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Alternative medicine
By Mayo Clinic staffNo alternative medicine treatments have proved helpful in treating mesothelioma. But complementary and alternative mesothelioma treatments may help control signs and symptoms. Discuss options with your doctor.
Mesothelioma can cause pressure within your chest that can make you feel as if you're always short of breath. Breathlessness can be distressing. Your doctor may recommend using supplemental oxygen or taking medications to make you more comfortable, but often these aren't enough. Combining your doctor's recommended treatments with complementary and alternative approaches may help you feel better.
Alternative treatments that have shown some promise in helping people cope with breathlessness include:
- Acupuncture. Acupuncture uses thin needles inserted at precise points into your skin.
- Breath training. A nurse or physical therapist can teach you breathing techniques to use when you feel breathless. Sometimes you may feel breathless and begin to panic. Implementing these techniques may help you feel more in control of your breathing.
- Relaxation exercises. Slowly tensing and relaxing different muscle groups may help you feel more at ease and breathe easier. Your doctor may refer you to a therapist who can teach you relaxation exercises so that you can do them on your own.
- Sitting near a fan. Directing a fan to your face may help ease the sensation of breathlessness.
- Malignant pleural mesothelioma. Fort Washington, Pa.: National Comprehensive Cancer Network. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/mpm.pdf. Accessed June 28, 2010.
- Sovak MA, et al. Tumors of the pleura and mediastinum. In: Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2007:1367.
- Broaddus VC, et al. Tumors of the pleura. In: Murray and Naedel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..C2009-0-37805-8--TOP&isbn=978-1-4160-4710-0&uniq=207463617#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..C2009-0-37805-8--TOP%3Bfrom%3Dcontent%3Bisbn%3D978-1-4160-4710-0%3Btype%3DbookHome. Accessed June 28, 2010.
- Mesothelioma: Questions and answers. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/sites-types/mesothelioma. Accessed June 28, 2010.
- Alexander HR. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 29, 2010.
- Frias-Kletecka MC, et al. Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis. The Journal of Urology. 2007;178:1489.
- Malignant mesothelioma treatment (PDQ). National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/malignantmesothelioma/patient/allpages. Accessed June 28, 2010.
- Frequently asked questions about cancer, simian virus 40 (SV40) and polio vaccine. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/updates/archive/polio_and_cancer.htm. Accessed June 29, 2010.
- Thorium: ToxFAQs. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tf.asp?id=659&tid=121. Accessed June 29, 2010.
- Schartzstein RM, et al. Dyspnea. In: Murray and Naedel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..C2009-0-37805-8--TOP&isbn=978-1-4160-4710-0&uniq=207463617#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..C2009-0-37805-8--TOP%3Bfrom%3Dcontent%3Bisbn%3D978-1-4160-4710-0%3Btype%3DbookHome. Accessed June 28, 2010.
- Bausewein C, et al. Non-pharmacological intervention for breathlessness in advanced stages of malignant and non-malignant diseases. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2009;CD005623.
- Asbestos: Basic information. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/help.html. Accessed June 29, 2010.
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