Mesothelioma: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Mesothelioma: Who, What, Where, Why, and How

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer of the mesothelium, the protective covering on and around most of the organs in the human body. The major cause of the disease is overexposure to asbestos. It most commonly affects the pleura, which lines the lungs and the chest cavity, but can also be found in the peritoneum (lining of the abdominal cavity) and the pericardium (sac surrounding the heart). Despite a common assumption that the disease is of the same origin as a smoker’s lung cancer, there is no link between mesothelioma and smoking.

Symptoms of the disease may take as many as 20 to 50 years after exposure to become apparent. Different forms of mesothelioma present with different symptoms, but all are unpleasant. Coughing, shortness of breath, and chest pain resulting from a build-up of fluid in the pleural area are common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.

Peritoneal mesothelioma may result in weight loss, ascites (a build-up of fluid in the abdomen), and abdominal pain. A person with peritoneal mesothelioma may also experience bowel obstruction, fever, anemia, or abnormal blood clotting. If the cancer metastasizes past the mesothelium, difficulty swallowing and swelling of the neck and face may occur.

In severe cases where many tumor masses are present, symptoms include: collapsed lung/lungs, blood clotting in the veins, blood clotting in the heart’s arteries, severe bleeding in many organs, jaundice, a low blood sugar level, and severe ascites.