surface. Early medical testing to confirm the etymology of
mesothelioma symptoms can add years on to your life, and can even
offer you salvation from a normally fatal disease. If you've been
exposed to asbestos and are experiencing mesothelioma symptoms, notify
your doctor of any asbestos exposure and monitor your symptoms from
their onset. Even short term asbestos exposure can result in non-fatal
pleural diseases. Keeping a journal of your mesothelioma symptoms can
assist you and your physician in medical diagnosis, and it may
contribute to an asbestos claim.
The symptoms of mesothelioma will differ based on their origin.
Pleural mesothelioma starts in the lung area, peritoneal mesothelioma
starts in the abdomen area, and pericardial mesothelioma starts
dangerously close to the heart. Benign and malignant mesothelioma have
similar symptoms, and similar tests. Weight loss is a well-documented
symptom in the majority of mesothelioma cases. Abdominal pain is a
primary symptom of peritoneal mesothelioma. Both pleural mesothelioma
symptoms and peritoneal mesothelioma symptoms include chest pain and
shortness of breath.
Pleural mesothelioma medical tests look at the pleural lining, lung
fluid, inflammatory conditions, tissue, blood counts and cells to help
determine what type of pleural activity is going on inside your lungs.
The tests will help diagnose whether your mesothelioma symptoms might
be due to pleural effusion, diffuse pleural thickening, asbestosis or
other asbestos caused diseases that aren't necessarily as dangerous as
pleural mesothelioma, but can be due to their respiratory nature.
A CT scan will identify pleural thickening better than a chest X-ray.
MRI and PET scans can then determine whether the pleural disease is
diffuse pleural thickening or if it is malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Blood tests can also give an indication of the possibility of cancer.
Once cancer is the suspected cause of your mesothelioma symptoms, a
biopsy will take place. Thoracentesis removes pleural fluid for
diagnosis. Thoracoscopy uses a "camera" (endoscope) inserted into the
chest for diagnose and a sample of tissue is taken at that time.
Pleural mesothelioma starts in the pleural region, but it will
progress to attach other major body organs, such as the heart or
abdominal area.
Abdominal pain and bowel restrictions are common peritoneal
mesothelioma symptoms. If peritoneal mesothelioma is suspected after
the traditional CT, MRI and PET scans, a peritoneoscopy or
paracentesis is likely. Peritoneoscopy is done in the hospital with a
camera-like instrument called a peritoneoscope. Peritoneal
mesothelioma has also been incidentally discovered while performing
similar procedures involving infertility examinations on women. A
fluid sample is obtained in a process called paracentesis. This
involves a needle going into your abdomen to get a sample of the
fluid.
Pericardial mesothelioma symptoms always involve severe chest pain.
This is a cancer invading the sac over the heart. The pericardial
mesothelioma patient may even experience heart failure. Blood tests,
CT scans, MRIs and PETs are just the beginning of pericardial
mesothelioma medical tests. There will be pulmonary tests and
potentially dangerous biopsies. Pericardial mesothelioma symptoms are
frequently misdiagnosed. The cancer is very rare, and many well-known
diseases display the same symptoms as pericardial mesothelioma. It is
often during surgery that pericardial mesothelioma is discovered, and
then it is usually too late.
Mesothelioma symptoms can be suggestive of many cancers or diseases.
Medical testing for mesothelioma symptoms requires a long battery of
tests to discover symptom origins. Medical tests for mesothelioma
symptoms can expedite mesothelioma treatment. Symptoms take decades to
surface. Start recording your mesothelioma symptoms and start your
tests early. It's better to test for mesothelioma symptoms early,
before it's too late.
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