Causes of pleural mesothelioma - Types of Mesothelioma

Causes of pleural mesothelioma - Types of Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma
A cancer of the mesothelium, a membrane surrounding certain areas of the body, including the lungs and heart are included bodies, is known as mesothelioma. Mesothelioma occurs when cells in the mesothelium divide uncontrollably.

Types of Mesothelioma
Pleural mesothelioma develops in the lung area, peritoneal mesothelioma in the abdominal area pericardial mesothelioma in the heart area, and testicular mesothelioma in the male genital area. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type and accounts for 75% of cases.

Causes of pleural mesothelioma
Asbestos is the main cause of pleural mesothelioma, and has been used for many industrial and domestic applications. This mineral meant an industrial advantage in manufacturing processes. In the early 20th century it was discovered that asbestos was dangerous to the health of those who were exposed to it. Employers and the state itself were aware of these dangers but did not inform their workers and were not prevented exposed to this material. In the late 80's asbestos was banned in the United States, excepting a few applications that were rigorously regulated.

Latency period
When someone is exposed to asbestos fibers are embedded in the body. These fibers aggravate cells and cancer as a result flourishes. Someone who has been exposed to asbestos can live for decades without any symptoms develop. The latency period of mesothelioma can be 20 to 50 years.

Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma
The indicators of pleural mesothelioma is often confused with symptoms of other diseases, which makes diagnosis is delayed. Symptoms include:

Fatigue
Persistent, usually dry, hacking cough
Coughing up blood
Chest pain and back
Swelling
Development lumps under the skin in the chest
Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
Hoarse voice
Unexplained weight loss
Night sweats or fever
Diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma
PleuraPleural mesothelioma, like other forms of cancer is difficult to diagnose. As a consequence of the long latency period, and considering that mesothelioma shares symptoms with other more common diseases, pleural mesothelioma typically receives an expected error treatment for other diseases such as pneumonia.

Take into consideration the patient's symptoms, medical examination, sampling and tissue fluid and subject him to diagnostic imaging tests can help diagnose mesothelioma. Also the location of the tumor was confirmed when the patient undergoes imaging tests such as x-rays and scans.

The cancer can spread to other parts of the body, which is called metastasis. Doctors use the term "stage of disease" to indicate the extent of the tumor and to classify its size. The most common staging systems are the Butchart System, TNM System and Brigham system.

Treating the disease
After diagnosis, the doctor and patient must discuss the treatment options, which means taking into account the wishes of the patient and other factors. Radiation, surgery and chemotherapy are the most common treatments.

Radiation may be used internally, from within the body, or externally, from outside the body. Radiation destroys cells in general, but not usually seen as the best option for mesothelioma. Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to destroy the malignancy. This type of therapy can be used when the disease has spread or come back after a referral. The intervention is a good option if the cancer is caught in its first stage and the tumor can be removed. Sometimes patients combine both treatments as a multimodal attack the disease.

One type of intervention, palliative, is used to mitigate the suffering of the patient as suffering from the disease; another version aims to prolong the life expectancy of the patient. Breathing difficulties may be alleviated by draining the pleural fluid, which is what is known as pleurocentesis injections or through drugs or other substances that prevent fluid from building up and known as pleurodesis. These treatments can help prolong the life of the patient but not cure the disease.

In addition, patients may be interested in seeking alternative treatments. These techniques are not recognized as healing cancer, but research has confirmed that combining it with other treatment may help with pain, stress and even prolong life expectancy. Some alternative therapies are yoga, reiki, massage therapy and pet therapy.

More and more is being investigated to find cure for this terminal disease. Since pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of this cancer more and more studies on it.

Mesothelioma Prognosis
Early detection of mesothelioma is essential and is closely related to life expectancy. If a patient is diagnosed with the disease in the early stages, life expectancy, compared to others who have been diagnosed at more advanced stages, will be much higher.

Research conducted in the UK show that only ten percent of mesothelioma cases survive from 3 to 5 years, and only 8% over 5 years. These studies cite some research that speak of survival ratios above 50% after two years, which determines the range in survival time is very wide. It is important to remember that every cancer case is unique and that these statistics are not mirror reflection of each individual situation. As says the Cancer Research Center of the United Kingdom "there is no statistical me tell you what will happen to you. Your cancer is unique. The same type of cancer can grow differently in different people. The statistics are not going to say what treatments people should have had treatment or should have affected the prognosis. There are many individual factors that will affect your treatment and your situation.

Since it is difficult to detect cancer early so due to latency period where symptoms do not usually appear until 20 or 50 years, if an individual has been exposed to asbestos should undergo regular medical examinations as a precaution.

For those who has been diagnosed with cancer in its later stages, palliative treatments are usually highly recommended. These treatments do not cure, are designed to lessen the pain and discomfort that is generated as the disease evolves, in order to improve the quality of life of patients.