Mesothelioma Hospitals

When choosing a care provider, many mesothelioma patients will turn to a hospital for treatment. These facilities often employ board-certified doctors and specialists and quite a few offer other comprehensive resources such as counseling, an information library and a pharmacy. While local care is often available, some patients will travel across the country to a prestigious hospital with state-of-the-art facilities or renowned physicians.

Treatment Options at a Mesothelioma Hospital

Three main treatment options are commonly accepted as mesothelioma therapy and are offered at most major hospitals:

Surgery – Surgical biopsies may be used to diagnose the cancer, but curative and palliative surgeries may also be performed. Surgeries used as treatment may remove all or part of the lung, drain fluid from the affected area, or extract all or part of the tumor.
Chemotherapy – Mesothelioma chemotherapy strives to kill cancerous cells through the administration of medication. Chemotherapy drugs may be administered in a pill form or intravenously, and these medications are often used in conjunction with radiation.
Radiation Therapy – Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to kill cancer and prevent tumors from spreading. As with chemotherapy, radiation therapy may be used with curative or palliative intent and the various radiation therapy procedures involve bombarding a mesothelioma tumor with radioactive materials.

Alternative therapies such as immunotherapy and gene therapy may also be accessed through a hospital's clinical trial program.

Mesothelioma Treatment Centers

Even though comprehensive and attentive care is available in smaller or independent hospitals, certain facilities across the nation have earned a reputation for offering the highest quality of treatment. These mesothelioma cancer centers include:

Brigham and Woman's Hospital
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Duke University Medical Center
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
John Hopkins Hospital
Mayo Clinic
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
University of California at LA Medical Center
University of California at San Francisco Medical Center
University of Chicago Medical Center
University of Michigan Medical Center
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
University of Washington Medical Center
Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center

Additionally, the National Cancer Institute has designated more than 50 hospitals as Comprehensive Cancer Centers, indicating an adherence to the highest standards of medical care.