What Is Mesothelioma Cancer ? The Symptoms & Survival Rate

What Is Mesothelioma Cancer ? The Symptoms & Survival Rate Malignant mesothelioma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells in the pleura (the thin layer of tissue that lines the chest cavity and covers the lungs) are found or the peritoneum (the thin layer of tissue that lines the abdomen and covers most of the organs in the abdomen).

Exposure to asbestos can affect risk of malignant mesothelioma.

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Anything that increases the risk of contracting a disease is called a risk factor. Have a risk factor does not mean that you will have cancer, not having risk factors doesn't mean that you won't get cancer. Talk to your doctor if you think you may be at risk.

Most people with malignant mesothelioma have worked or lived in places where they inhaled or swallowed asbestos. After exposure to asbestos, you usually spend much time until a malignant mesothelioma is formed. Living together with a person who works near asbestos also is a risk factor for malignant mesothelioma.
The signs and symptoms of malignant mesothelioma include difficulty breathing and pain under the rib cage.

Sometimes the cancer makes accumulating fluid in the chest or abdomen. The signs and symptoms can be produced from liquid, a malignant mesothelioma or other conditions. Check with your doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms:

Shortness of breath.
Cough.
Pain under the rib cage.
Abdominal pain or swelling of the same.
Nodules in the abdomen.
Constipation.
Problems with blood clots (blood clots that form when they must not do it).
Loss of weight without known reason.
Feeling very tired.

To detect (find) and diagnose malignant mesothelioma, tests are used to examine the inside of the chest and abdomen.

In some cases, it is difficult to differentiate malignant mesothelioma in the chest and lung cancer.

The following tests and procedures may be used to diagnose a malignant mesothelioma in the chest or the peritoneum:

Physical exam and history: examination of the body to check general signs of health, including the control of signs of disease, such as masses or anything that seems abnormal. Also take the history of the health habits of the patient, exposure to asbestos, and diseases and previous treatments.
Chest x-ray: x-ray of the organs and bones inside the chest. Lightning X is a type of beam of energy that can pass through the body and shape in a film which shows a picture of the inside of the body. Expand
Chest x-ray; the drawing shows the patient standing with your back to the X-ray machine. X-rays are used to take pictures of the organs and bones of the chest. The x-rays pass through the patient and are reflected in a film.
The chest x-ray. X-rays are used to take pictures of the organs and bones of the chest. The x-rays pass through the body and are reflected in a film.
Scan CT (CT scan): procedure whereby a series of detailed pictures of the chest and abdomen is taken from different angles. The images are created by a computer connected to an x-ray machine. Inject a dye into a vein or swallowed to organs or tissues stand out more clearly. This procedure is also called computed tomography, computed tomography or CT scan.
Biopsy: removal of cells or tissues of the pleura or the peritoneum performed by a pathologist to observe them under the microscope and determine if there are signs of cancer.

The procedures used to collect cells or tissues are as follows:
Lung (AAF) fine-needle aspiration biopsy: removal of tissue or fluid using a thin needle. A procedure of images is used to locate abnormal lung tissue or fluid. You can make a small incision in the skin where the needle biopsy to abnormal tissue or fluid, is introduced and a sample is taken. Expand

Thoracoscopy: procedure for which an incision (cut) is made between two ribs and a thoracoscope (a thin instrument tube with a light and a lens for viewing) is inserted into the chest.
Thoracotomy: incision (cut) which is made between two ribs to examine the inside of the chest to determine if there are signs of disease.
Peritoneoscopia: procedure for which an incision (cut) is made in the abdominal wall and a peritoneoscopio (a thin instrument tube, with a light and a lens for viewing) is inserted in the abdomen.
Laparotomy: procedure for which an incision (cut) in the wall of the abdomen is done to check the presence of signs of disease on the inside of the abdomen.
Open biopsy: procedure for which a skin incision (cut) is made to expose and remove tissues in order to examine them and determine if there are signs of disease.

The following tests may be performed on samples of cells and tissues taken:
Cytological examination: examination of cells under a microscope to determine if anything is abnormal. In the case of mesothelioma, removed fluid from the chest or abdomen. A pathologist reviews these liquids for signs of cancer.
Immunohistochemistry: test to which antibodies are used in search of certain antigens in a tissue sample. Antibody is usually linked to a radioactive substance or a dye that makes that tissue illuminates under a microscope. This type of test can be used to tell the difference between different types of cancer.
Electron microscopy: laboratory test in which there are cells of a sample of tissue under the microscope of high power in order to see changes in the cells. An electron microscope shows better than other types of microscopes tiny details.

