Facts About Asbestos Lung Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma cancer, which is classified into three according to the area infected by each of these, is caused by asbestos particles inhaled mostly at workplaces. The three types are the pleural mesothelioma (that affects the mesothelium around the lung cavities), the peritoneal (found in the lining of the abdomen) and the pericardial (which attacks the heart cavities). The former, which attacks the lining of the lungs, is also called asbestos lung mesothelioma because it affects the lung cavities and is caused by asbestos.
The pleural mesothelioma is surely a life threatening disease. It may also happen that the infection spreads all long the lung and it has to be removed. The fine fibers of asbestos settle down in the pleural linings. It triggers some chemical reactions resulting in harmful cell division. As a consequence pleural effusion and thickening of the layer happens obstructing the easy motion of the lungs causing breathing problems. The infection may take years and decades to reach this advanced stage.
Diagnosing pleural mesothelioma becomes sometimes extremely difficult, especially if the doctor is nor skillful in the field. Many symptoms of this cancer are similar to the symptoms of other diseases like pneumonia. Sometimes mesothelioma diagnosis takes place when the patient goes to the doctor for some other treatment. An expert physician would ask the health and medical history of such patients before conducting imaging tests, lung tests or biopsy.
There are many symptoms of asbestos lung mesothelioma. They are shortness of breath, fatigue, chronic cough, loss of body weight, night sweat, fever etc. In some patients only a few symptoms would be visible. Yet few others would be free of symptoms. This has often led to lots of confusion in diagnosis. Failure in detection and wrong detection are equally harmful.
The most common symptoms of asbestos lung mesothelioma is shortness of breath, chronic cough, fatigue at the least exertion, loss of body weight for no assumable reason, fever, night sweat etc. Traditional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are preferred by the doctors if the cancer is in the initial stages. Chemotherapy checks the spread of cancer and radiation therapy removes the remnants of cancer through high energy or particle beams. Palliative treatment is done, if it reaches the advanced stages. Here the treatment of the symptoms rather than causes is done.