Symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma shares many symptoms that other diseases
may have so it can be impossible to determine if you
have mesothelioma by the symptoms alone. You may not
even have any symptoms at all for as long as 50 years
after initial exposure to asbestos.

The early symptoms are non-specific so you might not
get diagnosed correctly for years. The symptoms can be
very similar to viral pneumonia if you have pleural
mesothelioma and can include shortness of breath,
chest pains and a cough that just doesn't seem to go
away.

One of the more common symptoms of pleural
mesothelioma is something called pleural effusion.
This occurs when fluid builds up between the inner and
outer linings of the lungs.

These linings always produce a little bit of fluid so
your lungs slide along the inside of your chest
smoothly but if too much fluid is being produced,
complications can arise. When this is happening, you
will have a dry cough, chest pains, and shortness of
breath. An X-ray can be used to detect pleural
effusion.

To determine if this is happening, you will have to
have a biopsy after your initial scans. The biopsy
lets a pathologist get a good look at what cells are
there and what they are doing.

After you are sure you have mesothelioma, your doctor
can discuss the varied treatment options that are
available and you can decide on the one that sounds
the best for your situation. You may be entitled to
damages if a company you worked for has been involved
in a lawsuit relating to your situation.

Pleural Mesothelioma Stages

Pleural mesothelioma is a type of cancer that grows in
the outer lining of the lungs and is associated with
exposure to asbestos earlier in life. This exposure
could come from old buildings, factories, and from
mining asbestos.

Asbestos particles effect more than just those that
mine or work with it. It also can come home with them
and be inhaled by family members and even people at a
business close to a mine or factory. Pleural
mesothelioma is categorized in four distinct stages.

The most common system to determine the stage
mesothelioma is in is called the International
Mesothelioma Interest Group (IMIG) system and is based
on the TNM system used in other types of cancer.

Stage one is when the cancer is beginning to affect
the outer layers of the lung or chest wall on one side
and may be on the diaphragm. This only applies when
the mesothelioma is on one side of the chest.

Stage two is when the mesothelioma is in both the
inner and outer layers of the lung and a tumor has
started to grow.

In stage three it may have spread to the chest wall or
possibly the pericardium or the sac that covers the
heart and its main arteries and blood vessels. It
could also be spread to the lymph nodes as well.

Stage four is when the tumor has grown too large to be
successfully removed with traditional surgical
methods. It could have spread to other organs, lymph
nodes on both sides of the chest, or above the
neckline.

Each stage has a variety of treatment options
available.