The symptoms of mesothelioma cancer typically show up gradually over a period of years. Chest pain and back pain are the most common complaints at the beginning. After suffereing from fever, difficulty breathing and weight loss you will probably recognize that it is time to visit the doctor for a diagnosis. Unfortunately, once you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the disease progresses rather quickly.

Mesothelioma is a cancerous tumor that shows up mostly in the mesothelial cells of an organ. The heart, lungs and abdominal organs are the ones most likely to be affected. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of this cancer and it affects the lining of the lungs.

The most common cause of this cancer is exposure to roofing, ceiling and floor tiles, along with pipes, insulation and other materials used in construction before the 1970s. Those materials all contained asbestos fibers, which are now known to be cancerous. Even today, automobile brakes contain asbestos and mechanics are at risk for developing the cancer as well.

Your chance of developing mesothelioma depends primarily on the length of time you were exposed as well as the amount of asbestos to which you were exposed.

After you have shown symptoms of mesothelioma and have been positively diagnosed by your doctor, it is important to get prompt and aggressive treatment. There are several treatments available for mesothelioma, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. The key is to catch the disease in its early stages, which will increase your chance of survival.