Monday, March 1, 2010

Indepth Discussion Of Benign Mesothelioma

By Heidi Wingrain

Benign mesothelioma is a non-cancerous tumor occurring in the pleura, which is the lining of the lung and chest cavities. As mesothelioma lies dormant for many years before the first symptom arrives, benign varieties of this ailment are very rare. The tumor, which occurs due to asbestos particles getting settled in the mesothelium, can cause extreme pain. This non-malignant tumor occurs locally and if allowed to grow to excessive size, can compress the lung resulting in shortness of breath.

Being a curable disease, surgery is highly beneficial for treating benign mesothelioma, provided the growth is only local. The only complication that can happen during surgery is the pleural effusion. The situation occurs when pleural fluid is leaked into the cavity around the lung. It is not life-threatening since the fluid can easily be drained. By examining this non-cancerous growth thoroughly, it can be found out whether the patient is exposed to asbestos, thereby preventing the contraction of malicious forms of mesothelioma cancer.

It is true that benign mesothelioma is not fatal. But it can create troubles in your life by inducing localized pain, shortness of breath etc. The overall health of the victim will be spoiled and mental peace destroyed. Chronic cough, chest pain, breathing problem etc are the major symptoms of benign mesothelioma. The presence and spread of this evil can be revealed through an open lung biopsy, x-ray or CT scan.

There is no other effective cure to this cancer than surgery. If promptly done, the outcome is always good. It is imperative that the patient should contact a physician as and when any of these symptoms show up. But many patients do not develop any of these symptoms and the existence of the tumor is discovered accidentally. Another interesting fact is that it is men who are more vulnerable to benign mesothelioma than women. Experienced physicians can detect the tumor from the clubbed appearance of fingers.

There is the possibility of the situation to recur after ten years in at least 10% of the cases. But the good news is that it can also be cured through proper treatment. Apart from this benign mesothelioma may prompt you for detailed check ups, which will help you to prevent malignant mesothelioma.

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