Reasons For Negative Mesothelioma Prognosis

By Heidi Wingrain

Mesothelioma prognosis is devastating for the victims and their near and dear ones. The reasons for these are wide and varied. Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer which infects the mesothelium, the protective covering of vital internal organs. Over exposure to asbestos is the cause for contracting the cancer. This exposure can be either from work places or asbestos quarries. Any way the effect of infection varies from person to person depending on the stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis, the capacity of the body to give positive response to the treatment and the age and overall health of the victim.

The first reason for negative mesothelioma prognosis is that the disease lies inactive for several decades before the symptoms arrive. By that time the cancer may have even reached vital organs like lungs, abdomen or heart. Doctors categorize mesothelioma into four stages. The first two stages are relatively easy to treat, but the prognosis of stage 3 and 4 are not bright enough. In many cases, mesothelioma infection is detected only when the patient visits the clinic for other physical illnesses.

Secondly, being a rare cancer, many cancer centers and cancer specialists do not possess the required expertise to treat mesothelioma. Researches are still on to find a successful treatment for advanced mesothelioma. For stage III and IV, presently, the emphasis is only to alleviate pain and provide a better and comfortable environment for the patient.

The pleural, the peritoneal and the pericardial are the three different types of cancer. Pleural mesothelioma is the most curable one, but is found in many people. In this case the infection affects the protective covering of the lungs. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are the treatment methods employed to treat this. The abdominal cavities get affected in peritoneal mesothelioma and are more dangerous than the pleural type. Pericardial mesothelioma is the third type and the most dangerous one. It affects the heart area and is a fatal infection. It is also seen commonly that some doctors diagnose the type of mesothelioma wrongly thereby making the situation more serious.

However in these modern days mesothelioma prognosis has become less scary due to the availability of a wide range of treatment methods like photodynamic therapy, gene therapy, multimodality therapy etc. Finally the survival depends on the type of mesothelioma and the patient's response to the treatment process. - 29763

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