Essential Facts About Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma Survival Rates

Mesothelioma, fortunately, is a rare disease, with approximately 2,500 diagnoses in the United States each year, constituting less than 0.2% of all cancer cases, and affecting an estimated one in every 130,000 people or less. However, survival rates are poor, despite a variety of treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Only about eight percent of those diagnosed with mesothelioma live five years or more after starting treatment. Women are about three times more likely to survive mesothelioma than men, perhaps because men statistically have higher asbestos exposure than women. The low survival rate is at least partly due to the fact that it is usually diagnosed at later stages. Symptoms often do not appear until the later stages of the cancer, and even then, the symptoms may be mistaken for a different illness.

Next, uncover the signs and symptoms of this rare form of cancer.