Having mesothelioma or knowing someone that does is life altering. There are a thousand questions running through your mind as you begin to scour the internet for answers. One of the first questions you've probably asked yourself is, "What is the typical mesothelioma prognosis?" Hopefully this article will help answer that questions and many more.
Mesothelioma Prognosis
Survival Rates
In general, approximately 10% of people diagnosed with mesothelioma will live 2-5 years or longer. Obviously everyone's situation is different, but most people want to know the survival rate to better understand their situation. The stage at which your diagnosis significantly affects your mesothelioma prognosis.
Stage 1 - The disease may be seen in the diaphragm, and typically in the pleural lining of either side of the chest cavity.
Stage 2 - The disease may be on both sides of the chest cavity in the pleural lining, and could have spread to other organs or lymphnodes around the chest.
Stage 3 - Typically the disease has reached the abdominal cavity and lymph nodes outside the chest cavity might be affected.
Stage 4 - The disease has entered the blood stream and has moved to other organs.
Survival rates decline as the stages progress.
After you have an understanding of the survival rates, you're probably wondering about what treatments are available. This is a very personal decision, and you should make sure you're discussing all of your available options with your doctor. Depending on your mesothelioma prognosis, your treatment options will vary.
Available treatments may include chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or holistic approaches focusing on quality of life, diet, supplements, etc. Again, you want to discuss all of these options with your doctor.
Ultimately you will have to make a decision about what if any treatment options you are going to explore. You should weigh the pros and cons of all the options available to you, as well as, your mesothelioma prognosis, before making your decision. Consider things like your quality of life when going through treatment. How the specific treatment works, and its side effects. Consult others who have
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