Great Mesothelioma Guide » Mesothelioma

What are the symptoms of malignant mesothelioma?

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:17:02 +0000

Symptoms of mesothelioma may include shortness of breath, chest pain or back pain, or pain and swelling in the abdomen. Other symptoms may include: difficulty swallowing, cough, fever, sweating, fatigue and weight loss.

Pleural mesothelioma symptoms may include hoarseness, coughing up blood, swelling of the face and arms, muscle weakness, paralysis and sensory loss. Peritoneal mesothelioma sufferers may also experience abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and hernia, fluid in the abdominal cavity or mass formation in the abdomen.

Chemotherapy – Treatment with drugs
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer using specific chemical agents or drugs that are only destroying malignant cells and tissues. Your doctor may recommend chemotherapy exclusive of a chemical agent or a combination thereof. The exclusive one chemotherapy agent, as its name implies uses only one. Combination chemotherapy using more than one. Although not a cure for mesothelioma, chemotherapy may help reduce and slow the progression of cancer.

Alimta (Pemetrexed)
Alimta The drug can be prescribed for the treatment of patients with mesothelioma. It indicates the use of Alimta with cisplatin (see below) for the treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Normally, Alimta is administered through an IV tube. (IV infusion)

Onconase (Ranpirnase)
A new drug called Onconase could help slow the spread of mesothelioma tumors.

Navelbine (Vinorelbine)
Like Alimta, in combination with other chemicals on chemotherapy, Navelbine is used to treat mesothelioma tumors. Clinical trials are still in process and have already begun testing in some patients. Generally, Navelbine administered intravenously.

Carboplatin (Paraplatin)
Carboplatin is a chemotherapy drug that interferes with the growth of cancer cells, slowing their spread in the body. Carboplatin can cause serious side effects. Generally, Carboplatin is administered intravenously.

Cisplatin (Platinol)
Cisplatin is a clear fluid, usually given in combination with other drugs to treat certain types of cancer, including mesothelioma. In the treatment of mesothelioma, cisplatin is administered in combination with Alimta. As is the case with many of the chemotherapy, side effects may occur. Generally, Cisplatin is administered intravenously

Understanding Mesothelioma in Detail

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:00:56 +0000

This is a kind of disease which affects the mesothelium, hence the name Mesothelioma. The nature of this disease can either be cancerous or non-cancerous. A tissue lined with mesothelial cells is called as the Mesothelium. This cell is found in many cavities such as abdominal cavity, heart cavity, cheat cavity, and also in the outer surface of many internal organs of human body. Mesothelial cells which is found in each cavity has specific name and they are Peritoneum in the abdominal cavity, Pleura in the chest cavity and Pericardium in the heart cavity.

This tissue serves the purpose of generating a lubricating fluid which makes the organs to move easily. This can be best explained by an example of Pleural Mesothelium. As this is the tissue found in the region of chest cavity this allows the lungs to move freely at the time of breathing. If this functions improperly then breathing will become a difficult task and it will cause some problems.

The dangerous Mesothelioma is ranked in the order as it is seen in less number to more common among everyone. They are

•   Sarcomatoid
•   Biphasic
•   Epitheliod
This dangerous or cancerous Mesothelioma normally originates from the chest cavity that is from Pleural Mesothelium.

Traditional Mesothelioma Treatment

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:35:21 +0000

Traditional mesothelioma treatments are for malignant mesothelioma. Methods of treatment diverge because of number of factors which depends on the stage of the disease, a patient’s personal choices, patients financial conditions etc. Chances of enhancing the life increase by 20-100% with traditional mesothelioma treatments, which vary from radiation, surgery and chemotherapy.

Radiation is considered best traditional mesothelioma treatments, but skin irritation, hair loss and even nausea accompany the treatment. Radiation tackles only infected areas using high-energy rays (like x-rays) to damage mesothelioma cancer cells. Chemotherapy is also an important treatment used to kill cancer cells by injecting medicines into allied areas.

Side effects are a bit severe because this treatment may also destroy healthy cells. Surgerical treatment is the most common treatment, in all traditional treatments because there are no severe side effects on the body this treatment is all about removing tumors from the affected zone of body due to mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma Diagnosis Methods

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:28:22 +0000

First of all take chest X-ray, if it shows any symptoms of Malignant Mesothelioma, then move for further checking. The additional checking’s include different imaging studies, blood tests, scanning of bones and tests of lung functioning. Other than this in-depth diagnosis such as thoracentesis, thoracoscopy, pleurascopy or a lung biopsy is done to identify the malignant Mesothelioma.

In chest X-ray this disease is identified as malignant mesothelioma when the pleural effusion that is a collection of fluid settles in between the 2 layers of the pleura. This is known as pleural thickening. Mesothelioma is the general term used to describe the cancerous tumor of the mesothelial cells in the lungs, heart or abdominal cavity. This mesothelioma diagnosis is very difficult as it takes time of nearly 15 to 50 years to develop after its exposure.

Other than this the symptoms are also very difficult to identify as they are more common as that of other disease. Only thing which the doctors could conform is by checking the patient’s exposure to asbestos sheet as it is the main reason for this cancer.
If the patient conforms that he has more exposure to asbestos sheet then the doctors could go for further diagnosis and this makes easier to identify and diagnose in early stages.

Mesothelioma cancer and its types

admin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:07:57 +0000

This is a type of cancer which affects the lungs and chest cavity, where the mesothelium cells are lined in a typical manner. This is also known as asbestos lung cancer. This form a tumors around the regions of mesothelium cells in the cavity such as heart, lungs, and abdominal which is deadliest in nature. The symptoms for this cancer are hard to find out as that it takes many years to develop.

