Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the skin, protection, including the most inner layers of the body’s internal organs. The most common is the pleura (outer lining of the lungs and the chest wall), but can also occur in the peritoneum (abdominal lining), heart, pericardium (a sac around the heart) or tunica vaginalis.

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked, which is inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibers in other ways. Who washes the clothes of a family with asbestos can also be a person at risk of developing mesothelioma. Lung cancer, mesothelioma, and there is no association of smoking, but smoking increases the risk of cancer induced by asbestos. Asbestos compensation funds or lawsuits is an important issue in mesothelioma (see asbestos and the law).

Mesothelioma symptoms include shortness of breath due to pleural effusion (fluid between the lung and chest wall) or chest wall pain, and general symptoms such as weight loss. Diagnosis can be suspected with chest X-ray and CT scan, and confirmed by biopsy (tissue) and microscopic examination. Arab-Israeli mirror (camera chest tube insertion) biopsy can be taken. Allows the introduction of materials such as talcum powder obliterate the pleural space (called pleurodesis), to avoid further accumulation of fluid and the urgency of lung cancer. Despite treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy or sometimes surgery, the disease of poor prognosis. Research on early detection of mesothelioma in the course of selection.