Mesothelioma patient celebrates more than seven cancer-free years

An Australian woman is alive and showing no signs of cancer more than seven years after being diagnosed with mesothelioma. After undergoing two rounds of surgery and treatment she joins the very small number of mesothelioma survivors.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. These fibers, if inhaled, can begin a mutation process in the cells of abdominal cavity lining, developing into irregularly patterned malignant tumors. Mesothelioma takes decades to demonstrate signs and symptoms, often between twenty and fifty years. Once symptoms begin to show they are often mistaken for those of pneumonia or bronchitis.

The Journal of Medical Case Reports included an article covering the details of the Australian woman’s mesothelioma case. At age 40, she sought a physician’s care for abdominal pain, fatigue and a bad taste in her mouth. Tumors were found by CT scan and surgery was performed.

The lady was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, the less common of two mesothelioma types. Pleural mesothelioma affects lung lining, while peritoneal mesothelioma is specific to the lining of other abdominal cavities. Tumors had infected her bowel, colon and diaphragm. The tumors were removed and the areas treated by a ‘chemo bath’—soaking the affected places in warm chemotherapy solution.

Chemotherapy baths are a common treatment for mesothelioma. Surgery and radiation therapy are also standard cancer-direct mesothelioma treatments. Patients who have a short life expectancy following diagnosis may opt for palliative care to manage the pain and aid in quality of life. The average life expectancy for mesothelioma patients is eighteen months after diagnosis.

Doctors suggest that the Australian woman’s successful treatments hinge on several factors. Peritoneal mesothelioma is less aggressive than the more common pleural mesothelioma. There had been little spread of tumors and the affected areas were very responsive to chemotherapy. In addition, the lady was at least twenty years younger than the standard mesothelioma patient, giving her body a head start in healing. Researchers are also considering the strong presence of estrogen receptors in the tissues affected by the cancer as another possible factor in her recovery.

Mesothelioma, both pleural and peritoneal, is considered a fatal cancer. Although treatments exist and are used, there is no known cure. Due to its long latency period, many patients have no idea they are ill until years after asbestos exposure; and many patients have no idea they were ever exposed to asbestos. The toxic chemical continues to be used around the world and would take decades to remove from all the buildings, equipment and structures it has been built into over the last century.  Mesothelioma cases are expected to continue rising worldwide.

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