Early Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Often with mesothelioma, a rare form of asbestos cancer, the symptoms felt in the beginning may be so slight that many do not think there is sufficient reason to seek medical care. In some cases there may be no early symptoms experienced at all. Mesothelioma usually remains undiagnosed or missed and can sometimes remain undiagnosed for years.

The importance of seeking prompt medical care for any of the symptoms mentioned and associated with mesotheliomia cannot be stressed enough. The longer you go without a diagnosis and subsequent treatment, the longer your cancer has had a chance to develop and possibly spread to other areas of the body.

Mesothelioma can develop after recent asbestos exposure or up to forty years after exposure. It is important to consult your doctor and seek regular medical screenings if you know you have been exposed to asbestos, as this is the cause of mesothelioma. Even very brief exposure has been known to cause mesothelioma. Your doctor can then perform checkups and screenings of your lungs on a regular basis to catch the disease in the early stages. This way, the malignant mesothelioma can be caught before any symptoms develop. The earlier you are diagnosed, the less time your cancer has time to spread, and the more likely you are to have a favorable outcome.

The first symptoms usually seen with mesothelioma are breathlessness or shortness of breath. This can also be accompanied by a heavy or uncomfortable feeling within the chest. 90% of patients will originally only have these two symptoms. This is the reason many do not seek a prompt medical diagnosis, as these symptoms are vague and subtle.

Breathlessness and the uncomfortable feeling in the chest are experienced due to pleural effusion. Pleural Effusion is a buildup of fluid within the lungs that make it more difficult to bring the needed oxygen into the body. If you have been exposed to asbestos and are experiencing these two symptoms, it is important to see your doctor right away.

Breathlessness and heaviness within the chest should not be ignored. Even if you think these symptoms are not troublesome to you and may seem nothing to worry about, they could mean that you have developed mesothelioma. It is better to see your doctor promptly for a correct diagnosis rather than taking a wait and see approach.

The most common area in which the cancer develops is in the chest cavity or lungs. This is called pleural mesothelioma. Another common area for a tumor to develop is in the abdomen, which is known as peritoneal mesothelioma. Mesothelioma symptoms differ slightly depending on where the cancer has originally developed, although you will also notice there are many overlapping symptoms can that can be found in the majority of cases regardless of the location of the original tumor. Although not as common, mesothelioma has also been found to develop in other areas other than the abdomen or chest including around the heart.

Pleural mesothelioma symptoms include frontal and side chest pain, back pain, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, a cough that will not go away, fever, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss. Often additional symptoms will be noticed such as muscle weakness, coughing up of blood, nausea, facial and arm swelling, and a hoarseness in the voice.

Peritoneal mesothelioma symptoms include abdominal pain and swelling, swelling of the feet, unexplained weight loss , nausea and vomiting, lower back pain, bowel obstruction , anemia and shortness of breath. It is common for the abdominal mass to affect the liver, which controls bleeding and is why blood-clotting abnormalities may also be seen. You may also notice extreme fatigue and muscle weakness just as in pleural mesothelioma.

Although these symptoms may develop in earlier stages of the disease, it is important to remember that many times they are not experienced until the later stages of mesothelioma. You may also only experience one or two symptoms rather than all that are listed. Do not wait until you do develop more symptoms, as time is of the essence. Be sure to see your doctor if you have developed any of the symptoms listed here if you have been exposed to asbestos at any point in your life.

Asbestosis is a benign condition that is very common among those exposed to asbestos, and often patients think that they will not develop mesothelioma without first having asbestosis. This is a myth as the cancer can develop without any prior benign disease or symptoms.

Asbestosis also has many of the same symptoms as mesothelioma, and it is impossible to tell whether you have one or the other without appropriate medical screening and diagnosis. Remember, the earlier you can receive a diagnosis the better. This will result in much earlier medical care and treatment and in turn can create a much more positive prognosis.

It is important to note that there are different types of this cancer that can develop in either area, as pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma refer to the area of the original tumor (either chest or abdomen) rather than the type. Once a tumor has been found, additional tests will need to be conducted to find out the type of mesothelioma you have.

Treatment and prognosis vary with the different types of mesothelioma as well as the location. The three main types of mesotheioma are Epithelioid, Sarcomatoid and Mixed/Biphasic. Epithelioid is the most common and has the best long-term survival rate as well.

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