Pleural Effusions

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the lining of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma) or the lining of the abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma). The only known cause of mesothelioma in the USA by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma has a long latency period, time between first exposure to asbestos and diagnosis of disease. In rare cases the latency period is as short as 10-15 years after the first exposure to asbestos, however, mesothelioma usually occurs between 20 and 40 or more years after the first exposure of an individual. Diagnosing mesothelioma is often difficult, because the symptoms are similar to those of a number of other conditions.

Benign mesothelioma is a non-cancerous tumor of the pleura (the lining of the lungs and chest cavity). Nonmalignant mesothelioma is usually a localized tumor that affects men more frequently than žene.Tumor can grow to large size and compress the lungs, which then causes the following symptoms: chronic cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, weight loss and cachexia, swelling and pain abdomen due to ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity).

Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, difficulty swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face. These symptoms may be caused by mesothelioma or other, less serious conditions.

Approximately half of mesothelioma patients asymptomatic (no symptoms of disease). During the physical examination, health care services can be seen clubbed appearance of the fingers in a patient, which is an indicator of exposure / disease.The health professional can run tests that identify mesothelioma. These tests include chest x-ray, CT thorax and / or lung biopsy and open.

Surgery is usually needed in general for a solitary tumor (if found), however, according to current statistics, the outcome of the surgery is expected to be good with prompt treatment. One of the most common complication, although the pleural effusion (fluid escaping into the membranes around the lungs), which can be very serious.

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or they were exposed to asbestos dust and fibers in other ways, such as washing clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or home renovation using asbestos cement products.