Mesothelioma Prognosis-a Brief Overview

A whopping 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are detected in United States of America every year. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer and it is an after effect of the asbestos exposure. These cancerous cells attack and destroy the cells of the mesothelium, which is a protective sac that surrounds and protects the internal organs of the body. Most often the pleura or peritoneum are the primary site of the tumor from where it then spreads to the other parts of the body. It is a fatal disease and the average survival time of the victim is almost one year from the time of diagnosis depending on the treatment and other contributing factors.

What is mesothelioma prognosis?

Prognosis for mesothelioma is mainly determined by the timing of diagnosis and timing of the beginning of treatment. If treatment is provided with much delay then the survival chance of the victim grows slimmer. Then again, survivability depends heavily on factors like the level of treatment, type of mesothelioma as well as patients health and morale. The stage of the disease during diagnosis is the most crucial factor that decides the prognosis and the minimum survival expectancy of the victim. But disappointingly, mesothelioma unlike other cancers is somewhat difficult to detect early so that most times by the time a definitive diagnosis is made the cancer is already in an advanced stage. This is because the symptoms of mesothelioma are non-specific and attributable to other non cancerous diseases so making diagnosis delayed.

What are the determining factors that lead to prognosis?

The early detection of the disease is imperative for pursuing any kind of treatment. The location and size of the cancer, response of the cancer to the treatment, the extent to which the cancer has spread, what impression does the cells give under the microscope{the cellular type of mesothelioma} and the patients age are some of the contributing factors that determine prognosis. It should be pointed out that diagnosis of the disease is not a childs play. Further more it becomes all the very more difficult because of the deceptive nature of the subtle symptoms of mesothelioma. Like for example, if you are coughing and you might never know that you have contracted the disease unless and until your doctor clarifies it all by providing a mesothelioma prognosis.

Do you know about the mesothelioma treatment options?

Amongst the staging systems the oldest of them all is the Butchart system, based on the extent of mass, primary tumor and segregates the cancer into four stages. The TNM system is a more recent one while the Brigham system is the latest. It uses resectability and lymph node involvement for staging mesothelioma. The traditional kinds of treatments are also prevalent in case of malignant mesothelioma. Radiation therapy exercises high-energy X-rays to eradicate cancer cells while chemotherapy does it through use of drugs. Immunotherapy helps to strengthen the immune system; photodynamic therapy uses light energy while the genetic therapy resurrects the inherent genetic defects of the patient to fight the disease.

The process of removing fluid from the chest is known as thoracentesis while fluid reduction from the abdomen is known as paracentesis. Conventional surgeries and effective drugs like L-NDDP or Platar, Endostatin and Lovastatin somewhat come to the rescue of the victims of mesothelioma. The surgical removal of a part of the chest or the abdominal lining is called pleurectomy and if the lung is removed, then the operation will be termed as pneumonectomy.

Also a lot of newer treatment modalities like immunotherapy are showing a lot of promise and the mesothelioma patients can avail themselves of this form of treatment by participating in available clinical trials. Good complimentary non medical treatments like meditation, prayer, yoga can also be used to alleviate the symptoms of this deadly cancer.