Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that is primarily caused from being exposed to asbestos. Naturally, many of the people who suffer from this cancer are those who have jobs that expose them to asbestos dust, particles or fibre that they were exposed to. Asbestos deposits in the mesothelium, which is found as a protective lining covering most of our body’s organs. The most common organ affected is the lungs.

Like other cancers, mesothelioma can be treated with chemotherapy and radiation, but the mesothelioma prognosis, which is the probable course that the cancer is likely to take, and its influence on the body, tends to be quite poor. So far, the only way to avoid getting a distressing prognosis is by early detection.

Factors affecting prognosis

The symptoms in the mesothelioma prognosis, are such that they do not turn up until long after the disease has actually settled inside the body. So by the time a patient sees the doctor, the mesothelioma might already have progressed to a later stage. Another disadvantage is that the symptoms in the mesothelioma prognosis, such as difficulty breathing and chest pain, can be caused by a number of different things, making the cancer even harder to diagnose at an early stage.

The most important factor that affects the prognosis of this disease is which stage the cancer is in. At stage three of four, the treatment is limited as well as less effective. Surgery is usually out of the question at such later stages because the health of the patient is compromised.

There are four types of mesothelioma prognosis – pericardial, pleural, peritoneal and testicular – and depending on which type it is, the prognosis differs. The size and location of the tumour also play a big role, as they determine whether or not the tumour can be surgically removed or not, and how much danger it poses to the body. The extent of any other symptoms of mesothelioma, such as fluid build up in the abdomen or lungs, can also decide the mesothelioma prognosis. Finally, patients who are smokers tend to have a worse prognosis than those who are not.

In patients who tend to be over 55 years of age the mesothelioma prognosis usually gets diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. By this age, they may have other medical problems as well due to their age, and as a result the treatment and mesothelioma prognosis of the cancer looks bleak.

How Long to Live

Research is still being conducted into the survival rates in mesothelioma patients. Approximately ten percent of patients live for at least five years once their diagnosis of cancer. The one year survival rate is now about forty percent. Both these percentage are rising, which means that mesothelioma prognosis is getting better.

The average time that patients with a mesothelioma prognosis have survived, for the past fives years, has been ten or eleven months after their diagnosis. It’s important to remember that there are exceptions to every statistic and rule, because there are moving stories about those who fight the cancer off and live to a ripe old age. These survivors with a mesothelioma prognosis give hope to those suffering with the disease, as well as their loved ones.