Mesothelioma Life Span
Although the disease of mesothelioma ultimately will cause the death of anyone diagnosed with this virulent form of cancer, there is no way to determine uniformly the life span of a mesothelioma patient.
The primary reason for this is simple: The process of mesothelioma begins when someone first inhales or ingests asbestos fibers, and it's not always clear when that exposure occurred. That exposure, when combined with repeated incidents, as happens during many on-the-job exposures, set the stage for a disease that doctors have yet figured out how to cure.
Life span can be dramatically extended with the right treatment plan. Learn about all of your options with our comprehensive mesothelioma guide. Request yours and we’ll send overnight to your door.
Determining Life Span
There are a number of factors and mitigating circumstances that must be examined from patient to patient. Among them are: how far along the cancer is when it is detected; the cell type of the cancer; the patient's overall health; and past health, such as whether the patient was a smoker. In one way or another, all those variants affect the life span of someone battling this lethal ailment.
One important factor when assessing the life span of mesothelioma patients is its inordinately long latency period. Once asbestos fibers are in place to render a human body unhealthy, the mesothelioma they sometimes create can lie dormant for a period of 20 to 50 years. That is the typical time between asbestos exposure that begins the syndrome and its eventual diagnosis. That means that the true life span of a mesothelioma victim can be measured in decades; decades in which there are no symptoms, no pain or discomfort, and no detectable signs of the disease.
It is true that once mesothelioma is diagnosed, the medical prognosis is usually bleak. Pleural mesothelioma, if untreated, has an average life expectancy that ranges between four months and 18 months after symptoms appear. Peritoneal mesothelioma yields a five- to 13-month outlook, on average, if not treated.
Other Factors of Life Span
Another important factor that needs to be understood when assessing these statistics, and which has the tendency to skew them downward, is the relatively advanced age of the average mesothelioma patient. Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma are between 50 and 70 years old, with about 75 percent of patients in their mid-60s.
Therefore, the life expectancy for these individuals is understandably much shorter than for those who have other types of cancers and who may be much younger when their ailments are initially diagnosed.
- The form or location of the mesothelioma
- The type of mesothelioma
- Whether or not the cancer was detected early or late, i.e. the actual stage of the cancer
- Whether it has metastasized, i.e. spread to other parts of the body
- The presence or absence of other diseases or disorders, including abnormal blood values (red, white and platelet blood counts)
- And the general health, lifestyle and functional status of the patient.
Treatments, Life Span and Mesothelioma Survivors
The kinds of treatments sought, applied and responded to can have an important impact on the life span of a mesothelioma patient. Standard medical approaches include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. In some studies, multimodality therapy, which is a combination of two or more of the three traditional treatments, produces significant survival extensions among patients with other favorable prognostic factors.
Between 5 and 10 percent of people with mesothelioma live at least five years after being diagnosed – far longer than the average statistics suggest. Some live much longer than that.
Survivor Stories
Paul Kraus is an Australian factory worker who was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 1997, 35 years after occupational exposure to crocodile asbestos. Kraus applied several different therapies and lifestyle changes, including shifting to a vegetarian diet, consuming nutritional supplements, and employing ozone therapy, which adds a specific form of oxygen to his blood with the intent of creating a cancer-killing oxygenated environment in his body. He still has mesothelioma but is pain-free and alive.
At the extreme limit of mesothelioma survival is the case of acclaimed American scientist Stephen J. Gould, who lived for almost twenty years after being diagnosed with the disease. He died of an unrelated condition.
Traditional and Experimental Therapies
There are many experimental therapies being investigated to slow the progress of mesothelioma. Some show promise in extending life spans, including photodynamic therapy (PDT), while newer, targeted drugs that have shown to be effective in killing cancer cells and gene therapy which attempts to replace or repair the defective genes in cancerous tumors.
Some non-traditional therapies that have been reported to extend the life expectancy of mesothelioma patients include meditation, yoga, acupuncture, and various holistic medicines and natural supplements.
Medical advancements continue to refine methods of detecting and managing the disease. As a result, the life span of its sufferers is gradually improving. As more research is done and more alternative treatment options continue to be explored, mesothelioma patients are being offered a wider range of choices that may ultimately modify their prognosis and significantly extend their life spans.
Clinical Trials
Because mesothelioma is such a rare cancer, the disease does not get the research focus that many cancers get. But researchers around the country do run mesothelioma clinical trials to evolve more effective treatments.
Click here to find out the latest clinical trials available for participation. Or read our Clinical Trials page for more information about the process. Or, finally, contact the Mesothelioma Center's Patient Advocates at (800) 615-2270 to get more information about clinical trials.
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© 2012 The Mesothelioma Center |
Last Modified Tuesday, May 8th, 2012 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy |
The information provided by The Mesothelioma Center is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Sponsored by a law firm concentrating in asbestos litigation, The Peterson Firm, LLP with offices at 1350 Connecticut Ave, NW, Fifth Floor, Washington DC 20036.