Types of Mesothelioma cancer:
This cancer comes under the category of Epithelial Mesothelioma. This occurs to people in very rare cases but it is very malignant in nature. This affects the membrane lining of chest cavity, heart cavity, lungs cavity, and abdominal cavity. This Epithelial Mesothelioma cancer is of three types.
•   Pleural Mesothelioma
•   Peritoneal Mesothelioma
•   Pericardial Mesotheiloma

Pleural Mesothelioma:
The pleura, a thin membrane, responsible for providing a lubricating fluid which allows the breath to takes place in an easy manner. This cancer affects the pleural membrane and thus makes the breathing so hard and causes some serious problems.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma:
This forms a tumor around the regions of abdominal cavity and it occurs very rare in nature.

Pericardial Mesothelioma:
This is the rarest form of Mesothelium cancer which affects the region around the heart. This develops solid masses and fluids around the pericardium.

Mesothelioma Effects on the Body Cavity

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:18:35 +0000

Mesothelioma is cancer of the mesothelium which is a membrane that covers the abdominal cavity, the chest cavity, and the heart. Mesothelioma is one of the killers disease in which the mesothelium cells start dividing rapidly and multiply without any order or control. These certain virus affects the cell cycle and inhibits apoptosis, allowing uncontrolled cell division.

Without treatment, this can spread fast and go to the main organs in your body. Mesothelioma is found near the vital organs such as the heart and lungs which can cause severe difficulties.

Symptoms are seen when tumors start getting larger and fluid starts filling up the mesothelium walls. Settlement of asbestos fibers in the mesothelium lining and mesothelium cells starts showing some abnormal behavior, which leads to mesothelioma.

Mesothelium is made up of two thin layers and it is this mutation which causes tumors which prevent proper heart and lung functions. Functioning is stopped by lungs and obstruction in intestine becomes much faster.

Relationship Between Asbestoses and Mesothelioma

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:13:57 +0000

For distinguishing asbestosis and mesothelioma, we first need to learn about their main cause and the condition which leads to these diseases. The common cause for asbestosis and mesothelioma is the inhalation of asbestos fibers. Although these two are totally different conditions but there are some similarities between the two illnesses and the treatment for both have a big difference. Symptoms for asbestosis and mesothelioma are quite similar.

In mesothelioma, the cancer cells cause symptoms as compared to asbestosis which is a non cancerous illness. Diagnostic of how far the cancer has developed plays an important role in easing the symptoms, treatment for mesothelioma.
If diagnosed at the early stage then there are certain possibilities that the cancerous tumors can be removed or abnormal cells are killed using radiation or chemotherapy.
In case of Asbestosis it is quite often get mis-diagnosed as asthma since many of the symptoms are finding similar.

Causes and Symptoms of Mesothelioma

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:17:39 +0000

The main cause for this Mesothelioma cancer is the Asbestos fibers or its dust. This is seen more among the people working in asbestos industry as they have more exposure to asbestos. It is common among people working in this industry to intake this asbestos sheet in tiny pieces either by breathing or by swallowing. These tiny pieces get settle in their body and causes cancer in the mesothelial cells in the lungs and heart cavity. As it takes very long time to develop after settling inside the human body the symptoms are also very difficult to identify. The research says that exposure to asbestos sheet is the main reason for nearly 75% of the lung lining cancer.

The symptoms as already said it is very difficult to identify as it takes between 15 to 50 years to develop after the exposure. The symptoms which are more general to this disease are not seen in many cases this makes it very difficult to identify. The symptoms such as chest pain, coughing, damage in lungs, and breathing problems are seen more common among the people having the same disease. People having Peritoneal Mesothelioma have abdominal pain, loss of appetite, abdominal swelling and nausea in addition to the above symptoms as it affects the abdominal cavity.

Mesothelioma – Blood Test

admin — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:20:34 +0000

Evidence to date in our own suggests that serum SMRP measurements may have a useful role in the diagnosis of mesothelioma and in monitoring disease progression. Serum SMRP measurements play an important role in the diagnosis of mesothelioma. Mesomark is easily done through blood tests that use enzyme-linked immunosorbent to measure the content of Soluble Mesothelin-Related Peptides (SMRP).

SMRP is produced by mesothelioma cells, which may be elevated in the serum of patients of mesothelioma. The detection of SMRP through blood test helps to attain the early diagnosis of the disease which results in better treatment options and prognosis. Hence elevated levels of SMRP are found in the serum of mesothelioma patients.

For mesomark test patient have to provide some samples of blood, which are then sent to certain laboratory for testing and this may be useful for diagnosing asbestos-exposed individuals on the risk of developing mesothelioma and could be useful marker of disease progression and may prove useful for screening asbestos-exposed individuals at particular risk of developing mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma Diagnosis Methods

Mesothelioma Vs Lung Cancer

admin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:32:03 +0000

Mesothelioma and lung cancer, both are serious issues, looks similar but are not same. Mesothelioma is often termed as “asbestos lung cancer” as it results from exposure to asbestos, either directly or indirectly and it is not a form of Lung cancer since it doesn’t develop in the tissue of the lungs. So it is clear that if you have mesothelioma, you had exposure to asbestos in some point of your life. Smoking at any point of life does not cause mesothelioma.

Lung cancer could be caused by asbestos exposure and it could be caused by smoking too. Someone who smokes and is exposed to asbestos always has a much greater risk of having a lung cancer. Exposures to Asbestos and smoking are quite in common, they both harm your body instantly, especially lungs, and they become devils when comes together. So quitting and avoiding these avoid your risk of getting cancer in future.