Friday, January 22, 2010

Diagnosis Of Mesothelioma: A Long But Helpful Process

By Heidi Wingrain

Mesothelioma diagnosis can be done wrongly if the physician is not an expert and experienced in the field. There are main three factor that may hinder an exact and speedy diagnosis mesothelioma. The first thing is that the cancer is found rarely and as a consequence, the number of doctors and well equipped cancer centers are very less. The second factor is that the symptoms like shortness of breath and unceasing cough are found in other diseases also. For example, influenza and pneumonia. The third factor is that the three different types of mesothelioma cancers have almost similar symptoms confusing the doctors. A misdiagnosis may put the life of the patient in danger. Also mesothelioma symptoms appear very late making the diagnosis and subsequent treatment less useful.

Most often it happens that the patient goes to the doctor for some check ups related to other diseases and the cancer is detected. If they are doubtful, physicians may start diagnosis mesothelioma by thoroughly examining the patient's work and health history. The work history itself can testify the disease in many cases and a thorough diagnosis confirms the doubt.

Many imaging tests are used as a first step in mesothelioma detection. They include MRI, CT Scan, X-ray of the chest and abdomen etc. But these tests cannot confirm cancerous growths. Apart from this additional lung tests are conducted in many cases.

Thoracoscopy is a typical test conducted by doctors to detect the disease. Here an instrument called the thoracoscope is utilized to look into the chest cavity through a cut made between two ribs. A local anesthetic is given to the victim when the probe is done. Like this, medical professionals may also employ another test called petoneoscopy using a special tool called peritoneoscope to check the abdomen to see if there is any unusual growth. The worst fears are confirmed through a test called biopsy, which is the most modern confirmative tests of cancer. Here a small piece of the suspicious tissue is removed and is examined under the microscope to examine thoroughly if any cancer cells are found.

The dismal situation of a late detection can be avoided if the persons who have come into contact with asbestos go for regular check ups. In such cases, if a doubt comes up, the doctors will immediately conduct diagnosis mesothelioma thus curing or prolonging the life of the victim considerably.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment