Mesothelioma Treatment Works Best When The Cancer Is In Its Early Stages Of Development

As with most diseases, and mesothelioma cancer is no different, the sooner you know that you have it, the better your chances of surviving it. Unfortunately, today there are virtually no known mesothelioma treatment options that can save your life if the cancer has already spread throughout your body.

Mesothelioma cancer is a very rare form of this group of deadly diseases. Most general practitioners are ill-equipped to even diagnose it. In fact, if one of their patients happens to catch it, more than likely it is the first time that they will have ever seen a person with this disease in their entire professional career.

This is one of the reasons that it is so fatal, because your doctor will usually treat you for the symptoms that you are experiencing that are very similar to all kinds of other diseases. It is only after they have exhausted all of their other options, will they suspect that you have mesothelioma cancer.

If you happen to be wondering how somebody catches this disease, you can only get it by coming in contact with a lethal material, called asbestos. Years ago, asbestos was used to make all kinds of products. It was very popular at the time, and it was thought of as a gift to mankind because it possessed so many sensational properties.

Thankfully, most of those items are no longer with us. However, it was also heavily used as a construction material, and it is still in many old buildings constructed during the 20th century. Almost assuredly, if somebody catches mesothelioma cancer today, they came in contact with it in a structure that was built during this time frame.

There are only a very few mesothelioma treatment options that are available today, and none of them are very pleasant or effective. They are in no particular order; chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, and palliative therapies.

When the tests are done that confirm that you have mesothelioma cancer, your family doctor will then send to you see a oncologist. An oncologist is a cancer specialist that will review your file, and more than likely recommend that more medical test are done in an attempt to determine how far the cancer has advanced.

If these tests reveal that it has spread throughout your body, there is very little that can be done for you at that point, except to provide you medication that will relieve some of the pain that you are experiencing. Depending on what type you have, where it is located, and how large the tumor is, will determine what your best treatment alternatives are.

Mesothelioma cancer is no joke, and only a very few people that ever come down with it, survive to tell their story. If you suspect that you might have it, you should certainly see your doctor immediately and get tests done to confirm or deny it. The most successful mesothelioma treatment options are the ones that are utilized when the disease is in its very early stages of development.

You can obtain all the information you need about getting Mesothelioma Treatment and knowing exactly what your Mesothelioma Treatment Options are, online at Mesothelioma.us immediately.

Original article

Mesothelioma - Catch It Early to Avoid Big Trouble

Mesothelioma is a relatively rare form of cancer where cancerous cells develop in the mesothelium -- a protective sac that covers most of the body's internal organs. Like most cancers, early detection of mesothelioma greatly increases the chances of beating the disease.

But early detection is more difficult with mesothelioma because it has a long dormancy period of 30 or 40 years in which the cancer remains fairly inactive and causes very few symptoms. When the disease passes into its active phase it rapidly spreads to the internal organs such as the lungs, heart and abdominal organs. In its active phase it is very difficult to treat successfully because it develops and spreads so quickly.

Causes of mesothelioma

Mesothelioma was barely in the public eye until a few years ago. It has a very specific cause -- exposure to asbestos. And the dangers of asbestos exposure were not widely acknowledged until the 1970s and 80s when its serious health implications could no longer be ignored.

As often happens in cases involving commercial products with harmful side effects, there was tremendous resistance to acknowledging its dangers. In the case of asbestos, it was a product that had some very important properties that made it ideal for insulation applications.

During the first half of the previous century, right up until the mid 1970s asbestos was the default material used to retard heat transfer in buildings, machines, heavy equipment, and a broad range of commercial applications. Because it was plentiful and inexpensive to mine, asbestos was widely used in building products such as home insulation, floor, ceiling and roof tiles. It was also used in commonly found commercial products such as brake linings and pipe insulation.

This meant that millions of people were coming in contact with asbestos on a daily basis. And since the effects of exposure to asbestos fibre often do not become apparent for 30 or 40 years after prolonged exposure, there often appeared to be no immediate health risk.

This was especially important in the case of workers who mined and processed asbestos. Although workers were regularly getting sick and often had premature, painful deaths, the long period of dormancy of mesothelioma made it difficult to make the connection to asbestos.

Even short term asbestos exposure will cause mesothelioma

Generally, the probability of developing this form of cancer is directly related to the length of time you are exposed to asbestos. The health risk also increases with the intensity of the exposure to asbestos.

However, an exposure of as little as one or two months can result in mesothelioma 30 or 40 years later. At the age of 48, Canadian Member of Parliament Chuck Strahl, was recently diagnosed with mesothelioma and traces the cause back to changing brake pads on logging equipment after he graduated from high school. Strahl's case is a good example of the fact that Mesothelioma has a latency period of anywhere from 20 to 50 years. Like thousands of others he developed the disease long after his exposure to asbestos.

Symptoms of mesothelioma

Because of its long dormancy period, mesothelioma is often not detected until it enters its active, aggressive stage. Pleural mesothelioma - cancer of the lung lining - causes shortness of breath or chronic coughing. Unfortunately these symptoms can easily be mistaken for allergies or a common cold.

