Mesothelioma Survivors
Although mesothelioma does not have a 100% survival rate, yet there are people who have fought this deadly cancer successfully and are now living a happy and healthy life. Mesothelioma patients when diagnosed in early or middle stages have a definite chance of recovery. Hope and will to fight the disease play a very important part in surviving this deadly cancer. Fighting mesothelioma also means getting equipped with all there is to know about the disease, reading as much as possible about the disease and having the will power to defeat the cancer.
Dealing with mesothelioma not only brings with it lots of pain and suffering but also expensive treatments and medical bills. However, with the assistance of specialized doctors, knowledgeable lawyers and supportive family members, mesothelioma can be effectively defeated.
However, to our utmost regret, not every patient is lucky to survive and live a normal life after contracting mesothelioma. Most of the patients who suffer from mesothelioma cancer do not make it to the end and die a painful death suffering from excruciating symptoms. The most tragic thing being that some of these patients were not even directly exposed to asbestos, but still they were the victims.
In 1994, a 58-year-old man was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. He had a left thoracotomy, multiple pleural biopsies, and chest wall resection. As of 2007, he is still alive. In 1986, 65 year-old women was diagnosed in mesothelioma and lived for 14 years with no treatment other than radiation at the end. In 1970, a 53 year-old man who had worked at a plant adjacent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where asbestos was used, was diagnosed with mesothelioma. Other than thoracotomy, no treatment was provided. A medical article was published about him in 1978 and he was reported as still doing well. These are just three examples. There are others.
The Role of the Immune System
What is striking is that some of the scientific reports allude to the fact that the patient’s immune system may have played a role in their recovery. In writing about the 58 year-old man, doctors suggested that the “spontaneous regression may be an immune-mediated phenomenon.” And in the article about the individual who had worked at a plant adjacent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, physicians wrote, “Our findings are consistent with the concept that normal immunological function may effectively impede dissemination of the disease (malignant pleural mesothelioma).”
Scientists and clinicians are currently testing a variety of Immunotherapies for the treatment of mesothelioma. These treatments are designed to artificially improve the performance of a patient's immune system using various proteins. Some of these therapies have already demonstrated promise compared to the conventional approaches of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.
For example in a clinical trial involving Immunotherapy and chemotherapy, the median survival was reported at 29.2 months and in another Immunotherapy trial the median survival was 15 months. This may not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that median survival with the best conventional therapies is about 9-12 months.
