Despite physicians’ best efforts, the current 5-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma is just ten percent. As bleak as this statistic is, a new study conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston has added to caregivers’ concerns: they found a significantly higher risk for suicide among patients undergoing surgery for cancers with low survival rates.
Surgery Is Not Always an Option for Mesothelioma Patients
Only one in five patients diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma are candidates for the most aggressive types of tumor-removing surgery, but many undergo other invasive procedures meant to provide relief of their symptoms. According to the results of the Massachusetts General study, this may put them at higher risk for suicide, and in greater need of emotional support.
Though the retrospective study led by Chi-Fu Jeffrey Yang, MD did not specifically mention malignant mesothelioma, the researchers did find that those undergoing surgery for the 15 deadliest cancers in the United States had a suicide rate of 14.5 per 100,000 person-years. This is far higher than that of the general population after adjustments for age, sex, race, and calendar year of death.
Suicide Risk Highest Within Three Years of Cancer Surgery
Writing in the journal JAMA Oncology, the group found that roughly half of suicides occurred within the first three years after surgery, three percent occurred within the first month, and 21% within the first year. They found that those undergoing surgery with the highest five-year survival rate had the lowest risk, and that those at highest risk were male, white, and divorced or single.
The authors urge those providing care to mesothelioma patients to screen them for distress. “These findings suggest the need to implement suicide screening among patients undergoing cancer operations, especially patients whose demographic and tumor characteristics are associated with the highest risk.”
If someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, it is important that you provide them with all the support and resources they need. For more information, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
