Mesothelioma Pleural Symptoms
Pleural Mesothelioma is generally an intense form of cancer that affects the membrane lining in the chest cavity. Sometimes a few benign cases are also noticed. It is believed to be caused by inhaling asbestos dust.
The disease has a long latency period of twenty to forty years. It may take some time for the diagnosis to be made.A mesothelioma patient is an individual who has been exposed to toxic asbestos fibers in the last fifty years. So most patients diagnosed with this disease are in the age group of sixties or also seventies. Remember that only a doctor can confirm the presence of mesothelioma by examining medical reports, asbestos exposure history, MRI and/or CT scan. Because of this long latency period the disease can be in an advanced stage before it is diagnosed correctly.
Till a few years back some ships used to be insulated with this toxic material.The mesothelioma pleural patient goes through four distinctive stages en route to the inevitable end. No very special concerns when people experience persistent coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain and palpitations, fever, difficulty swallowing. The spreading of the cancer to other parts of the body may also produce symptoms such as pain, trouble in swallowing and swelling of the face, arms or neck. “Staging” can tell the physician if the cancer has spread, and if it has, to where in the body it has spread.Chemotherapy is among one of the most widely used treatments of mesothelioma. Less often, you can experience trouble swallowing, cough, fever, sweating, fatigue, and weight loss. A further and more sophisticated stage of the symptoms can be the coughing up of blood.
Pleural effusion caused by collection of fluid between the two linings of lungs and chest cavity may give rise to persistent cough. It is also possible that the weak pellicle which is covering the lungs may fatten and decrease expansion and contraction. If some cases there may be no perceptible clues till the cancer has spread.
Asbestos lung cancer and mesothelioma are not the same thing.SymptomsThe major symptoms are shortness of breath, weight loss, nausea and pain. Pleural or abdominal fluid collections may be drained, and substances that prevent further formation and collection of fluid may be placed in the pleural or abdominal cavities.