Stages of Malignant Mesothelioma

♠ Posted by Creative Blogger in mesothelioma , mesothelioma stages at 04:14

Staging is a way for doctors to explain patients and to others about the current condition of disease. It describes how advanced the disease is and how far the cancer has spread in the body. Due to the aggressive nature of mesothelioma staging is a key part of proper diagnosis and treatment. There are four primary stages of mesothelioma.

Stage 1:

At this point cancer is in its early development phase and tumors are at their point of origin. They may have also grown in to the covering of heart and diaphragm on the same side.

Life Expectancy:

Survival rate is highest at this stage.

• Significantly better that those with later stages
• Patients may live three years or longer
• Median life expectancy is 21 months

However, at this stage usually symptoms does not appear, therefore, mesothelioma is difficult to be diagnosed at that stage.

Stage 2:

At this stage cancer has started to spread and symptoms are unclear and mild. It is sometime even difficult for doctors to differentiate between cancer and other illnesses signs.

Symptoms:

• People with peritoneal mesothelioma may lose weight but yet feel bloated.

Life Expectancy:

Survival rate is close to stage 1. According to some studies, some patients diagnosed at this point survive for years. However, 

• Median life expectancy is 19 months

Stage 3:

On this stage cancer may have spread to several locations on the same side of the body such as lymph nodes, esophagus, muscles, ribs, heart and the chest wall.

Symptoms Pleural mesothelioma:

• Intense Chest Pain
• More difficulty in breathing 

Symptoms Peritoneal mesothelioma:

• Bowel obstruction and pain
• Discomfort in other body parts

Life Expectancy:

• Median life expectancy is 16 months.
• Surgery may still be an option and chemotherapy can extend survival

Stage 4:

About 30% of patients are diagnosed at that stage. At that stage tumors have spread throughout the body. It could be present in any part of the body. It could be present on the liver, in the brain, bones or anywhere else. Surgery is usually not effective at this stage.

Symptoms:

• Extreme difficulty in breathing
• Severe chest pain
• Digestive problems
• Difficulty swallowing and eating

Life Expectancy:

• Median life expectancy is 12 months or less.
• Chemotherapy, radiation therapy and other treatments can extend survival

Survival duration with respect to stages