Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma Mesothelioma cancer most commonly develops in the lungs of people exposed to asbestos. Effective treatments are available to ease symptoms and improve your prognosis. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused almost exclusively by exposure to asbestos. It usually affects the thin, protective membrane surrounding the lungs, heart or abdominal cavity. Doctors diagnose an estimated 3,000 cases of mesothelioma a year in the United...

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Pericardial Mesothelioma

Pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer that develops in a thin membrane surrounding the heart, known as the pericardium. The membrane has two layers: an outer layer called the parietal layer, heart sac or theca cordis, and an inner layer known as the visceral layer or epicardium. There are four common forms of mesothelioma, and pericardial and testicular mesotheliomas are the rarest. To date, approximately 200 cases of pericardial mesothelioma...

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Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Peritoneal mesothelioma is the second-most common type of mesothelioma, accounting for 10 to 20 percent of all mesothelioma cases. About 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed annually in the United States and approximately 300 to 600 of these are peritoneal mesothelioma. Asbestos exposure is its primary cause and most cases take more than two decades to develop once asbestos fibers are inhaled or ingested. X-rays and other tests...

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Mesothelioma Causes

Mesothelioma - a cancer that typically attacks the lungs and abdomen - was profoundly rare until the industrial and commercial use of asbestos expanded in the 20th century. Medical researchers have spent decades investigating the disease and what causes it, and their findings are that asbestos exposure is the primary culprit. Through studies aimed at pinpointing the exact causes of mesothelioma, researchers gradually learned how being...

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Mesothelioma Symptoms

What are the most common warning signs of mesothelioma? Mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose because the early signs and symptoms of the disease can be subtle or mistaken. Symptoms are all too frequently ignored or dismissed by people who are inclined to attribute them to common every day ailments. Sometimes patients live with symptoms for up to 6 months before being diagnosed but usually the symptoms are present for two to three months prior to a mesothelioma diagnosis. About 60% of patients diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma...

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Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer often diagnosed in people who have been exposed to high levels of asbestos. The malignancy affects the pleura, a thin membrane of lubricating cells that lines the lungs and chest wall. It sometimes takes 10 years or more for changes to appear that are indicative of pleural disease, and even long for symptoms to manifest. These differences can include a thickening or calcification of the pleural lining,...

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Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that affects the thin cell wall lining of the body's internal organs and structures. This lining is known as the mesothelium. Malignant mesothelioma has three known varieties. They are malignant pleural mesothelioma, malignant pericardial mesothelioma, and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma occurs in the pleura, the lung's lining. Peritoneal mesothelioma occurs in the peritoneum,...

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