Helping

If you're curious about helping the cause to research further into Mesothelioma or just have more questions, go to http://www.curemeso.org.

Treatment

The prognosis for malignant mesothelioma remains disappointing, although there have been some modest improvements in prognosis from newer chemotherapies and multimodality treatments. Treatment of malignant mesothelioma at earlier stages has a better prognosis, but cures are exceedingly rare. Clinical behavior of the malignancy is affected by several factors including the continuous mesothelial surface of the pleural cavity which favors local metastasis via exfoliated cells, invasion to underlying tissue and other organs within the pleural cavity, and the extremely long latency period between asbestos exposure and development of the disease. The histological subtype and the patient's age and health status also help predict prognosis.

Cause

Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. In the United States, asbestos is the major cause of malignant mesothelioma and has been considered "indisputably" associated with the development of mesothelioma. Indeed, the relationship between asbestos and mesothelioma is so strong that many consider mesothelioma a “signal” or “sentinel” tumor.

Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Symptoms include:

Chest wall pain

Pleural effusion, or fluid surrounding the lung

Shortness of breath

Fatigue or anemia

Wheezing, hoarseness, or cough

Blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up (hemoptysis)

Blood clots in the veins, which may cause thrombophlebitis

Disseminated intravascular coagulation, a disorder causing severe bleeding in many body organs

Jaundice, or yellowing of the eyes and skin

Low blood sugar level

Pleural effusion

Pulmonary emboli, or blood clots in the arteries of the lungs

Severe ascites

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many of the body's internal organs, the mesothelium. It is usually caused by exposure to asbestos.