Mesothelioma is a very rare form of cancerous disease that arises from mesothelium which is a type of internal lining covering the internal organs. It usually occurs in people who have exposure to asbestos. The disease has its progressive malignant form where mostly it affects outer lining of the lungs and inside of the chest wall and slowly other parts are also affected in due course of time. Other body parts affected include the testicle covering layer; the abdominal lining called peritoneum and sometimes also affects the outer lining of the heart called pericardium. Mesothelioma causes The major underlying cause of this cancer is exposure to asbestos. This is highly prevalent in people working in asbestos mines. The source of asbestos may differ as it may be carried to homes through clothes and other objects carried along with. The exposure for causing the cancer could be as short as 2-3 months. There are very rare cases of acquiring this type of cancer via radiation exposure and also sometimes viruses. Symptoms of mesothelioma The disease could be latent for long period of time and the symptoms may not appear soon enough to mark its presence. The duration of latency could range from 25 to 50 years from the time of exposure to asbestos. Here are some of the characteristic symptoms of the disease: Pain in the chest region is one of the common symptom in patients affected in the pleural region. Accumulation of fluid surrounding the lung ( pleural effusion) Shortness of breath can also be seen. Fatigue (muscles undergo fatigue probably due to excess use of energy due to coughing) Anemia is also seen due to blood loss and damage of blood cells; Wheezing or cough Hemoptysis ( coughing of blood in sputum) In certain cases the cancer may metastasize to peritoneum of abdomen and tumors may develop in that region too. Then the symptoms which appear mostly in the late phases could be something like this: 1. Pain in the abdominal region. 2. Ascites ( building up of fluid in abdomen) 3. Development of lump or a mass like thing in abdomen. 4. Bowel functioning. 5. Cachexia (weight loss) As the disease progresses the symptoms go grave and vary from the above symptoms. There could be instances of thrombophlebitis which is caused due to clot formation in the veins resulting in inflamed condition. The other symptoms may include Jaundice, which can be identified by yellowing of skin, eyes and urine. There are also chances of acquiring Low blood sugar levels in body. Mesothelioma Diagnosis Since this type of cancer can cause number of symptoms which are common to other disease states also, it becomes difficult to diagnose it. However the diagnosis usually starts with asking the patient of any exposure to asbestos. There are other diagnostic tests which are performed during the diagnostic procedures, such as: 1. Chest X ray diagnosis 2. Spirometric tests ( Lung functioning tests) 3. CT scan and MRI scan 4. Pathological analysis of different samples taken from various suspected parts.
I am aware about this type of cancer and I guess it creates a lot of awareness among people. Peritoneal mesothelioma is also called as asbestos lung cancer and is relatively unusual type of mesothelioma cancer, apart for less than a quarter of each mesothelioma cases. It’s known peritoneal due to the appearance like that of a tumor in peritoneum membrane inside the abdomen. You have given a nice information on the disease though, thanks for sharing it with us!
