Mesothelioma is a rare form cancer that doesn't show any symptoms that the cancer reaches at the end of the stage of development and it is this point that many cases have become incurable. It also non-specific symptoms and thousands of cases each year are misdiagnosed as other, less serious respiratory diseases. Quite simply, mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that affects the thin layer of protective tissue around the major organs, most significantly the lungs, heart and stomach, and recently it has been positively linked to asbestos mineral. This thin layer of tissue, the mesothelium, allows inhaling asbestos fibers to settle, and that is that they can lay dormant for up to 50 years before becoming cancerous.

Symptoms which are associated with mesothelioma who depend on the organization \ 'organs are affected.

Thyroid cancer. This type of cancer affects the lungs and causes a number of symptoms, including:

Persistent cough that does not improve with medication
Respiratory difficulties
Shortness of breath
Fever
Difficulty swallowing
Chest pain
Weight loss

Thyroid pericardial. This second type of mesothelioma goes to the heart tissue and includes the following symptoms: respiratory difficulties

Chesty cough
Palpitations

Thyroid peritoneal. The third type of mesothelioma affects the stomach and causing the following symptoms:

Nausea and vomiting
Abdominal pain
Weight loss
Bloating of the stomach
Bowel obstruction
Fever

Obviously all of these symptoms can also be caused by a number of other conditions, however, anyone who experiences should consult a doctor, especially those that were exposure to asbestos in the past.

Unfortunately for the victims of mesothelioma, the symptoms do occur late in cancer \ 'development, and in many cases, the treatment is palliative rather than curative. There are a number of possible types of treatment that can be used against mesothelioma and the course of treatment is prescribed depend to a large extent on how the cancer is developed and the extent to which it has spread around the body . This information can be determined using X-ray, CT scan and MRI, because these imaging techniques can provide a detailed view of the cancer \ 'progression and the number of parts of the body are affected. The treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and palliative care and a single form or a combination will be used.

Surgery. Surgery can be used in cases where there is a large tumor clear, however, that only become an option if the tumor causes chronic pain or if it is causing an obstruction, such as in one or the another of the lungs. Because mesothelioma can take between 30 and 50 years to develop many sufferers are older when they were diagnosed and if the option of surgery also depend on the age and general health status. Occasionally, it is considered safer to live with the risk of tumor that the rigors of surgery.

Radiotherapy. Radiation therapy is most effective when mesothelioma is limited to a single site, such as the lungs. It can and is often used in combination with chemotherapy as a defense against a small pockets of cancer cells that might survive the drug. Radiotherapy may produce some side effects, they are nevertheless easy to deal with and rarely cause problems.

Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy for mesothelioma mostly involve a stay in hospital while a drug is to concentrate presented to the body intravenously. Chemotherapy is used when the cancer has spread to other regions, so that the treatment should address multiple sites.

Palliative care. Palliative care can include any of these treatments, but they will be aimed at improving and extending the quality of life rather than providing a cure. Palliative care will also include the pain that in many cases, mesothelioma is well advanced and chronic chest and causing abdominal pain.

Mesothelioma is regarded as a rare form of cancer, but in the last decade, the number of cases diagnosed each year has steadily increased. Since it became involved in many asbestos victims have successfully continued their former employers, and many others are in the process of starting each year. Today, workers must wear protective clothing and breathing apparatus while working with asbestos, and so it may be that the presence of mesothelioma dies with the current generation.

About the author

Andrew Daigle is the owner, creator and the author of numerous success of Web sites, including CancerAbout, a Cancer Information Resource and Mesothelioma Lawyer site.