What Are the Differences Between Early-Stage and Late-Stage Cancer?
Karen Selby, R.N. and patient advocate at The Mesothelioma Center, explains the differences between late-stage and early-stage cancer. She discusses some of the treatment options available for these patients.
[MUSIC PLAYING] Early stage cancer diagnosis will provide a lot of options for the patient. An early stage patient might be eligible for surgery, such as having that pleura removed, or extrapleural pneumonectomy, which means having the entire lung removed. Early stage means that the cancer is contained within the primary location of the diagnosis, hasn't gone beyond that primary location. So that means lymph nodes aren't involved, the chest wall is not involved. Late stage means that there's a lot more things involved in the cancer. It's gone beyond that primary location. It doesn't mean that there's not treatment options, it just means it'll be a different course, perhaps surgery won't be the first thing that is offered to the patient. [MUSIC PLAYING]
