Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure that affects the tissue lining a person’s organs. Doctors break the disease down into one of three types depending on where the cancer is in the body: Mesothelioma on the lining of the lungs is known as pleural mesothelioma; mesothelioma on the lining of the abdomen is known as peritoneal mesothelioma; and mesothelioma on the lining of the heart is known as pericardial mesothelioma. Symptoms of the disease depend up which type of mesothelioma affects the person. However, one trait they all have in common is a high latency period. This means that it can take up to 50 years after asbestos exposure for a person’s symptoms to start showing. Consequently, individuals who suffered exposure to asbestos should get regular medical examinations in order to identify mesothelioma as early as possible.

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Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of the disease, accounting for 75 percent of all cases. Asbestos exposure causes pleural mesothelioma when the victim inhales the particles of asbestos, letting them embed themselves into the pleura, a membrane surrounding the lungs. Common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include:

·         chest pain,

·         persistent cough,

·         wheezing,

·         lumps under the chest,

·         fluid buildup in the lining of the lungs,

·         fatigue,

·         shortness of breath,

·         coughing up blood,

·         painful breathing,

·         reduced chest expansion,

·         weight loss, and

·         night sweats.

·         constipation,

·         weight loss,

·         fatigue,

·         fever,

·         night sweats,

·         abdominal swelling,

·         lumps in the abdomen,

·         nausea, and

·         anemia.

Pericardial Mesothelioma

Pericardial mesothelioma is one of the rarest forms of the disease. It occurs when the asbestos fibers enter a person’s bloodstream and embed themselves in the lining of their heart. This form of mesothelioma only makes up 1 to 6 percent of total cases. Symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma include:

·         irregular heartbeat,

·         palpitations,

·         heart murmurs,

·         difficult breathing,

·         fever,

·         night sweats,

·         chest pain,

·         cough, and

·         fatigue.

Rarer Forms of Mesothelioma

In addition to the other forms of mesothelioma, there are two more, much rarer, types of the disease. The first type, testicular mesothelioma, happens when the asbestos fibers embed themselves in tunica vaginalis, a lining that surrounds the testis. This type of mesothelioma is exceedingly rare, with fewer than 100 reported cases. This rarity makes it difficult for doctors to determine what symptoms of the disease are common, but many cases of testicular mesothelioma have involved testicular lumps and swelling of the scrotum.

The second rare type of mesothelioma is omental mesothelioma. This version of the disease is when the asbestos fibers lodge in a person’s omentum, which is a particular part of their peritoneum. Like testicular mesothelioma, exact symptoms are difficult to determine from the limited number of cases, but doctors believe they may be similar to the Symptoms of mesothelioma