Mesothelioma cancer, which is classified into three according to the area infected by each of these, is caused by asbestos particles inhaled mostly at workplaces. The three types are the pleural mesothelioma (that affects the mesothelium around the lung cavities), the peritoneal (found in the lining of the abdomen) and the pericardial (which attacks the heart cavities). The former, which attacks the lining of the lungs, is also called asbestos lung mesothelioma because it affects the lung cavities and is caused by asbestos.
The pleural mesothelioma is surely a life threatening disease. It may also happen that the infection spreads all long the lung and it has to be removed. The fine fibers of asbestos settle down in the pleural linings. It triggers some chemical reactions resulting in harmful cell division. As a consequence pleural effusion and thickening of the layer happens obstructing the easy motion of the lungs causing breathing problems. The infection may take years and decades to reach this advanced stage.
Diagnosing pleural mesothelioma sometimes gets difficult if the doctor handling the case is not adept in the subject. Many symptoms resulting from this cancer are similar to those of many other diseases like pneumonia.
There are many symptoms of asbestos lung mesothelioma. They are shortness of breath, fatigue, chronic cough, loss of body weight, night sweat, fever etc. In some patients only a few symptoms would be visible. Yet few others would be free of symptoms. This has often led to lots of confusion in diagnosis. Failure in detection and wrong detection are equally harmful.
Conventional treatment methods like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are followed to treat the disease in the initial stages. Surgery is used to remove the infection. Additional therapies like chemotherapy prevent the spread of cancer to near by cells and tissues. Radiation therapy is used to remove the remnants of cancer through high energy or particle beams. Palliative treatment is provided to patients who are in the advanced stage of the cancer.
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