Mesothelioma Cancer

Mesothelioma Cancer: Early Warning Signs and Causes

By Craig Whitley

What is Mesothelioma?

Chances are you may never have heard of mesothelioma cancer unless you or a relative have the disease. Still considered as a rare cancer, it has been popularized by its linkage to asbestos.

Exactly what is mesothelioma cancer or malignant mesothelioma? Malignant mesothelioma is a deadly cancer of the mesothelium, or lining of the lung and chest cavity. However, it sometimes can be a deadly cancer of the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen). It is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos, and is slow forming – often taking between 20-50 years to develop after exposure to asbestos.

Malignant Mesothelioma Symptoms

Symptoms of malignant mesothelioma in the lung and chest cavity are as follows:


Shortness of breath
Cough
Weight Loss
Chest Pain

Symptoms of malignant mesothelioma in the abdomen are as follows:


Abdominal swelling and pain
Weight Loss

Wondering How You Could Have Gotten Mesothelioma Cancer?

Several diseases are associated with exposure to asbestos. They include: malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, pleural effusion, pleural plaques and thickening, and lung cancer.

Prior to 1975 asbestos fibers were commonly used. You could have been exposed to asbestos while working at any number of different industries. Chief among the possibilities would be jobs at asbestos mining and milling plants, shipyards, fireproofing and heating, construction, automotive repair, insulation, pipefitting and boilermaking.

If you did not work in one of these industries or another that used asbestos, it is also possible that you could have been exposed if someone in your household worked with asbestos and carried asbestos fibers home on his or her clothing, hair or body. You may also have been exposed indirectly by living near asbestos mines.

Although it is true that most patients with malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer or other asbestos-related diseases likely had prolonged exposure to asbestos over a long period of time, it is also possible for one to develop one of these diseases from a brief exposure to asbestos.

The odds of developing lung cancer from smoking also increases significantly from exposure to asbestos. Although most people with lung cancer are told that their lung cancer was caused from smoking, if you or someone you know has lung cancer and also worked in an environment that gave you exposure to asbestos, it is highly recommended that you contact an attorney that specializes in handling mesothelioma and lung cancer cases caused by exposure to asbestos. The justice system has been very generous in its rewards to people who suffer diseases caused by asbestos exposure.

To learn more about mesothelioma cancer I recommend you visit Mesothelioma Cancer Online when searching for web resources covering mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma-Cancer-Online.com is an excellent resource center that offers recommendations and directory listings for numerous websites related to mesothelioma cancer, along with articles and books about mesothelioma cancer.

About the Author:

Craig Whitley is a widely-published author, publisher of numerous e-books and articles about a wide variety of subjects, and owner of the popular search engine Seek Dolphin. He routinely scouts the Internet for excellent online resources like Mesothelioma Cancer Online when writing articles about mesothelioma cancer and other health-related subjects.

Feel free to publish this article on your website, provided you include this author’s resource box and leave all article content unchanged and intact, keeping all urls addresses hyperlinked.

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What Are The Four Stages of Mesothelioma Cancer?

By David Arnold Livingston

One rare form of cancer is called Mesothelioma, a malignant tumor in the mesothelial tissues of the lungs and the abdomen, arising from the inhalation of asbestos. Its rarity is one of the reasons why a lot of people are not aware of this kind of fatal disease. In fact, many people die of Mesothelioma undiagnosed. Although there is now a growing awareness of the hazards of asbestos to health, still many have not heard of Mesothelioma and thus, have not understood its nature, cause, signs and treatment. Even some physicians find it hard to detect Mesothelioma because its symptoms are akin to other diseases like lung cancer and pneumonia. Furthermore, it takes decades for a patient who was exposed to asbestos to develop Mesothelioma — fifty years, at most.

Being unaware of Mesothelioma poses higher risks since it deters diagnosis and treatment. A person undergoing treatment must know the different stages of the cancer or the extent of the disease. Chances of recovering from Mesothelioma and the kind of treatment depend on the stage of the illness. There are basically two staging systems used for Pleural Mesothelioma (lungs): TNM system and Brighan system. These staging systems are also used in other kinds of cancers; however, the first is commonly used. There is no established method in determining the stage of the Peritoneal Mesothelioma cancer (abdominal) so the TNM system is used.

There are three variables in the TNM system: tumor, lymph nodes and metastasis. In the earliest stage of Mesothelioma, stage I, the malignant Mesothelioma cells start to grow and multiply only one layer of the pleura. The pleura is the membrane that encloses the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. However, there are some instances wherein the pericardium (membrane that covers the heart) and diaphragm cover are already affected. In this case, the cancer patient is still in stage I Mesothelioma.

In the second stage, the two layers of the pleura are already affected by Mesothelioma. Take note, however, that in this stage, only one side of the body is affected. Normally, the pleura produces only small amount of lubricating fluid that allows easy expanding and contracting of the lungs. The excess fluid is absorbed by the blood and the lymph vessels so there’s a balance between the amount of fluid produced and removed. During the second stage Mesothelioma, fluid starts to build up between the membrane of the lungs and the membrane of the chest wall, resulting to pleural effusion. The increase in the volume of fluid produced causes shortness of breath and chest pain. Other Mesothelioma cancer patients experience dry and persistent cough. Diagnosis of the pleural effusion is achieved through a chest x-ray.

Stage III Mesothelioma means that the malignant cells have already spread to the chest wall, esophagus and the lymph nodes on one part of the chest. The patient may suffer severe pain near the parts affected. When not treated immediately or when the Mesothelioma patient doesn’t respond well to medication, the cancer may advance to the fourth stage. The fourth stage Mesothelioma is formidable since at this stage the Mesothelioma cells have penetrated into the bloodstream and other organs in the body like the liver, the bones and the brain. The lymph nodes on the other side of the chest may also be affected by Mesothelioma in stage IV.

Brighan staging system, on the other hand, determines whether the Mesothelioma can be surgically removed or not and whether the lymph nodes are affected or not. In stage I Mesothelioma, the lymph nodes are not yet affected and the patient can still recover through surgery. In stage II, surgery can still be executed but some lymph nodes have already been infiltrated by the cancer cells. In stage III, the heart and chest wall are already affected; thus, surgery is no longer advisable. The lymph nodes in this stage, however, may or may not be affected. In the final stage, stage IV Mesothelioma, cancer cells have already gone to the bloodstream and other parts of the body like the heart, brain, bone and liver. In most cases, a patient who has reached stage IV Mesothelioma only has four to twenty-four months to live.

David Arnold Livingston is a believer in gaining knowledge around Health issues and recommends, as a resource: http://www.newmesothelioma.com/Mesothelioma