The mesothelioma survival rate of individuals diagnosed with any form of mesothelioma cancer other than localized, early-stage disease remains poor. Mesothelioma is a deadly, frightening cancer diagnosed in more than 2,000 new cases each year in the U.S. alone.

Many Mesothelioma Cases Have Been Missed

In the U.S., the survival rate for mesothelioma patients has been studied for only about the past 20 years, although people have been contracting mesothelioma since the turn of the century and longer. A fundamental problem with estimating the mesothelioma survival rate is that for most of the 20th century, mesothelioma was very frequently missed as the cause of death or misdiagnosed as a different type of cancer.

Five-Year Mesothelioma Survival Rate: Nine Percent

Most statistics for cancer survival focus on the percentage of patients who survive for one, two, three, four and five years after their diagnosis. For example, the overall five-year survival rate for patients with mesothelioma diagnosed between 1998 and 2002 was about nine percent; that is, of all of the patients identified as having been diagnosed with mesothelioma during that period, about nine out of 100 lived for five more years.

Factors That Influence Mesothelioma Survival

Data describing survival rates are simply averages that are drawn from large patient populations — they can't be used to predict how long a particular mesothelioma patient will live. Perhaps more important are the many factors that strongly influence how long a patient with cancer will survive:

• the stage of the mesothelioma — that is, how far advanced it is
• the type of mesothelioma — e.g., peritoneal, pleural, or pericardial
• the size of the tumor or spread of tumor cells
• whether or not the mesothelioma cells can be completely removed by surgery
• the age, general health, and medical history of the patient
• whether the mesothelioma is newly diagnosed or has come back

Getting Help for Your Diagnosis

If you've been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer, be sure to ask your physician about all possible treatment options. After you get medical help, the next most important thing you can do is speak with an experienced mesothelioma attorney who can help you recover compensation for your medical bills and treatment plans, lost wages, funeral costs and/or pain and suffering. Contact mesothelioma centers today to schedule your private consultation with a mesothelioma attorney in your area.