Before your Mesothelioma Surgery

You may have had some of these tests while your cancer was being diagnosed. If so, you may not have to have them repeated.

CT and MRI scans are done to see how far the cancer has spread. Your specialist may be able to tell from this test whether it is possible to remove your cancer or not.

Lung tests are very important before this type of treatment. Your specialist needs to be sure that your lungs are working well enough for you to recover well from your surgery. Lung function tests measure how well your lungs take in oxygen. There are different types of lung function test. The simplest involves you breathing out as hard as you can into a tube attached to a machine. This measures how much air your lungs can take in.

For another type of lung function test, you may have to breathe in a very small amount of radioactive gas. This will not harm you. It just shows up your airways on the scan. The radioactivity involved is very small and goes away within a couple of hours. Lung perfusion tests look at the blood supply to the lungs. This means having a small radioactive injection. Again, this won't harm you. It shows the specialist the blood flowing to your lungs. These 2 tests can be done together and only take about 20 minutes.

An echocardiogram is a sound test of your heart. It is painless and only takes about half an hour. An echocardiogram can show if the cancer has spread into the heart muscle. Mesothelioma can sometimes spread from the lining of the lung to the cavity at the centre of the chest (the mediastinum), which contains the heart.

Your nurse or physiotherapist will teach you breathing and leg exercises. You can help yourself to get over your operation by doing these exercises regularly after your surgery. You should do them as often as you are told you need to. Breathing exercises will stop you from getting a chest infection. And leg exercises will help to stop clots forming in your legs. Both of these complications of surgery can happen because you are not moving around as much as you normally would be. Your nurses will encourage you to get up and about as soon as possible after your operation. But this is major surgery, and you will be in bed for a few days at least.

When you go into hospital for your operation, your surgeon, anaesthetist, physiotherapist and nurse will all come to talk to you about what will happen. Your surgeon will explain what is going to be done and what to expect when you come round from the anaesthetic. Do ask as many questions as you need to. It may help to make a list of your questions before you go into hospital for your operation. The more you know about what is going to happen, the less frightening it will seem. Don't worry if you think of more questions later. Just speak to your nurses. If they cannot answer your questions, they can contact the doctor to come and talk to you again.

On the day