Malignant mesothelioma affects the mesothelium, the protective lining of the internal organs like lungs, heart, abdomen etc. It is a rare form of cancer which is often confused with lung cancer. Mesothelioma affects the lining of the lung and the latter infects the lung itself. Mesothelioma patients are the ones who had breathed in asbestos for a considerable period of time.
There are three types of malignant mesothelioma. The most common type, the pleural mesothelioma, affects the pleura, or the outer covering of lungs and internal chest wall while the peritoneal and pericardial types affect the lining protecting the abdominal cavity and heart respectively. The caner is definitely a killer, but mortality rates of these three differ slightly, with the pericardial mesothelioma being touted as the most dangerous.
The normal functioning of the cells is affected in the course of many years by the asbestos particles which enter the mesothelium on inhalation. It is because of this long latency period that most of the newly diagnosed victims are workers who got into close contact with asbestos in the 1940s to 1970s.
The initial symptoms of being affected are shortness of breath resulting from excessive build up of fluid in the cavities known as pleural effusion. Unrelenting dry cough coupled with shortness of breath is a definite indicator of malignant mesothelioma attack. Patients may even develop other symptoms like fatigue, fever, pain around the chest, weight loss, night sweats, inflammation of the abdomen etc. Sometimes doctors misdiagnose the type of malignant mesothelioma affecting a particular patient, which results in wrong treatment.
Mesothelioma treatment is an individualized treatment in which the doctors take into account the stage and type of cancer apart from the physical health of the patient. The popular treatment these days is the combination of radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. Certain risk factors are also involved in this approach due to the fact that most of the patients must have reached the final stage of the disease at the time of malignant mesothelioma diagnosis. When the doctors find the cure impossible, palliative treatment is administered to the patients. Still, modern researches going on in the field of finding effective treatment for the malady have given a new hope to the patients.
There are three types of malignant mesothelioma. The most common type, the pleural mesothelioma, affects the pleura, or the outer covering of lungs and internal chest wall while the peritoneal and pericardial types affect the lining protecting the abdominal cavity and heart respectively. The caner is definitely a killer, but mortality rates of these three differ slightly, with the pericardial mesothelioma being touted as the most dangerous.
The normal functioning of the cells is affected in the course of many years by the asbestos particles which enter the mesothelium on inhalation. It is because of this long latency period that most of the newly diagnosed victims are workers who got into close contact with asbestos in the 1940s to 1970s.
The initial symptoms of being affected are shortness of breath resulting from excessive build up of fluid in the cavities known as pleural effusion. Unrelenting dry cough coupled with shortness of breath is a definite indicator of malignant mesothelioma attack. Patients may even develop other symptoms like fatigue, fever, pain around the chest, weight loss, night sweats, inflammation of the abdomen etc. Sometimes doctors misdiagnose the type of malignant mesothelioma affecting a particular patient, which results in wrong treatment.
Mesothelioma treatment is an individualized treatment in which the doctors take into account the stage and type of cancer apart from the physical health of the patient. The popular treatment these days is the combination of radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. Certain risk factors are also involved in this approach due to the fact that most of the patients must have reached the final stage of the disease at the time of malignant mesothelioma diagnosis. When the doctors find the cure impossible, palliative treatment is administered to the patients. Still, modern researches going on in the field of finding effective treatment for the malady have given a new hope to the patients.
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