Mesothelioma Prognosis
It is always a sad day to discover that someone has mesothelioma. The good news is that many people diagnosed with mesothelioma continue to outlive the general prognosis they are ultimately given due to improvements in detecting and treating the cancer. Doctors often bear the unfortunate responsibility of answering the question, "how much longer do I have to live?" to these patients that have been given a confirmed diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. There are so many contributing factors to consider when a prognosis is finally made. They include the patient's health in general, the stage at which the patient is in and what treatment options are available to them.
There are three locations that mesothelioma is found; the most common is in the pleura (lining of the lung); peritoneal mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the abdomen; and pericardial mesothelioma, is found in the pericardium, or heart lining. Pleural mesothelioma accounts for about 80 percent of cases, and of the three has the best survival rate.
In addition, there are three types of this disease depending on the tissues involved: mesothelioma, the epithelial type which represents half of all cases; and the sarcomatoid mesothelioma, occurring in 15 percent of patients; while the other 35 percent have a mixed type of the disease. There typically is a better survival rate for those with the epithelial type.
Mesothelioma Diagnosis
Generally, those diagnosed with early-stage mesothelioma are given a better prognosis. The longer survival rate is attributed to more treatment options that are available if the disease has not had time to progress. Often times, however, there are no symptoms and the disease isn't detected until it has reached an advanced stage. This does not result in a favorable prognosis as this disease is extremely aggressive. But cancer, in any form, is an unpredictable disease and at first glance it may not be as bad as they think, or in other cases, it might appear to be a hopeless case and somehow it turns around, and the patient lives for many years. There are always exceptions to the general rule, no one is a statistic - and the will to live can be a strong one.
Metastasis often presents additional and serious challenges should it occur before a patient is diagnosed and able to begin treatment. Oncologists often find that the cancer has metastasized, or spread, beyond the primary tumor to other areas of the body, organs or the lymph nodes. Depending on how far the cancer has spread and the location, treatments will vary. This will also be a major contributing factor in determining the prognosis.
Life expectancy for those diagnosed with mesothelioma varies from person to person. Older persons and those with existing illness may not expect to get as good a prognosis as someone who is in good health and has youth on their side. But remember, survival rates for cancer are only estimates of what has happened with others in the past. Miracles happen every day.