What Is the Life Expectancy of a Mesothelioma Patient?

[MUSIC PLAYING] When we talk about the life expectancy for mesothelioma patient or any cancer patient we tend to talk about numbers. If we look at large data sets and studies, in mesothelioma the five-year survival is about 15% to 20%, which is similar to other aggressive cancers such as pancreatic cancer or locally-advanced esophageal cancer. But people are people, an individual human being, not numbers and not data. And how any one person is going to do is not only dependent on some of the factors in their tumor biology and the treatments they get but also just being an individual person. If I had a nickel for every patient who was told once they got this diagnosis that they should get their affairs in order and pack up shop, I'd be a millionaire. But the truth is many of those patients are still telling those stories and hopefully encouraging other patients who have new diagnoses 5, 10, 15, 20 years later. And that's the point, from the time of diagnosis, this is not necessarily a death sentence and people's clock doesn't start ticking. Any one person is largely affected by so many things, and it is important because staying positive is one of the keys to long-term survival. And all someone has to do is live long enough to have the latest breakthroughs help them. And even people who have recurrent disease or progressive disease, as long as they're feeling well and doing well, can keep living with that disease the way many other people live with other chronic conditions. [MUSIC PLAYING]