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Signs and Symptoms of Mesothelioma You Shouldn't Ignore

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Alex Sanders
Signs and Symptoms of Mesothelioma You Shouldn't Ignore

In an age of democratized and readily available medical information, it's easy to become a hypochondriac. If you start Googling the mild to moderate health symptoms you're experiencing, you might end up going down a rabbit hole and misdiagnosing yourself with something rare and severe. Because of this, it's prudent to exercise caution and trust the advice of medical professionals.


But at the same time, the rarest and most severe diseases tend to be the most destructive, as well as the most important to catch early. Among these rare and severe diseases is mesothelioma, a type of cancer that has a distressingly low survival rate. If you notice a combination of different signs or symptoms of mesothelioma, it’s important to act right away – and maximize your chances of survival.


What Is Mesothelioma?


Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that affects the lining of your organs; this lining is known as the mesothelium. Most commonly, mesothelioma affects the lining of the lungs, but it may also affect the lining of your abdomen, your heart, or other areas of your body.


Typically, mesothelioma develops when this lining is persistently irritated or inflamed. And because the lining of your organs is so rarely affected by external variables, this cancer is extremely rare, and practically nonexistent in people who haven't been routinely exposed to a mesothelioma hazard.


In the United States, the overwhelming majority of mesothelioma cases come from people who were routinely exposed to a material known as asbestos. In the mid-20th century, asbestos was seen as a kind of miracle material. It was cheap, easy to manufacture, virtually fireproof, and great at insulating buildings. But we now know that exposure to asbestos can introduce tiny, microscopic fibers into your body that lodge themselves in the mesothelium. If you were exposed to asbestos routinely, you're at higher risk for inflamed mesothelium, which can lead to the development of cancer cells.


Why Is Monitoring for Signs and Symptoms So Important?


Why is it so important to pay attention to the signs and symptoms of mesothelioma?


When most patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma, they only have a few months to a few years left to live. But if you catch this cancer early enough, you can improve your prognosis and extend your lifespan significantly. Because many of the signs and symptoms of mesothelioma are subtle at first, it's a difficult disease to catch early. The more vigilant you are, the better your long-term chances are going to be.


Signs and Symptoms of Mesothelioma You Shouldn't Ignore


No matter what type of mesothelioma you develop, you may experience these common symptoms:


  • Unexplained weight loss.
  • Physical fatigue.
  • General, unexplained body aches.
  • Night sweats.


Pleural mesothelioma, which develops in the lungs, is typically associated with signs and symptoms like:


  • Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing.
  • Chest pain.
  • Coughing that doesn’t go away.
  • Low-grade fever.
  • Lower back pain.
  • Fluid buildup in the lungs.
  • Coughing up blood.


Peritoneal mesothelioma, which develops in and around the abdomen, is rarer, but is associated with signs and symptoms like:


  • Persistent stomach pain.
  • Fluid buildup in the stomach.
  • Abdominal swelling.
  • Loss of appetite.
  • Constipation or digestive issues.


Pericardial mesothelioma is the rarest type, affecting the lining of the heart. It’s associated with signs and symptoms such as:


  • Chest pain.
  • Irregular heartbeat.
  • Pericardial bleeding.
  • Fluid buildup in the pericardium.


What to Do If You Notice Symptoms of Mesothelioma


So, what should you do if you notice the signs and symptoms of mesothelioma?


There isn't much you can do on your own, so it's important to make an appointment with your doctor right away. After evaluating your risk and learning about your symptoms, your doctor will likely order a biopsy and use imaging techniques to evaluate whether mesothelioma has developed. If you have this type of cancer, you'll likely be in line for a combination of treatments that include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and potentially surgery to remove the affected tissue.


Some Good News


Mesothelioma isn't a fun subject, but there is some good news here. This disease is very rare, affecting only a few thousand people every year. And it almost exclusively affects people who were habitually exposed to asbestos – so if, to your knowledge, you've never come in contact with this material, you probably don't have to worry about this disease. The most common sufferers of mesothelioma are workers who were exposed to asbestos as part of their job; these include construction workers, military veterans, shipbuilders, and insulation workers.


If you've managed to avoid direct, secondary, or environmental exposure to asbestos, your risk of mesothelioma is close to zero. But if, at any point in your life, you worked with or were near asbestos habitually, it's critical that you pay attention to the warning signs that mesothelioma is developing.

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