Health Network News

Knowing some of the symptoms of asbestos attorney mesothelioma is an important factor if you or someone you know may have been exposed to asbestos. This cancer is one that attacks cell membranes covering the heart, lungs, and organs of the abdomen. The presence of this cancer is hard to discover, and may go undetected for decades.

This disease is caused by exposure of asbestos, and could be avoided by using protective equipment. Asbestos is colorless and odorless when airborne, and can even stick to hair and skin. Just one piece of contaminated clothing could spread the damage to the whole household through the laundry. Unfortunately, no one really paid serious attention to asbestos until the late 1960s, when many people in the mining industry developed serious cases of lung cancer.

The different types of mesothelioma are categorized according to the organs that are affected, and their symptoms vary by organ as well. Pleural mesothelioma affects lung membrane, while pericardial mesothelioma affects the membrane over the heart. Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the lining of the abdominal cavity.

The symptoms of mesothelioma are shortness of breath, chest pains, and rapid weight loss. On appearance, the symptoms can be confused with viral pneumonia, irritated bowel syndrome, and heart abnormalities. A biopsy of the cell tissue, chest X-ay, or CT scan can confirm the presence of the disease, so it helps to know the warning signs to get the appropriate diagnostic tests.

There is no absolute cure for mesothelioma but radical surgery can be performed to remove a small tumor before it spreads to other parts of the body. Other treatment methods, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, destroy the cancer cells or reduce the tumor size but these methods are risky because of their potential damage to healthy tissues. Palliative measures are meant to manage pain but not to slow down the disease. Once diagnosed with any of these mesothelioma cancers, it is often too late.

Symptoms of mesothelioma in the lungs are easily confused with pneumonia and other lung infections, since fever, muscle weakness, coughing and sweating are common symptoms. If treatment of mesothelioma with medication fails to cure the problem and rapid weight loss occurs, pay attention to see if you’re suffering from facial or arm swelling, pain on one side of your chest, pain in the lower back or shortness of breath. Containment of this disease is important, since it can lead to lung failure or death.

Symptoms of mesothelioma of the abdominal membrane are easily confused with other problems, as well. Pain in the stomach, a swollen belly, obstruction of the bowels, anemia and clotting abnormalities, nausea and vomiting and weight loss are all common symptoms, and should tell you that something else may be wrong.

Symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma can include irregular heartbeat, chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and a persistent dry cough. Unfortunately, once you see this kind of symptom, the cancer is already difficult to treat. Fortunately, this deadly type of mesothelioma is fairly rare.

If you believe that you or someone you love is suffering from this disease, get help from a doctor right away. If no asbestos exposure has occurred, there is no reason to worry, but it’s important to know the symptoms of mesothelioma just in case.