Mesothelioma Symptoms: An Overview

Malignant mesotheliomas are rare cancers that form in the tissues lining the lungs (pleura), abdomen (peritoneum) or heart (pericardium). Pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs, is the most common, accounting for about 75 percent of all malignant mesotheliomas. Between ten and twenty percent of all malignant mesotheliomas are peritoneal mesotheliomas. Pericardial mesotheliomas are extremely rare. A history of exposure to asbestos is found in most individuals with mesothelioma. The time from exposure to onset of cancer may be as long as thirty years; this is why most people with malignant mesothelioma are between 50 and 70 years old.

Many symptoms of malignant mesothelioma are non-specific, and are also seen in a number of other chest and abdominal conditions. This, combined with the lack of an accurate history of asbestos exposure in some patients, may considerably delay diagnosis. The majority of people with mesothelioma only have symptoms during the two to three months before they are diagnosed. About one quarter of all people with malignant mesothelioma have symptoms for about six months before diagnosis.

Once symptoms are present, they may depend on the location of the primary cancer. In general, symptoms become more pronounced with more advanced disease. With pleural mesothelioma, common symptoms are difficulty breathing, cough, pain in the chest or under the ribcage, coughing up blood, hoarseness, and the collection of fluid or pleural effusion in the pleural cavity. The face and arms may swell up. Many of these symptoms and signs are also seen with lung cancer.

With peritoneal mesothelioma, symptoms may include a lump or swelling in the abdomen, abdominal pain, fluid in the abdomen, constipation due to bowel obstruction, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Patients suffering from pericardial mesothelioma may experience chest pain, breathlessness and palpitations. Some symptoms of malignant mesothelioma are common to many cancers. These include unexplained weight loss, fever and fatigue.

Mesothelioma Symptoms provides detailed information on Advanced Mesothelioma Symptoms, Clinical Mesothelioma Symptoms, Mesothelioma Diagnosis: An Introduction, Mesothelioma Stomach Symptoms and more. Mesothelioma Symptoms is affiliated with Pleural Mesothelioma Information [http://www.e-MesotheliomaInformation.com].

Overview of Malignant Mesothelioma

Over a period of time, the world has witnessed variations of a disease that is caused by the frequent inhalation or ingestion of asbestos fibers - mesothelioma. The asbestos fibers are known to get lodged within the lung tissues. A variety of related diseases are caused due to prolonged and constant exposure to asbestos like malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. The most fatal of these diseases is mesothelioma, which culminates in death.

Malignant mesothelioma:

This cancer affects the lining of the abdomen or the lungs and is today, not a very rare type of cancer. It is always caused due to the inhalation of asbestos, but can spread due to a weakened immune system too and other internal infections present during the onslaught. The effects of this cancer manifest approximately 20 to 40 years later and this is one reason why it is seen in older patients generally. If mesothelioma life expectancy has to be increased then early diagnosis of the patient helps in determining the right kind of treatment option on time. Of all the cancers, malignant mesothelioma is one of the most painful, aggressive and most fatal.

Mesothelioma cancer types:

The lungs are often the most affected parts of the body in mesothelioma cancer. It also occurs in the peritoneum in rare cases and when the asbestos fibers are inhaled, they also reach the bowel and stomach regions. Pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma are the two types of mesothelioma. The pleura or the lining of the lungs are affected in pleural mesothelioma and in peritoneal mesothelioma, the lining of the abdominal cavity or the peritoneum is affected.

Risk:

To improve mesothelioma life expectancy early diagnosis and treatment becomes indisputable. It takes many years for malignant mesothelioma to develop and manifest. If a person is diagnosed today for example, he or she has actually been exposed to the asbestos fibers about 20 to 40 years back! Those workers who previously had jobs involving prolonged inhalation of the asbestos fiber are the ones most affected by mesothelioma. During the early 20h century, there were not many safety guidelines with regards to the onslaught. Not only the workers themselves, but even their friends and relatives were affected due to the inhalation of the asbestos fibers from the hair, clothing and skin of these primary carriers of the fibers.

Prognosis and symptoms:

It takes decades for malignant mesothelioma to develop. Up to 15 to 20 or sometimes even up to 50 years, no serious symptoms of the condition may manifest in even a construction worker. And even if the symptoms do surface, they have a tendency of remaining inconspicuous very often. The patient usually displays bouts of fever, swallowing difficulty, and pain in the chest, shortness of breath, persistent cough and difficulty in breathing.

It becomes difficult to catch the onslaught in the early stages due to the vagueness of the symptoms related to malignant mesothelioma. The cancer is most likely to reach its advanced stages by the time the victim even goes through the primary diagnosis. This makes the prognosis poor and the situation pretty hapless. Depending on the particular form of mesothelioma cancer, the survival rate could be anywhere between 20-30%. To improve Mesothelioma Life Expectancy, early diagnosis and the timely treatment are absolute necessities.

Right from the 1800s asbestos has been frequently used and even overused. The overview of Mesothelioma Life Expectancy and Malignant Mesothelioma needs to be mapped from the 1940s to the 1980s.