Mesothelioma – What Are Your Chances After A Diagnosis?
Mesothelioma is a rare, but brutal form of cancer. It is most often associated with exposure to asbestos at some point in your life, but can occur without such exposure. The question for most patients, however, is what are the chances of surviving this form of cancer?
It goes without saying that “chances” and percentages should be taken for what they are – an estimate. If something happens 9 out of 10 times, there is still a decent chance that you might be that 1 out of ten times. The survival rate of any cancer should be taken only as a guideline, not anything more than that. Patients beat cancer all the time and there is no reason that you can’t either.
The survival rate with Mesothelioma is done on a five year projection. This simply means that the number of patients surviving the cancer are compared through each of the five years after diagnosis. For instance, 39 percent of patients diagnosed with Mesothelioma survive for more than a year. Unfortunately, the numbers go down from there with 20 percent surviving 2 years, 11 surviving three years, 10 percent surviving four years and 9 percent surviving 5 years. All and all, these are not great numbers.
So, let’s ask the obvious question. Are you doomed if diagnosed with Mesothelioma? No! Mesothelioma has been studied significantly and a wide range of treatments have been tried over the years. As a result, there is no a fairly clear course of treatment – aggressive. Doctors know that they need to go for broke and Mesothelioma survival rates are actually going up compared to years ago. The key is to be positive and be ready to undergo aggressive surgery, radio therapy and chemotherapy.
It should also be noted that there are a host of new treatments going through FDA clinical trials. These treatments attack Mesothelioma in many different ways. As a person diagnosed with the disease, you can participate in the trials. You can contact the National Cancer Institute to get a list of trials being conducted.
If you have to get cancer, Mesothelioma is not really the one you want. That being said, it is no longer an automatic death sentence. Be positive and demand aggressive treatment. Get a referral to a Mesothelioma specialist to ensure you are getting the latest treatments possible. People survive and you can as well.
