Prognosis with Stage 1 Mesothelioma
As there is no current known cure for mesothelioma, treatment options in all stages are generally targeted at making patients comfortable and extending quality of life as much as possible. This kind of treatment is known as palliative care. The stages of mesothelioma do help doctors to determine what regimen of mesothelioma therapy is appropriate for which patients.
Stage 1 mesothelioma is the earliest form of the disease. More advanced forms are classified as stage 2 mesothelioma, stage 3 mesothelioma, and stage 4 mesothelioma.
The prognosis, or outlook, generally means how long and how comfortably a patient can expect to live. While there are no guarantees, the right combination of palliative stage 1 mesothelioma treatments can improve the prognosis of a patient.
What are mesothelioma stages?
The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging system is the most commonly used system by mesothelioma doctors. The letters indicate three separate pieces of information, defined by ACS as follows:
- T indicates the extent of spread of the main (primary) tumor.
- N describes how much the cancer has spread to nearby (regional) lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped collections of immune system cells to which cancers often spread first.
- M indicates whether the cancer has spread (metastasized) to other organs of the body. (The most common sites are the pleura on the other side of the body, the lungs, and the peritoneum.)
Numbers or letters appear after T, N, and M to provide more details about each of these factors. Higher numbers mean the cancer is more advanced.
What is Stage 1 Mesothelioma?
ACS states that stage 1 mesothelioma is when the cancer is on the pleura lining the chest wall on one side of the chest (T1). Stage 1 mesothelioma has still not spread to the lymph nodes (N0) or to distant sites (M0).
Stage 1 mesothelioma treatment options are vast and can vary greatly depending on specific aspects of the disease that are noted by doctors. Stage 1 mesothelioma cases may still be treatable with surgical methods. Chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy may also be utilized to help minimize the spread of stage 1 mesothelioma cases.
Stage 1 Mesothelioma: Getting Legal Help
If you or a loved one are undergoing stage 1 mesothelioma treatment and think that the diagnosis has been caused by asbestos exposure, there may be legal action you can take. Speak to a mesothelioma attorney at Sokolove Law today.