Sunday, January 17, 2010

Mesothelioma Symptom

By Thomas Goldman

Mesothelioma symptoms sometimes don't appear for many decades after the causal exposure to asbestos. This makes it a difficult disease to diagnose and do screening tests for. However there are some screening processes which are effective to some degree.

Symptoms of mesothelioma can include coughing, shortness of breath, pain in the chest, weight loss, swelling and pain of the abdomen, bowel obstruction, blood clotting problems, anemia, fever, general pain, difficulty swallowing, blood in the fluid coughed up, jaundice, low blood sugar level, swelling of the neck and/or face. Different symptoms might occur at different stages of the disease, and with different variations on the disease such as peritoneal mesothelioma or the more common pleural mesothelioma.

Diagnosis of this disease is not easy at all because all the symptoms can also be caused by other medical conditions which are a lot less serious. Asbestos exposure (and exposure to other chemicals which occasionally cause the disease) can suggest that the disease is more likely. A physical examination is usually the first step, then if the disease is suspected, a chest X-ray and lung-function tests can give a clearer idea how likely it is. Diagnosis might be confirmed by examination of some of the effected tissue or any fluid which has built up in the chest cavity.

Mesothelioma is a relatively rare form of cancer. It is found in only about one per million people, compared to a lung cancer incidence of one thousand per million people exposed to smoking. A combination of asbestos exposure and smoking can increase a person's likelihood of getting the mesothelioma, although smoking on its own has not been show to cause the disease.

Treatments for the disease, once it has been diagnosed might include radiation and chemo therapies as well as surgery. These are often given in combination rather than singly. The amounts of money awarded in mesothelioma claims can be considerable. What might appear to be a mesothelioma symptom is actually much more likely to be caused by some much less dangerous medical condition.

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