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Below, week by week, is what OnCo's record of Peritoneal mesothelioma says about the first two months: the order is typical, the timing is yours to ask about. Peritoneal mesothelioma grows in the lining of the abdomen, causing swelling, pain and fluid. Unlike its pleural cousin it is often treated with major surgery to strip the lining followed by heated chemotherapy washed through the abdomen, which can give long survival in fit patients with epithelioid disease. Sections appear only where the record has something to say. Orientation, not medical advice.
Staging tests establish exactly what and where the cancer is. Everything else follows from the answers.
CT, laparoscopy with biopsy and scoring of disease extent; germline BAP1 testing when young or with a family history.
Ask which of these were tested and what the results were; see the report reader for what each value means.
These specialties appear in the standard of care for this cancer. In most centres they meet weekly as a tumour board to agree each plan; you can ask when yours was discussed and what was decided.
A second opinion from a centre that treats many similar cases is normal, not rude; the standard of care tells you what to compare it against.
Each row is a setting from the standard of care, in the order it usually arises. Not all will apply to you; your stage and biomarkers decide which do. The guideline grade, where recorded, says how strong the evidence is.
Cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC in an experienced centre; long-term survival in a substantial fraction.
Platinum-pemetrexed chemotherapy; nivolumab plus ipilimumab or pembrolizumab combinations extrapolated from pleural trials and small peritoneal series.
Well-differentiated papillary and multicystic tumours: surgical removal and surveillance; systemic therapy rarely needed.
Generated from this cancer's standard of care, biomarkers and open problems. Take the group that matches where you are. To tick, add your own and print, open the one-page appointment sheet.
Trials open now for this cancer in OnCo, largest phase first. Joining a trial is a decision like any other: ask what the comparison arm is, whether a placebo is used, and what happens if you leave. The cancer page searches ClinicalTrials.gov live for more.
Much of what helps in the first weeks is free if you know to ask: testing, helplines, rides and lodging, second opinions, trial travel.
Every term links to the glossary.