As a person with mesothelioma, one of the things you may wonder is how long your life expectancy is. Mesothelioma spreads quickly and is aggressive. For many people, the reality is that it is caught too late to do much to prevent it from spreading.
This rare form of cancer can affect the heart, lungs and stomach, and it is generally a result of asbestos exposure. A person with mesothelioma has an average life expectancy of 12 to 21 months.
The truth is that it is hard to say how long you can survive with mesothelioma. Many people live longer than the average time, and some patients have as much as doubled or tripled their life expectancy by getting a doctor who is well-versed in treating patients with mesothelioma.
There are some important factors that will affect how long you are expected to live after diagnosis. The first factor is what stage you are in. If you are in the first stage of mesothelioma, the good news is that you have caught the disease early on. However, if you are in stage 4, then you may not have the odds in your favor.
Another factor is where the mesothelioma is located. Those who have mesothelioma in the abdomen have the best life expecting, while those with pleural mesothelioma have a moderate life expectancy. If you have mesothelioma in the heart, this is the poorest prognosis and has the highest risk of death.
Any diagnosis is likely to be linked to toxins in your environment. Our site has more on what you can do if you receive a mesothelioma diagnosis.