If you were exposed to asbestos and developed mesothelioma cancer, it is important to catch it in its early stages. If you get an early diagnosis of mesothelioma, you have more options for treatment and a better prognosis.
After it is diagnosed, your doctor will try to determine the stage that the cancer is and if it has spread. The stages of mesothelioma are from I through IV. The lower the number, the less cancer has spread. A higher number, such as IV, means cancer has spread to other parts of the body. (Cancer.org)
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of the disease. It is the only type of mesothelioma that has a staging system. This type of mesothelioma begins in the pleura, which is the lining of the lungs and the lining of the chest wall.
The staging system that is used the most for malignant mesothelioma is the American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM system. It is based on three types of information.
These are the AJCC early stages of malignant mesothelioma cancer:
The other stages of malignant mesothelioma are IIIA, IIIB, and IV. These are the later stages of the disease and the chances of living longer are less like than in stages I and II.
One of the major differences between early and late-stage malignant mesothelioma cancer is whether cancer can be removed (resectable) or not (unresectable). Generally, in most stage I and stage II cases of cancer, and few stage III, cancer may be resectable. See stage 4 mesothelioma.
But whether cancer can be taken out depends not just on how much the tumor has grown, but also its subtype. Most doctors say that only epithelioid and mixed/biphasic tumors can be removed with surgery. It also depends on where the cancer is located and if the patient is in otherwise good enough health to survive the surgery.
Even for mesothelioma tumors that can be removed by surgery, in most cases, there will be cancer cells that cannot be seen that are left behind. That is why cancer surgery is usually followed by radiation treatment or chemotherapy.
The most important thing to learn after a mesothelioma diagnosis is its stage. The following procedures and tests are used to determine the cancer’s stage: (Cancer.gov)
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