Symptoms Of Mesothelioma And Diagnosis
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Mesothelioma is recognized as a form of cancer that proliferates at a very fast rate after it has been diagnosed. It is important to recognize the symptoms of mesothelioma so that the patient can be diagnosed as early as possible so that an appropriate treatment plan can be initiated. Patients diagnosed with mesothelioma have limited chances of survival beyond one or two years. Sometimes, if the cancer is detected early, a patient might live as long as five years.
There are three types of mesothelioma, each with slightly different symptoms. The symptoms vary but the general symptoms that are found in patients suffering from different types of mesothelioma are weight loss, chest pain, loss of appetite, shortness of breath , coughing, and coughing with blood. Mesothelioma generally cannot be diagnosed for decades after the patient's exposure to asbestos because the cancer either lies dormant or takes years to appear.
Symptoms of mesothelioma resemble other types of lung diseases. Most of the symptoms involve the lungs, where the mesothelial cells covering the lungs and the cavity between them are affected due to prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers.
The primary symptom is a constant pain in the chest which is followed by short breaths and difficulty breathing because fluid accumulates in the chest, which makes breathing even more difficult. Other symptoms of the disease include abnormalities in the lungs, which can be diagnosed under proper supervision of the doctor with a chest CT-scan.
Typically, the disease of mesothelioma advances in four stages. In the first stage, a tumor begins to form in the area of the lining of the lung and doesn’t exceed from one side of the lung. In the second stage, the tumor extends to other organs in the chest cavity, such as the heart. In the third stage, its extends to other abdominal. Finally, in the fourth stage, the tumor extends to all parts of the body, affecting all parts adversely. These are some of the symptoms of mesothelioma, any of which should cause you to immediately obtain a proper medical diagnosis.
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