Mesothelioma Symptom

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.

The symptoms of the disease might include such things as coughing, swelling and pain of the abdomen, general pain, difficulty swallowing, blood in the fluid coughed up, jaundice, low blood sugar level, bowel obstruction, shortness of breath, pain in the chest, weight loss, blood clotting problems, anemia, fever, and swelling of the neck or face. Different stages of this disease might cause different symptoms. Also there are different symptoms typical for different sub-types of the disease, such as pleural mesothelioma and the less common peritoneal 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.

This disease is a form of cancer, but a relatively rare one. For example, for people exposed to smoking, the incidence is about one in a thousand, which compares to one in a million for mesothelioma. Although smoking does not cause the disease directly, it can increase the risk when combined with asbestos exposure.

When diagnosed, mesothelioma can be treated by surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, often in a combination. Large legal settlements are often obtained by people with the disease. It is important to remember that what might appear to be a mesothelioma symptom is much more likely to be an indication of a less dangerous problem.

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