When my urologist called me in early October of 2009 to tell me that the CAT-Scan revealed a 7 cm tumor in my large kidney, I had no idea what my prognosis was. My wife and I had just gained some traction again after she had been diagnosed with breast cancer seven months earlier. It turned out that luckily, if kidney cancer is caught before it has spread outside the organ. A mesothelioma prognosis though is very different. Each year in the United States about 3,000 people get diagnosed with this rare form of cancer. The next step after a person has been diagnosed is to discuss the prognosis which is obviously strongly dependent on the stage of the disease and the patient's overall health condition. The earlier this malignant condition is being detected the better is the mesothelioma prognosis, or in other words the life expectancy.

In the vast majority of all instances, mesothelioma is not being diagnosed until the late stages and that's due to the fact that it can take a very long time before a patient exhibits the first symptoms. The diagnosis of mesothelioma is very difficult as symptoms of the condition resemble less severe illnesses. This explains why a mesothelioma prognosis is usually rather poor for a newly diagnosed patient. Treatments include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Also, there more and more reports emerge where patients claim that because of significant lifestyle changes, their mesothelioma prognosis has improved dramatically and some of them have reportedly even survived the disease.



Mesothelioma is categorized in stages, ranging from stage one to stage four. At the later stages, the treatment options become more limited and less effective. This is practically true for all cancers. Further to that, the patient's age is another factor that will affect the prognosis of mesothelioma alongside aspects such as:

- the specific type of mesothelioma (testicular, pleural, pericardial or peritoneal)
- the size and location of the primary mass
- whether or not the cancer has metastasized

The only known cause for mesothelioma is prolonged exposure to asbestos. This explains why certain occupations are associated with a higher risk of developing the disease. The U.S. Government has regulated the handling of this carcinogenic material in the 1980s. However, to this day and age we are still surrounded by asbestos. I am sure you frequently run into sites where a large sign says “Danger – Asbestos”.