Peritoneal mesothelioma is one of the rare forms of mesothelioma cancer that affects individuals who were exposed to asbestos. Of the more than two to three thousand mesothelioma cases reported each year, peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for just over two hundred of these cases.
Peritoneal mesothelioma is the form of mesothelioma that affects the lining of the abdomen in the areas known as the visceral and parietal peritoneum. This area covers the internal organs of the stomach and general abdominal area. The cells in these areas are designed to secrete fluids that assist food to move through the intestines. However, when affected by peritoneal mesothelioma, they over produce these fluids andresult in excessive amounts of fluids in the abdominal cavity.
How does Asbestos Cause Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Before we look at the prognosis for victims of peritoneal mesothelioma, we must first understand how the disease is developed in order to understand why the prognosis for peritoneal mesothelioma is generally bad.
It is widely accepted among doctors that peritoneal mesothelioma develops from two routes. The first involves ingesting asbestos particles through the mouth where it becomes lodged into the intestinal tract. The asbestos particles then work their way into the peritoneal cavity. The other route is through inhalation of asbestos particles that are then transported through the lymph node to the peritoneal cavity.
The uncertainty of the route that the asbestos particles takes, make the disease difficult to understand and diagnose, as doctors often come to a conclusion on the disease after they have exhausted all other options. Many of the symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include abdominal pain and swelling, fluctuating bowel movements, lumps under the skin of the abdomen, unexplained weight loss, fatigue and night sweating and fever.
Factors affecting the Prognosis of Peritoneal Mesothelioma
The prognosis for peritoneal mesothelioma victims depends on various factors. A medical doctor will give this prognosis after careful assessment of your condition. They will employ the use of various testing processes and equipment such as biopsies, CT scans and X-rays.
Some of the factors that will determine the outcome of your prognosis include:
- Whether the peritoneal mesothelioma is of the dry-painful, wet or mixed type
- How soon the cancer was discovered
- The propagation of the cancer
- The age of the individual
- The physical condition of the patient
- What type of treatment can be administered
- The type of support systems available to the patient such as financing, family members and counseling
- The type of dieting doe by the patient
- Life Expectancy of peritoneal Mesothelioma Victims
The life expectancy of peritoneal victims
squarely rest on how soon the cancer was discovered. If peritoneal mesothelioma is discovered during its early stage, doctors normally prescribe a combination of chemotherapy and medication. This has been known to improve the life expectancy of peritoneal mesothelioma victims for many years. Actually, about half the patients on these types of treatment have been known to live past the two-year mark and a further 20% exceeding five years. In general, however, mostperitoneal mesothelioma victims are not expected to live for more than one year after diagnosis as usually the disease is discovered after it has been fully developed and in its critical and irreversible stage.
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