Mesothelioma Survivors Chronicle

Although the majority of those diagnosed with mesothelioma are stated their survival rate is less than one year from the time of diagnosis, cases of patients living past their predicted survival date are continuing to surface. With each survivor story that comes to light, current mesothelioma sufferers are gaining a little more promise about their future.
Poor Outlook & Prognosis for Mesothelioma

In order to figure why most mesothelioma patients only survive for a short time, it is necessary to realize the nature of the disease. In most representatives, mesothelioma is not detected until it has reached its later stages. This is because symptoms can take as long as 50 years to appear once a person has been discovered to asbestos. Without the presence of symptoms, those with mesothelioma normally do not even realize they have developed the disease.

However, with the growth of new tests that aid in early diagnosis, such as the Mesomark blood test, doctors and scientists expect more mesothelioma patients to live longer, better lives. An early diagnosis can frequently open the door to more treatment options and a high success rate in shrinking or removing tumors.

Patients and their loved ones may enjoy reading Lean on Me Cancer through a Carers Eyes, a touching story by Lorraine Kember about her husbands fight with mesothelioma. Reading about the emotions the Kember family experienced may provide insight into the road ahead for those recently diagnosed.

Why Do Several Mesothelioma Patients Live Longer?

There have been a figure of patients that have survived far beyond the regular one year survival period and a handful that have even been cured, with no trace of the aggressive cancer some years after treatment (though recurrence is always possible). This has stomped many medical pros as they experience difficultness in excusing why some mesothelioma patients survive and others do not.

Research seems to show one common thread the immune system. Studies of those who have either survived or been recovered of the disease expose that most of these patients participated in some sort of therapy that enhanced their immune system. Some treatments included clinical trials in immunology while others required indirect therapies dealing with the resistant system.

A report released more than 20 years ago theorized that "the presence of asbestos fibers in revealed workers may have caused the eventual breakdown of the host's surveillance system and the onset of neoplasm [malignant mesothelioma]."

With this philosophy in mind, some researchers believe treatments that improve the immune system can stabilise and even cure the disease. Currently, this is the most prevalent theory in explaining why some patients continue to live a healthy life while mesothelioma is in remission and why others have apparently defeated the disease.

About Mesothelioma Subsister

A number of mesothelioma Survivors have posted their stories on the Internet and have spoken to patients and their families with the hope of providing a happier outlook for their future. These same Subsister have also presented their cases to doctors and researchers.

The most outspoken of these individuals is Paul Kraus, an Australian mesothelioma survivor. Kraus was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 1997, a form of the disease that is harder to treat than the more general pleural variety. Kraus worked in a factory 35 years earlier where he was brought out him to blue (crocidolite) asbestos.

Upon his diagnosis, Kraus made up one's mind he would do everything possible to fight the cancer. He changed his diet (he's now a vegetarian), added many vitamins and supplements to his daily routine, began "juicing," and tried on a treatment known as ozone therapy. Kraus explains, "They took blood out of a vein, applied an ozone machine to add ozone (a molecule composed of three oxygen atoms) to the blood and re-introduce it into my body through a drip. The rationale for that was that cancer does not same an oxygenated environment."

The research in putting the protocol together aimed a lot of time, but in the long-run, Kraus believes the combining of all these treatments stabilized his mesothelioma. Today, examinations show he still has the disease and his body is a bit weaker than it was, but he has no pain and his doctors tell him he could stay living for many more years.

Kraus stresses the fact that he is not the only mesothelioma survivor. He has named the case of a man diagnosed 14 years ago at age 58 (no name given) who had a chest wall resection after diagnosis and has had no symptoms or recurrence since. His doctors believe there was "moderate host inflammatory response" and that spontaneous regression may be an immune-mediated phenomenon" - in other words, his immune system played a role in his survival. (Pilling, J.E., et al., Prolonged Survival Due to Spontaneous Regression and Surgical Excision of Malignant Mesothelioma, Ann Thorac Surg, 2007; 83: 314-5.)

Another survivor, Rhio O'Connor - who recently published a book about his fight with mesothelioma - has lived with the disease for seven years. He opted against surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Instead, with the help of some medical physicians, he developed a regimen that included 100 supplements per day, changed his diet drastically, and now practices what he calls "mind-body medicine" (such as non-stress techniques like meditation). In his book, he urges a variety of alternatives to traditional medicines and treatments. Thanks for visiting Mesothelioma Attorneys Central. Place where you can get a lot of information about Mesothelioma Attorneys and Mesothelioma other info.