Asbestos exposure may cause a series of different conditions and health issues; between them is also pleural mesothelioma. After being diagnosed, patients usually want a prognosis of their disease. Prognosis actually is a length of time a patient is expected to live from that point. Survival rates are usually one to two years for most patients, only a few are expected to live longer than that.
Pleural mesothelioma prognosis
The prognosis of pleural mesothelioma is influenced by a number of factors, which can include several of the following:
- The stage of the cancer when it was discovered
- The patients reaction to different mesothelioma treatment methods (surgery and the use of chemotherapy drugs, such as pemetrexed, will provide with the most accurate numbers)
- The proximity and size of tumors
- Severity of symptoms (pleural effusion and the quantity and speed by which the fluid is building up)
Pleural mesothelioma prognosis is also a psychological tool for the patient, because if the life expectancy is high the patient will have a high morale and that helps him/her to respond better to treatment.
Pleural mesothelioma prognosis statistics
Statistics point to the fact that radical surgical procedures yield the best life expectancy numbers. Pneumonectomy (the removal of a lung) was tested as a treatment method in a group of 120 patients. 45 percent of them lived longer than two years, which is a very high life expectancy. It is also clear that pleural mesothelioma prognosis is strongly linked to the stage of the cancer at the point of the diagnosis. If it is discovered in the first mesothelioma stage (very unlikely) patients are expected to live almost two times as long as a patient that was diagnosed when the cancer had already reached the second stage of development.
Following the above, you are strongly advised to have cancer tests taken as often as the doctor recommends it in order to discover cancer as soon as possible or maybe to even avoid it from appearing completely. Use all the protective equipment provided by the employer, and if infected with mesothelioma, try maintaining a healthy diet and follow the exact prescription provided by your doctor or specialists.
Pleural mesothelioma prognosis assistance
Please, feel free to contact asbestosis and mesothelioma centers if you need any kind of information regarding mesothelioma prognosis, diagnosis or treatment. We will gladly provide with all the necessary facts, and this is, of course, absolutely free.
