Mesothelioma, 3000, age 40 ?
About 3000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed a year, primarily in men over the age of 40.
Ok…what is mesothelioma ? why is it so hot ?
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer, caused by asbestos exposure.
Yeap..the one which is located above your head.
It affects the lungs (Pleural form), abdomen (Peritoneal form), and even the membrane around the heart (Pericardium form) .
Less than 1% of cases involve the pericardium.
The horror part is….
Symptoms may not appear for 20-50 years after exposure.
Death generally occurs within 18 months from the onset
of symptoms.
Today, let’s understand the first one …. Pleural Mesothelioma:
It affects the lungs, most often the right lung.
About 60% of most cases
Mesothelioma of both lungs is only seen in 5% of all cases.
So, what’re the 10 Symptoms of Mesothelioma ?
1 Dyspnea (Shortness of breath).
It means you’ve difficult, painful breathing or shortness of breath.
Why ?
It’s because pleural effusion
It’s an accumulation of fluid between the lining of the lung and the chest cavity.
The increasing of the amount of fluid makes you pain, makes you shortness of breath.
2 Chest pain and persistent cough, with increased sputum production.
As mesothelioma tumors grow, healthy tissue will be displaced.
It causes pressure and chest pain.
Why pain ? why chest pain ?
The pleura become thick, the bronchi produce sputum and
blood is seen in the sputum.
The mesothelioma tumors have a rich drainage system, and they drain into the pulmonary arteries and veins.
Then malignant mesothelioma cells fill up the cavitation (small bubbles or pockets) of the pleural surfaces .
That’s how it causes pain…real pain !
As the disease progresses, it covers the entire pleural space and invades the chest wall.
We talk other mesothelioma symptoms later…..
