Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma is a type of asbestosis that presents in the cells that makes up the lining of your lungs. This lining is called the pleura. In the United States this disease is caused only by exposure to asbestos. If you worked with asbestos, or asbestos products such as chysotile, crocidolit, or amosite you are at risk of developing pleural mesothelioma. If you now have been diagnosed with the disease, you were probably exposed to asbestos about twenty years prior to diagnosis.

Fortunately, some people are diagnosed early with pleural mesothelioma before having any symptoms because tumors were visible on a routine chest X-ray. There is a cancerous and a non-cancerous form of pleural mesothelioma. Of course, the best kind to have, if you have to have it is the non-cancerous kind. This is called benign mesothelioma and it is not usually life-threatening and is not usually caused by exposure to asbestos. This form of mesothelioma can be removed surgically. However, the cancerous kind is called malignant mesothelioma, which involves the entire pleural lining, and it is found in approximately 2.000 people in the United States each year.

The signs and symptoms of this disorder do not show up for years after exposure, but when they do, your symptoms might be complaints of lower back pain, shortness of breath, weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss, a persistent cough, chest pain, and difficulty in swallowing. You could have one, or any of these symptoms or even all of them.

If your doctor suspects mesothelioma he/she will set about to confirm the diagnosis. Chest X-rays may have already been done, so there may also be a CT scan done just to verify the X-ray. Then the doctor will do a brochoscopy, which is the insertion of a tube that is equipped with a camera and surgical equipment. The doctor can then visualize the tumors from the inside of the lungs and snip off pieces of the tumors and lesions so they may be studied by the pathologist.