Mesothelioma treatment options are improving with research and the program of treatment depends on factors such as where the cancer is situated, the stage of the cancer, how far it has spread, the patients age and needs and how the cancer cells appear under a microscope.

There are three main types of traditional treatment for people with mesothelioma lung cancer, namely, surgery to remove the cancer, chemotherapy which is the use of drugs to eradicate cancer cells and radiation therapy which uses x-rays in high dose or other energy rays to destroy cancer cells.  Usually, these therapies are combined. 

The mesothelioma cancer prognosis is usually only eight to twelve months.  However, time is of the essence when treating this disease and the earlier it is diagnosed, the better. 

In the case of surgery, sometimes diagnostic surgery is needed as a very necessary step, as mesothelioma diagnosis through fluid is sometimes inconclusive.  Sometimes a thoracoscopy (like an open biopsy but less invasive) is done to carry out multiple tissue biopsies and for assessment of the pleural cavity.  A conclusive diagnosis is obtained in up to 98% of cases.  Fluid can be drained from the intrapleural space at the same time and the extent of the tumor assessed to determine the possibilities of resection.

An alternative to thoracoscopy is video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) which is more invasive but the physician is able to see the pleural space using a camera while collecting tumor samples for examination by a pathologist.  The physician can also determine the extent of tumor invasion for example in the chest wall or pleural involvement. 

A laproscopy or mediastinoscopy are also sometimes used as other ways of gaging the extent of disease. 

Palliative procedures are used to treat symptoms of mesothelioma but do not treat the disease itself.  Such procedures include chest tube drainage and pleurodesis which are the most common palliative treatments.  Thoracoscopy and pleurodesis are done with VATS.  A pleuroperitoneal shunt  is sometimes used, but in limited capacity due to tumor seeding concerns.  Lastly a pleurectomy is sometimes carried out in cases where more extensive surgery is not possible. 

Along with diagnostic and palliative treatments, surgery with potentially curative intent is carried out where the aim is to remove all of the disease with the awareness that some microscopic elements will probably remain. 
For malignant pleural mesothelioma two surgical treatments are available namely, a pleurectomy/decortication which is carried out on early stage tumors (Stage I and sometimes Stage II) and secondly, an extrapleural  pneumonectomy which is only executed by surgeons with much expertise and where previous surgery has failed to cure or prolong life.
For peritoneal mesothelioma, cytoreductive surgery aims at removing all of the visible or gross tumor within the peritoneal cavity. Cancer cells left are treated with chemotherapy and focused in the abdominal cavity.
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with anticancer chemical substances to control the division of cancerous cells by destroying them.  It is not considered curative but seeks to control the spread, shrink tumors, to relieve symptoms like pain and to destroy microscopic cells remaining post surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy).
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy is included in the range of mesothelioma treatment options and treats the tumor with the use of penetrative beams of high energy radiation and can be used in conjunction with surgery and palliatively.
 

Also known as Annona muricata, soursop or guananbaba, the possible Graviola cancer cure has been under investigation since the 1940s.  This tropical plant grows in Central and South America and has been purposely grown for its healing properties for more than three centuries.  The bark, fruit, leaves and roots have been utilized in folk medicines mainly as a sedative.  However, native South American healers have used the plant to improve ailments such as heart complaints, arthritis, liver problems, fevers and asthma.

Researchers have found that Graviola does show remarkable potential healing properties and has given positive results in test tube studies.  However as yet, there have been no clinical trials on humans or animals.

The National Cancer Institute carried out the first modern clinical research on Graviola in 1976.  Tests done at Perdue University found that prostate, lung and pancreatic cancerous cells were killed by the leaves of the Graviola plant.   Further studies were conducted to investigate the chemical effects of the plant in laboratory tests, however tests on humans or animals are required to create conclusive results.  Studies in Korea resulted in findings that cells from colon cancer where destroyed more effectively – 10,000 times stronger – using Graviola than Adriamycin, a popular chemotherapy drug.  Taken in isolation and with the quest continuing to find a cure for cancer Graviola certainly seems to be very effective.

There are known side effects from chemotherapy which is used on tumors like mesothelioma cancer, such as hair loss and nausea.  However, Graviola only targeted and killed the carcinogenic cells leaving normal healthy cells alone, much more preferable than toxic drugs which can kill the cancer but also the healthy cells.  Cancers such as malignant mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma are aggressive cancers caused by exposure to asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral used in building.  Its use has now been banned.

In traditional native folk medicine, the seeds of Graviola are utilized in the removal of parasites in the human body.  Jamaicans and West Indians eat the fruit to stop diarrhea and lower fevered body temperatures.  Brazilians make a tea from Graviola to relieve liver complaints and extract oils from the seeds to improve rheumatic conditions and arthritis.  In Guyana the leaves are made into a tea and drank for a healthy heart and as a sedative. 

The Graviola herb has shown promising results and the active ingredients are called Annonaceous acetogenins.  In test tubes they have aggressive anticancer results and only a small amount is needed to produce positive effects – 1 part in 100,000,000 for example.

The Graviola tree cancer cure is still under trial but, worldwide, there are more than two thousand varieties of plants in the Annonaceae family and the potential for further cures to serious diseases is clearly exciting.  Graviola supplements and Graviola extract are available to aid well-being and taken as a general healthful tonic for the body.  The fruit is high in carbohydrates especially fructose and contains significant vitamins – C, B1 and B2.  So, it seems that there is hope, however, more in depth research needs to be conducted to produce a definitive graviola cancer cure.