A recent study conducted by the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute in Rhodes, Australia aimed to find out what choices pleural mesothelioma patients made after receiving a poor prognosis. Researchers tracked a group of 147 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients who received a prognosis of less than one month to live with widely unique backgrounds and distinctly different treatment goals.
Most patients in the study had undergone at least one treatment, with just under half of the participants having undergone two or more. The most common form of treatment was surgery, which was chosen by 116 of the patients. Additionally, 50 opted for radiation therapy while 78 of patients tried chemotherapy. However, the study showed that once patients were in their final month of life, most stopped participating in these traditional treatments with only 14 percent continuing.
Even though the more popular choice was to quit treatment in the last month of life, some characteristics were found in the study which made patients more likely to continue treatment. These characteristics included patients who had already completed two or more rounds of chemotherapy were more likely to have more treatment in the final stages of their disease. Also choosing to continue treatment were patients who had been living with the disease for shorter period of time.
This choice is highly personal. There is no right or wrong approach. Even in the face of a terminal prognosis of mesothelioma cancer, many patients choose to pursue additional treatments. Some survivors attribute their success to this persistence and refusal to give up. Others find treatment makes them more comfortable. If someone you love is suffering from mesothelioma symptoms, please contact us at 1-800-637-6347 to explore your legal rights.
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – mesothelioma attorney
[Did You Know: Nearly 50% of patients have a lifespan of 8-18 months after treatment. About 30% or more may live for five years or longer.]