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Prognosis of Asbestos Mesothelioma

Unfortunately, there is not yet a cure for mesothelioma, which means that every person who is diagnosed with this cancer will eventually die from it. While this is a tragic truth, what isn’t written in stone is exactly how long a person will have before they die of this cancer or what their quality of life will be, which is based on their treatment choices and other pertinent factors. Some of the factors affecting how long a person has to live after an asbestos mesothelioma diagnosis include:

• Stage of the cancer
• Age of the patient
• Type of mesothelioma cancer
• Size of the tumor
• Location of tumor and whether or not it can be surgically removed
• Whether the patient is a smoker or not
• The nature and extent of their other symptoms
• Other medical problems
• Overall mental and physical health
• Choice of treatment options

While survival rates only give you a broad picture of the mesothelioma prognosis and can't tell you about an individual's actually survival prospects, they can still help to give patients some indication of what they might be facing.

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 10 percent of all mesothelioma patients are still alive five years after diagnosis. Furthermore, the rate of survival has increased in the last few years due to advances in treatment options. Furthermore, approximately 40 percent of all patients with mesothelioma survive the first year following diagnosis. In the 90s, it was rare for a person to make it a year after being diagnosed with mesothelioma.