The TNM Staging System, where T stands for the main tumor (its size and extent of spread), N stands for lymph nodes (indicates extent of spread to regional lymph nodes), and M stands for metastasis (spread of cancer to other organs of the body). T, N, and M have numbers from 0 to 4 appearing after them to indicate the extent of spread of tumor in the body.
Under the TNM system, Stage 1 Mesothelioma is indicated as T1, N0, M0, where T1 indicates that cancer has affected the left or right pleura and pleura covering the lungs. It may or may not have affected the diaphragm (muscle separating the chest and abdomen) or the mediastinum (space between the lungs). N0 and M0 means Mesothelioma has not spread to the lymph nodes or to any distant organs or regions of the body, respectively.
ü The Brigham Staging System, where Stage 1 Mesothelioma means the tumor is resectable or can be removed by surgery. The lymph nodes have not yet been affected.
Stage 1 Mesothelioma Prognosis
The removal of the cancerous tissue in Stage 1 is possibly through surgery. Follow up treatments to trace and get rid of malignancy is involves radiation and chemotherapy. Generally, the tumor is operable or resectable in Stage 1. An early diagnosis can help stop cancer from metastasizing to other organs or areas of the body.
Those exposed to high levels of asbestos are at high risk of contracting Pleural Mesothelioma. The main problem however is that, the cancer symptoms will appear at least 20 or 50 years following initial asbestos exposure, which means the patient is already in an ‘advanced’ stage (Stages 3 and 4) of the cancer.
People with a history of asbestos exposure, and experiencing chest pain, are therefore recommended frequent check-ups for Pleural Mesothelioma cancer
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