Monday, January 4, 2010

Peritoneal Mesothelioma - Evaluation Of Peritoneal Mesothelioma

By Shan Durai

When mesothelioma affects the peritonium, it is identified as peritoneal mesothelioma. The membrane that lines the obdominal area is called the peritonium. Even within the area of mesothelioma, peritoneal instances are considered rare with only about thirty percent of all instances being peritoneal mesothelioma. The main cause for contracting peritoneal mesothelioma points to exposure to asbestos over a duration of time.

How long an exposure to asbestos to get mesothelioma is not known. Normal symptoms include swelling of the abdomen region, abdominal pain, weight loss, lumps in the abdomen area, anemia and an obstruction of the small and/or large intestine. Almost all patients suffering from peritoneal mesothelioma will lose their lives to it in the end.

Researchers concentrate on improving the quality of the patients life seeing as there is no cure to be had. It is thought that asbestos fibers are transported to the peritonium where they start to have an effect on the cells of the peritonium membrane. The cells begin to divide at a extremely high rate causing the membrane to thicken.

Fluid begins to build up in the abdomen. The draining of this fluid along with cytoreductive surgery and removal of the tumors present represent the general treatment methods done today. Chemotherapy and radiation is sometimes combined if the procedures need to be aggressive.

The radiation and chemotherapy is used to rapidly eradicate the dividing cells. Now and then, these chemicals are used directly on the affected peritonium. While there have been cases of patients surviving more than a decade, those are very uncommon with a good number patients having a lifespan of about one year give or take a few months. This is dependent of how early the cancer was detected and the kind and effectiveness of the treatment. That said, it's not possible to foresee how any one patient will do.

Unfortunately, the cast majority of instances see the patients too far ahead in the spread of mesothelioma for surgery or chemotherapy to have an affect. At that point, treatment is undergone with two things in mind, alleviation of pain and extending the patients lifespan.

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