Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Hi Anne

Thank you for posting on our online community. I very much hope you will hear from others who have this type of cancer and their experiences. 

As I am sure you know it is a very rare type of cancer. Which treatment will be the most suitable will depend on how advanced the cancer is, how well you are generally plus your personal wishes.

Treatment options may be chemotherapy either intravenously or directly into the peritoneum. Chemotherapy given directly into the peritoneum is call hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). This chemotherapy would be given immediately after surgery. The type of surgery is called cytoreductive surgery or debulking surgery. 

In Ireland the centre of excellence for this type of treatment is in the Peritoneal Malignancy Institute in the Mater hospital in Dublin. Those with a diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma can seek an opinion from the multidisciplinary team in the Mater through their current medical team.

Anne unfortunately not everyone who is referred to this centre in the Mater is subsequently thought suitable for this very aggressive treatment. For some it can be advised to have treatments that manage their symptoms rather than surgery or chemotherapy.

It would be great to talk to you on our support line about this and about how you are. Our phone number is 1800 200 700 and we are here Mon-Fri 9-5pm.  It must be overwhelming for you.

Meanwhile I do hope you will hear from others here but because it is so rare I thought I would post a reply.

Wishing you the very best.

Kind regards

Cancer Nurse