Key takeaways: A prognosis is an informed and contextual projection about the course and severity of a disease, as relevant here to mesothelioma patients. The median prognosis for a mesothelioma patient is around eight months, with about 10% of all mesothelioma patients surviving five plus years after their initial diagnosis. Understanding the facets of a prognosis–like overall health, metastasis, and willingness to undergo treatment–will help inform patients of their options to proceed.
What is a “Prognosis”?
Upon receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis, you might find a lot of medical jargon being used to describe your body’s physical condition, its projected condition in the future, and the previous medical conditions you might’ve had that are affecting your projected condition. While this might initially seem confusing, this terminology is in place to ultimately curate your care towards your wants, needs, and physical reality. A “prognosis” is the projected course of a disease or cancer; in this case, we’re referring to the time after one is diagnosed with mesothelioma. The American Cancer Society uses previous records of mesothelioma kept in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to generate general prognoses. The SEER database tracks the location of the cancer–so whether or not it metastasized–but not the stage or cellular type of mesothelioma. SEER is useful for current mesothelioma projections, but it could be revamped to include patient exposure to asbestos, previous health condition(s), and the stage of mesothelioma.
The average prognosis for a pleural mesothelioma diagnosis is 4-18 months after diagnosis, with the median prognosis being about eight months. About 10% of patients constitute a prognosis range of five plus years. Because mesothelioma is such an aggressive cancer and its symptoms are often misdiagnosed as a less lethal disease, it’s imperative that doctors and patients collaborate to ensure a correct diagnosis. Patients can reveal occupational and health histories, which could expose previous asbestos interactions; this makes a mesothelioma diagnosis more probable rather than a misdiagnosis of lung cancer or asbestosis.
What Affects a Prognosis for Mesothelioma?
There are a multitude of factors that affect a doctor’s informed prognosis, which include the disease’s spread (metastasis). The cancer could be local to one area, meaning that it’s resectable, or able to be removed with surgery. Generally, this makes a prognosis better–ideally, the cancer can be removed with a curative intent. If the cancer has metastasized–or migrated either regionally (to areas close to the initial site) or distantly (to faraway tissues)–the prognosis decreases.
From which cell type (epithelial or sarcomatoid) the mesothelioma originates also contributes to the prognosis, along with the stage of the cancer (which ranges from I-IV) and the patient’s more general health. If a patient has other comorbidities, or other diseases that might exacerbate the progression or symptoms of mesothelioma, their prognosis will likely reflect that. The prognosis of mesothelioma is deeply contextual and individual to each patient.
How can you Increase Prognosis for Mesothelioma?
Treatment is the most surefire way to increase your projected prognosis. Depending on the aforementioned factors–like metastasis and stage–your doctor will suggest different treatment options, like surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Depending on your health, the location of the mesothelioma, and the likelihood of a successful outcome, your doctor might encourage one treatment over another. It’s important to discuss your goals for treatment, which will factor into which therapies you receive and your consequent prognosis.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, please call The Halpern Law Firm at (800)-505-6000. We are here to help you navigate the legal process of filing a claim to receive compensation for your cancer diagnosis. We help mesothelioma victims and their families in Pennsylvania.
Written By Carina Filemyr
