Early symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are often misdiagnosed as viral pneumonia. Symptoms seldom develop until the cancer is in its final stages. The most common symptoms are shortness of breath and chest pain. This is caused by a build up of fluid between the chest cavity and the lung lining. This condition is known as pleural effusion. Other symptoms include persistent cough that may or may not contain blood, fever, hoarseness, muscle weakness, sensory loss and swelling of the arms and face.
Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include abdominal bloating and pain due to fluid build up in the abdominal cavity, chronic fatigue, anemia, fever, bowel obstruction, swelling of the feet and severe or rapid weight loss.
Pericardium mesothelioma symptoms include chronic fatigue, loss of appetite, heart palpitations, hypertension, hypotension, irregular heart rhythm and irregular heartbeat.
The biggest danger of mesothelioma is the likelihood that it will spread and affect other body organs. Symptoms include pain, swelling of arms, face and neck and trouble swallowing.
Mesothelioma Diagnosis
Since symptoms of mesothelioma are very similar to those of other conditions, the cancer is difficult to diagnose. This often causes the disease to be in the final stages before diagnosis occurs. Mesothelioma diagnosis begins with a review of the patient’s medical history. The doctor must determine if the patient has been exposed to asbestos. He will then perform a complete examination and run tests. These include lung function testing, a CAT scan, an MRI and X-rays of the abdomen or chest. Cells are often extracted with a needle from the chest cavity if pleura mesothelioma is suspected. This test is only fifteen percent accurate. Most times the tests will show a negative result even though mesothelioma is present. More accurate testing includes a needle or open biopsy of the pleural to determine the cancer’s existence. When tissue is removed and sent to a laboratory for testing, cancerous cells can be easily detected.
Once mesothelioma is found, the doctor must determine the stage it is in and if it is benign or malignant. If it is found that the cancer is malignant, the doctor then has to determine if it has spread to other parts of the body, and if so, what organs has it attacked?
If mesothelioma has only mutated on the membrane surface, it is considered localized. If it has spread from the original site, it is termed as advanced. It may be found in the abdomen cavity, chest cavity, lungs or lymph nodes. CAT scans, MRI’s and X-rays are then performed to find out exactly how far the cancer has progressed.