Saturday, August 1, 2009

Symptoms of Mesothelioma - What You Should Know

By David Horton

It's important to know everything that you can about the symptoms of asbestos attorney mesothelioma in case you or someone you know has suffered from exposure to asbestos. This is a cancer that attacks healthy membranes over important organs like the lungs, heart and the abdominal lining. If it goes undetected, it can turn into a fatal disease.

Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure, which can be prevented by using protective equipment. Asbestos is odorless and colorless when airborne, and can stick to hair and skin, making it possible for a single garment to contaminate a whole household just through the laundry. Unfortunately, no one paid much attention to this disease until the 1960s, when many people in the mining field started developing lung cancer.

The disease is classified according to the body organ affected and the symptoms of mesothelioma vary accordingly: Pleural mesothelioma - membranes of the lungs; Peritoneal mesothelioma - membranes protecting the abdominal cavity; and Pericardial mesothelioma - membranes in the heart area.

The most common symptoms of mesothelioma include chest pain, shortness of breath and rapid loss of weight. They can be confused with the symptoms of other diseases, including IBS, heart abnormalities and viral pneumonia. Biopsies of tissue, x-rays of the chest, or a CT scan can confirm the presence of mesothelioma. Knowing the warning signs can help you find out for sure.

There is no absolute cure for mesothelioma but radical surgery can be performed to remove a small tumor before it spreads to other parts of the body. Other treatment methods, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, destroy the cancer cells or reduce the tumor size but these methods are risky because of their potential damage to healthy tissues. Palliative measures are meant to manage pain but not to slow down the disease. Once diagnosed with any of these mesothelioma cancers, it is often too late.

Symptoms of mesothelioma in the lungs are easily confused with pneumonia and other lung infections, since fever, muscle weakness, coughing and sweating are common symptoms. If treatment of mesothelioma with medication fails to cure the problem and rapid weight loss occurs, pay attention to see if you're suffering from facial or arm swelling, pain on one side of your chest, pain in the lower back or shortness of breath. Containment of this disease is important, since it can lead to lung failure or death.

Peritoneal mesothelioma symptoms are also confused with other ailments. Stomach pains, bowel obstruction, swollen belly, vomiting and nausea, anemia, fever, blood clotting abnormalities, and weight loss should alert you and the doctor to the possibility of peritoneal mesothelioma.

Pericardial mesothelioma symptoms start with heart palpitations, irregular heartbeat, chest pains, shortness of breath, and persistent dry coughs. Unfortunately, once diagnosed, the cancer has already progressed. This type of mesothelioma is rare but equally deadly.

If you suspect that you or someone else you know is suffering from mesothelioma, get a medical evaluation quickly. If there has been no asbestos exposure, there's no much to worry about, but if you see the symptoms of mesothelioma, you need to find out if there's a problem right away.

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