Certain factors affect prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options.

The prognosis (chance of recovery) and treatment options depend on the following:

The stage of the cancer.
The size of the tumor.
If the tumor can be removed completely by surgery.
The amount of fluid in the chest or abdomen.
The age of the patient.
The degree of activity of the patient.
The general State of health of the patient, including the health of the lungs and the heart.
The cell type of mesothelioma and its appearance under a microscope.
The number of white blood cells and the amount of hemoglobin in the blood.
If the patient is male or female.
If the cancer has just been diagnosed or has recurred (come back).

Asbestos Lung Cancer - How Does Asbestos Cause Cancer

Asbestos Lung Cancer - How Does Asbestos Cause Cancer - The worst degree of diseases caused by the inhalation of asbestos are cancers, which can be of the lung, pleura and peritoneum.

Lung Cancer

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Lung cancer is a malignant tumor that invades and clogs up the steps of air by the lungs. Lung and abdominal cancers are diseases caused by the asbestos in the long term. The symptoms are not immediate, but it manifested many years after exposure began. The majority of people who have developed asbestos-related diseases were exposed to high concentrations of asbestos particles directly to the job site. Some others, the less developed the disease from exposure to clothes and equipment that the employees were wearing at home after finishing the work day. Smoking seriously increases the risk of developing lung cancer in workers exposed to asbestos, especially if you smoke more than a pack daily.

Lung cancer caused by asbestos. The clinical signs and symptoms caused by cancer for asbestos does not differ from other lung cancers caused by exposure to smoking cigarettes, arsenic, nickel, chromium, clorometilics ethers or ionizing radiation.

It should be added that exposure to asbestos can develop lung cancers, without having had before asbestosi.

The most common symptoms of lung cancers is coughing, asthmatic breathing, unexplained weight loss, coughs up blood, chest pains, persistent hoarseness, and anemia.

There are people who develop these symptoms although this fact does not have lung cancer. In these cases, you should consult your doctor.

Mesoteliomes

The mesoteliomes are rare cancers that affect the lining of the lungs (pleura) or the abdominal contents (peritoneum). The majority of mesoteliomes are caused by exposure to asbestos. However, the National Cancer Institute of the United States, ensures that a 30 per cent of mesoteliomes are by unknown causes. Smoking does not produce mesoteliomes. Generally, the mesoteliomes will develop between 30 and 40 years after the initial exposure, and that exposure is high. Very short exposure periods may be more than sufficient to cause mesothelioma. When you declare are usually very local invaders. The mesoteliomes is usually accompanied by pleural outpouring, Dyspnea and chest pain. The most common symptoms are cough, weight loss and fever.

Patients diagnosed with mesothelioma have less chance of survival than with other forms of diseases caused by asbestos. Until recently too, patients diagnosed with mesothelioma have a survival around 12 months. Now, in some cases, they have managed to survive more than two years and two and a half years.

It would not be until the year 1960 it published the first proven association between inhalation of asbestos and mesothelioma. Although more than 60 per cent of cases of mesothelioma are due to occupational exposure to asbestos, we know that the environmental and domestic exhibition is able to induce the appearance of mesoteliomes. On the other hand, we know that these environmental and domestic exhibitions are always low-dose, which means that there is a level of security for the exposure to asbestos.

Although all sorts of asbestos can cause mesoteliomes, some studies have suggested that the anfíboles are much more conducive to the streamer. What's more, some researchers claim that the majority of mesoteliomes are due to exposure to the anfíboles. The most common mesoteliomes are due to exposure to the crocidolita. The amosita also cause mesoteliomes, while crisotil is the variant that less mesoteliomes has caused. However, a 1996 study concluded that chrysotile asbestos is the main cause of pleural mesothelioma lawyers .

The mesoteliomes invariably become fatal. The majority of patients diagnosed with mesothelioma die between one and two years and accounted for after the diagnosis. The chemo and radiation therapies do not give good results. Neither surgery care these tumors. However, treatments are aimed at controlling pain and respiratory difficulties in order to preserve the highest quality of life possible.