What is Mesothelioma ? Mesothelioma is serious and rare form of lung cancer. It's most frequently seen in men between the ages of 50 to 70. Women affected fast less frequently. Estimate suggest that the incidence of mesothelioma for every 100.000 in the US is about 1.8 and 1.9 internationally. This form of cancer affect people of every race equally. The number of people who have been diagnose with mesothelioma has increased significantly in the past 30 years. Although many advances in treatment have been made, there is no cure for this type of cancer.
In mesothelioma the cells of mesothelium become cancerous and grow out of control. The mesothelium is a protective, two-layer membrane that cover the internal organs of the body including the lungs,heart and abdominal organs.
Between this layers, the cells produce fluid which allows easy movement of the heart and lungs within the chest cavity. The layers that covers the lungs is called the pleura and the layers that covers the heart is called the pericardium . The peritonium lines the abdoninal cavity. Mesothelioma can affect any of these cells but is usually seen in the pleural or peritoneal mesothelium. The most common form of mesothelioma is pleural.
The primary risk factor for developing mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos.
When cancerous cells invade the mesothelium, it become increasingly difficult to breath. In the pleural form of mesothelioma, tumors growing in the mesothelium cause pleural effusions, which prevent the smooth movement of the lungs and other organs in the chest.
Peritoneal mesothelioma invades the abdominal cavity and can cause the loss appetite weight loss, nausea and vomiting. Moat patience ssek medical care after having symptoms only 4-6 month.
Mesothelioma is a very aggressive form of cancer, because it takes so long for symptoms to appear it can spread to the other organs in the chest, in the chest wall and into the lymp nodes. The cancerous cells spread or metastasize from the mesothelium into other parts of the body and damage internal tissue and organs. Treatment is more effective when the disease is detected early.
Treatment is aimed at reducing the size of tumors and relieving symptoms. Chemotherapy , radiation treatment and surgery are some of the traditional treatment strategies used to help patients live longer, with the fewer symptoms. New advances in photodynamic therapy and immunotherapy give hope for prolonging the lives of patients with mesothelioma. on average however the life expectancy after being diagnose with mesothelioma is less than one year.
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