Mesothelioma Cancer

Mesothelioma Cancer

Mesothelioma cancer is a rare type of cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs, abdomen, and heart. Men develop this about four times more often than women. All types of Mesothelioma are usually fatal with the exception of benign Mesothelioma.

Once this cancer has been diagnosed the prognosis is not very promising. Most patients have a life expectancy of only less than one year. However, it is also dependent upon how soon the cancer is diagnosed and how aggressively it is treated. These factors can lengthen or shorten the patient’s life expectancy.

Mesothelioma cancer is rather odd in the way it behaves. The cause of it is exposure to asbestos. Yet it can take anywhere from 20 to 50 years following exposure to the asbestos before symptoms begin showing up. These symptoms can include:

* Shortness of breath

* Persistent cough

* Fatigue

* Lumps under the skin in the chest area

* Weight loss

* Nausea

* Pain and swelling in the abdomen

* Obstruction in the bowel

* Heart palpations

* Irregular heartbeat

* Trouble breathing

* Night sweats

* Testicular lumps that may or may not be painful

Anyone experiencing these symptoms needs to contact their doctor immediately. If Mesothelioma cancer is suspected, the doctor will perform certain tests to confirm the diagnosis. These tests may be in the form of X-rays, different types of scans, and a biopsy.

Once the diagnosis has been confirmed the next step is to find the best treatment options for the patient. These can be anything from chemotherapy to surgery. The most common types of treatments are chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery.  Immunotherapy and gene therapy are experimental treatments that can also be tried. Many patients use a combination of treatments to try to fight this cancer.

As the dangers of asbestos were known long before anything was done to protect workers from Mesothelioma cancer, there have been many ongoing law suits against companies who either produced or used asbestos products. The exposure to asbestos occurred in the 20th century until the danger was exposed in the 1970’s. It was at this point in time that asbestos started to decline. Today, families of the victims of Mesothelioma are winning large law suits everyday due to the negligence of the companies who were responsible for exposing their loved ones to this deadly mineral.

The sad thing about this cancer is that it is one that could have been avoided completely with a bit of research and study into asbestos before assuming it was safe to use.

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