In fact pleural mesothelioma is often discovered by accident when patients think they have one of these more common illnesses. Other symptoms of pleural mesothelioma may include chest pain, chronic coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, wheezing, hoarseness, weight loss, or blood in the phlegm from the lungs when coughing.

Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the lining around the stomach and intestines and is usually just as dangerous. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include pain or swelling in the abdomen, weight loss, bowel obstruction, anemia, and fever.

Treatment of mesothelioma

Unfortunately, by the time most infected people become aware they have mesothelioma it has ceased being dormant and becomes extremely aggressive. Once it is no longer dormant, this type of cancer can travel quickly, and it becomes almost impossible to stop.

While there are treatments that are available in order to keep the patient comfortable, there is currently no cure for mesothelioma, and as many as 75% of those who develop the disease will lose their life within one year. The remainder may last for up to an additional six months.

Among the treatments that are used in order to reduce the effects of the disease are oxygen, postural drainage and pain killers. A wide range of treatment approaches are being tested, ranging from attempts to fortify the body's natural immune system to gene therapy which tries to attack the problem at the DNA level. Homeopathy, herbs and acupuncture are also used. But none have yet been shown to be very effective once the disease reaches the aggressive stage.

Given the generally poor prognosis for people who do not catch the disease in time, early detection is the best defence against mesothelioma. If you have worked in an industry such as construction or suspect that you may have been exposed to asbestos, be alert for symptoms and contact your doctor immediately. Like all forms of cancer, detecting mesothelioma at the earliest stage possible greatly increases your chances for survival.

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Mesothelioma Cancer: early recognition of the symptoms is the key of to successful treatment

Many years of mesothelioma symptoms, are visible. In other words, it has a long wait. This makes it difficult to diagnose it and to handle. The person can always visit the doctor with the symptoms, but more often as respiratory infections. The non-specific symptoms make it difficult for even experienced doctors, to make a quick and clear diagnosis with mesothelioma patients. Even people who exposed to begin asbestos the manifestation of late in their lives. The time of mesothelioma diagnosed, it is already widely used. But awareness of mesothelioma detected it people in early stages.
Manifestation of mesothelioma largely depends on the spot size and the nature of the tumour. Signs and symptoms are also whether the tumor is benign or malignant. Benign type of mesothelioma usually not manifesting. On the other hand, severe symptoms are malignant mesothelioma. It is above all to the pressure on the surrounding soft tissues. The tissue surrounding hypercalcemia can penetrate or lead pleural or pericardial effusion. Invasion of the chest wall lead to chest pain.
Watch the early symptoms, are:
Hemoptysis or blood in the sputum Cough or cough pattern of trade Dysphagia or difficulty swallowing Hoarseness Shortness of breath Pain in the chest or abdomen Significant weight loss.
Under all types of mesothelioma, pleural form is the most common form. As a result, the pleural mesothelioma symptoms are the most common symptoms of mesothelioma. When in early stages, the symptoms are more or less like pneumonia and therefore often misdiagnosed. However these symptoms along with history of the risks related to asbestos ring alarms for mesothelioma. Doctors deliberately typically the first contact should be obtained with the patients.
Pleural mesothelioma
Shortness of breath or shortness of breath with chest pain is a common manifestation of pleural mesothelioma. Pleural effusion caused by collection of fluid between the two linings of lungs and chest cavity can cause persistent cough. On chest radiography might be a structure of fluid or pleural effusion obvious indicates viral pneumonia.
The less common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include:
Chest pain Lower back pain Difficulty breathing Cough Weight loss Fever Muscle weakness and sensory loss Swelling of the face and the arm Hoarseness voice Hemoptysis
No signs and symptoms show a majority of patients until late.
Peritoneal mesothelioma

It comes to structures such as stomach, stomach cavity, liver, spleen or intestines. The origin of peritoneal mesothelioma is typically belly, from where it spread to adjacent organs. The symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include:
Pain and swelling in the abdomen due to a construction of liquid Nausea Weight loss Intestinal obstruction Anemia or swelling of the feet Abdominal bloating due to collection of fluid in the abdominal cavity Swelling of the feet Fever Impaired bowel function
The symptoms are a result of pressure from the growing mass. This growing tumor can cause problems with breathing and chest pain in addition these symptoms. These symptoms result from tumors to that lean against the abdominal wall. Mesothelioma in peritoneum, due to its space occupy tendency may cause bowel obstruction, anemia, fever and problems with blood clotting.
Pericardial mesothelioma
Pericardial mesothelioma is a very unusual form of pericardium influence. Pericardium is the space between the panels of the heart. The tumor growing in the tissues around heart tends to spread from there. Pericardial mesothelioma patients may experience pain in the chest, shortness of breath, persistent coughing and palpitations. Participation of the membrane around the heart (pericardium) can cause heart rhythm disorders.
The symptoms for all types of mesothelioma are always acute and obvious with the progression of the disease. Despite the it can be confused it as other disease condition. The only competition takeoff feature is the history of asbestos exposure. Therefore, it is important that comes of asbestos exposure to investigate. Symptoms such as pain in the lower back or side of the chest, shortness of breath breath, difficulty in swallowing, coughing, fever, sweating, fatigue and weight loss may be very common, but the doctor should explain exclude the history of asbestos exposure in the presence of tumor.