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Mesothelioma Symptoms and Diagnosis

Mesothelioma Symptoms and Diagnosis

Mesothelioma Symptoms
The most common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are difficulty in breathing, chest pain, or both. Occasionally, a patient may not have mesothelioma symptoms at diagnosis. Other less common symptoms include weight loss, fever, night sweats, cough, and a general feeling of not being well. Mesothelioma symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include swelling, pain due to accumulation of fluid in the abdomen cavity, weight loss, and a mass in the abdomen. Other mesothelioma symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia (a lowered red blood cell count), and fever.

Mesothelioma Diagnosis
It can be difficult to diagnose mesothelioma because many of the mesothelioma symptoms are similar to those of a number of other conditions, including lung cancer and other types of cancers. At the time of diagnosis, your doctor will first do a physical examination and complete a medical history, including asking about the possibility of prior exposure to asbestos.

Although there is no early detection test for mesothelioma, there are several tests that can be used to help in making the diagnosis of mesothelioma, including a chest x-ray, a CT scan, or an MRI scan. A chest x-ray yields an image of the lungs that will show many types of abnormal changes. A CT scan (computed tomography) is a type of x-ray, but it uses a computer rather than film to create detailed images.

An MRI scan (magnetic resonance imaging) uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer but does not utilize radiation to create a clear image. These tests help your doctor differentiate mesothelioma from other lung tumors as well as determine where the tumor is and its size.

Your doctor may need to remove a tissue sample from the tumor (a biopsy) or draw fluid (aspirate) from it to confirm it to confirm the diagnosis. This can be done in several ways.

The simplest way to obtain tissue samples involving making a small incision and placing a flexible tube in the area of the tumor. This is called a thoracoscopy if it is done in the chest area. A laparoscopy is the same procedure, but done in the abdominal cavity. A tube that is that is attached to a video camera is placed so that the doctor can look inside the body. A tissue sample may be taken at the same time. Sometimes, however, a more extensive surgical procedure may be advisable. A thoracotomy can be done to open the chest to take a tissue sample and, if feasible, to remove most or all of the visible tumor. If this procedure is done in the abdominal cavity, it is called a laparotomy.

At other times, a mediastinoscopy may be done in which a very small incision is made just above the sternum (breast bone) and a tube inserted just behind the breast bone. This lets the doctors look at lymph nodes. This are small, bean-shaped structures that are an important part of the body's immune system, and they contain cells that help your body fight infection as well as cancer. This test will give the doctor more information on the type of cancer and whether it has spread to other areas. The tissue samples taken in these procedures are analyzed by looking at them under a microscope in order to determine whether the tumor is a mesothelioma or some other type of cancer.
 
Lung Cancer Symptoms
  • A cough that doesn't go away and gets worse over time
  • Constant chest pain
  • Fluid in lungs, fluid around lungs
  • Coughing up blood
  • Shortness of breath, wheezing, or hoarseness
  • Repeated problems with pneumonia or bronchitis
  • Swelling of the neck and face
  • Loss of appetite or weight loss
  • Fatigue

These lung cancer symptoms like fluid in the lungs may be caused by lung cancer or by other conditions. It is important to check with a doctor.

To help find the cause of lung cancer symptoms, the doctor evaluates a person's medical history, smoking history, exposure to environmental and occupational substances such as asbestos, and family history of cancer. The doctor also performs a physical exam and may order a chest x-ray and other tests. If lung cancer is suspected, sputum cytology (the microscopic examination of cells obtained from a deep-cough sample of mucus in the lungs) is a simple test that may be useful in detecting lung cancer. To confirm the presence of lung cancer, the doctor must examine tissue from the lung. The removal of a small sample of tissue for examination under a microscope by a pathologist can show whether a person has lung cancer. A number of procedures may be used to obtain this tissue:

  • Bronchoscopy. The doctor puts a bronchoscope (a thin, lighted tube) into the mouth or nose and down through the windpipe to look into the breathing passages. Through this tube, the doctor can collect cells or small samples of tissue.
  • Needle aspiration. A needle is inserted through the chest into the lung cancer tumor to remove a sample of tissue.
  • Thoracentesis. Using a needle, the doctor removes a sample of the fluid that surrounds the lungs to check for cancer cells.
  • Thoracoscopy. Surgery to open the chest is sometimes needed to diagnose lung cancer. This procedure is a major operation performed in a hospital.
 
Types of Lung Cancer

There are two major types of lung cancers, non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer, depending on how the cells look under a microscope. Each type of lung cancer grows and spreads in different ways and is treated differently.

Lung cancer refers to malignant tumors that originate in the lung itself. A cancer of lung lining or pleura is called mesothelioma and is a different type of cancer.

Small cell lung cancer
About 20 out of every 100 lung cancers diagnosed are small cell lung cancer Which is so called because the cancer cells are small cells that are mostly filled with the nucleus (the control centre of cells). Small cell cancer can also be called 'oat cell' cancer. This type of cancer is usually always caused by smoking. It is not common for someone who has never smoked to develop it. Small cell lung cancer often spreads quite early so doctors often suggest treatment with chemotherapy rather than surgery.

Non-small cell lung cancer
There are three types of non-small cell lung cancer. These are grouped together because they behave in a similar way and respond to treatment differently to small cell lung cancer. The three types are:

• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Adenocarcinoma
• Large cell carcinoma

Asbestos Lung Cancer
Asbestos is the major cause of mesothelioma which contrary to popular belief is not limited to the lungs, but can also affect the abdomen, reproductive organs, or the heart.

• Pleural mesothelioma (lungs)
• Peritoneal mesothelioma (abdomen)

Secondary cancer is cancer that has spread from somewhere else in the body. There are quite a few different cancers that can spread to the lungs, including breast cancer and bowel cancer.

It is important to know what you are dealing with so that you can find the right information. The choice of cancer treatment depends on where the cancer started. When cancer spreads to the lung from the breast, the cells are breast cancer cells, not lung cancer cells. So they respond to breast cancer treatments. And cancer that has spread from the bowel should respond to bowel cancer treatments.
 
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