What is mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is a relatively rare form of cancer that develops in the lining of certain internal organs of the body including the chest, heart and abdomen. In fact, mesothelioma is so called because reference to the protective membrane called the mesothelium. The mesothelium protects vital internal organs of the body, mainly by producing a lubricating fluid that gives these internal organs of a slippery surface that allows slip to one another while on the move.
Depending on the location where the tumor develops, Mesothelioma is commonly divided into four different categories. This includes:
- Pleural: This form of cancer develops in the chest cavity and accounts for 75% of all mesothelioma cases
- Peritoneal: This form of cancer develops in the abdomen, representing 20% of all mesothelioma cases
- Pericardial: develop around the heart, is a rare form of cancer because it represents only 5% of all mesothelioma cases
- Testicular: extremely rare form of cancer that affects only 1% of patients
Based on the appearance that cells have a microscope, mesothelioma can also be divided into the following categories:
- Epithelial-the most common form of cancer and has a better prognosis than other
- Sarcomatoid or fibrous: only 10 or 20% of cases of mesothelioma have this form
- Mixed or biphasic: between 30 and 40% of cases of mesothelioma take this form. Has own forms of epithelial and sarcomatoid
- Desmoplastic: is a rare form of mesothelioma
Features
Mesothelioma is characterized by the low rate of successful treatment, which can be explained due to delay in development there, which is known as latency and makes the symptoms are ignored. In fact the first symptoms of mesothelioma are non-existent.Because they are generic symptoms that develop slowly and may be confused with other diseases, mesothelioma is rarely diagnosed in a fast way. Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma typically include a limitation on breathing, difficulty swallowing, and persistent constipation. Peritoneal mesothelioma manifests as fatigue, nausea, lumps under the skin, swelling or abdominal pain. Pericardial mesothelioma has similar symptoms to chest pain, coughing, irregular heart rhythm or fatigue. Because of its low incidence, little is known about the symptoms of testicular mesothelioma.
This slowly recognizing mesothelioma explains his lethal quality. Like many other diseases, mesothelioma in its early phrases best treated when the tumor is located and the patient has better health. However, this is rarely possible and patients usually only seek medical help when they are really bad. Adding to the difficulty of treating the disease, many options such as surgery are not available when the cancer develops in the final stages. The patient's age and health status, determine possible treatments and the higher the patient many medical alternatives are possible.
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