virus 40 can increase the risk of developing mesothelioma.
Diagnosis
Physical exam
If you are having signs and symptoms of mesothelioma, then your doctor will be conducting a physical exam in order to check for any lumps or any such unusual signs.
Imaging scans
Your doctor will likely order imaging scans such as a chest X-ray and a computerized tomography scan of your abdomen or chest, in order to look for abnormalities.
Based on the findings, you might need to undergo further testing in order to determine whether mesothelioma or another disease is leading to the symptoms.
Biopsy
Biopsy, a procedure for removing a small portion of tissue, for laboratory examination, is the only way for determining whether you are having mesothelioma. Depending on the area of your body that is affected, your doctor will select the right biopsy procedure for you.
Additional tests
Once your mesothelioma has been confirmed, your doctor might need to recommend additional tests in order to understand whether cancer has spread to lymph nodes or to any other areas in your body.
Tests can include:
- CT scans of your chest and abdomen
- Positron emission tomography (PET)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Your doctor is going to determine which tests are appropriate for you. Then he/she is going to use the information from these tests to assign a stage to your cancer, which ranges from I to IV. The lower the number, the more it is likely to be localized to the area around the lungs, and the higher it is, the more likely it is that the cancer has spread to other areas of your body. Once your doctor is able to identify the cancer stage, he/she is going to select the treatments that are right for you.
Treatment
While deciding the treatment option for you, your doctor considers several factors such as your overall health, the stage, or your cancer as well as its location.
Unfortunately, this condition is generally aggressive, and for most people, a cure isn’t possible. It is also usually diagnosed at an advanced stage when removing the cancer is not possible, through an operation. Therefore, your doctor might work to control it.
Surgery
Surgery might sometimes be successful in curing cancer. However, most of the time, it is not possible to remove all of the cancer. In such cases, surgery can help to reduce the signs and symptoms caused by mesothelioma which is spreading in your body. Surgical options can be of various types.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves using chemicals to kill cancer cells. Systemic chemotherapy is able to travel throughout the body and might help to shrink or slow the growth of a mesothelioma that is not removable through surgery. Chemotherapy can sometimes also be used before surgery to make the operation easier or in some cases, after surgery, for reducing the chance that cancer will return.
Chemotherapy drugs can also be heated and be directly administered into the abdominal cavity, in the case of peritoneal mesothelioma.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy focuses high-energy beams from sources such as protons or X-rays to a specific spot or spots on the body. Radiation can also be used after surgery for killing any remaining cancer cells. It might help in reducing symptoms of advanced cancer as well, in situations where surgery is not an option.
Immunotherapy
Targeted Therapy
Complications
As your pleural mesothelioma continues to spread in the chest, it can put pressure on the structures in that area, leading to complications such as difficulty in breathing and swallowing, chest pain, pain caused by pressure on the nerves and spinal cord, and accumulation of fluid in the chest, which can compress the lung nearby and make breathing even more difficult.
Prevention
In order to prevent this condition, it is important to reduce your exposure to asbestos. Workers who might encounter asbestos fibers include:
- Asbestos miners
- Plumbers
- Pipefitters
- Electricians
- Insulators
- Demolition workers
- Selected military personnel
- Shipyard workers
- Home remodelers
- Brake mechanics
If you are any of the above, then it is important to ask your employer, whether you have a risk of asbestos exposure on the job.
Remember to follow all safety precautions in your workplace, which includes wearing protective equipment. It is also best if you shower and change out of your work clothes before you are taking a lunch break or going home. You can talk to your doctor to ask if you need to take any further precautions.