Types of mesothelioma

Types of mesothelioma

There are three types of mesothelioma:

Pleural Mesothelioma
Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Pericardial mesothelioma

Pleural Mesothelioma
This is the most common type. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer that is found in the outer lining of the lungs and inside of the ribs. Pleura is the tissue lining around the lungs. These tissues act as patron of the lung. The pleura has two layers. In membranes producing a lubricating fluid that allows them to slide over each other easily as we breathe. When a mesothelioma develops in the pleura, the cells start to divide abnormally, the pleural lining thickens and the fluid can accumulate. Fluid can also collect between the two layers of the pleura, and this is known as pleural effusion.

In a known cause of this cancer is exposure to asbestos. This exposure is likely to occur over twenty years before the disease becomes apparent. Smoking alone has not been shown to increase the risk of mesothelioma, but the combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly raise the person's risk of developing pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is the most outspoken and accounting for more than three quarters of all mesothelioma cases.

Some of the early symptoms of mesothelioma are generally not accurate and can lead to delays in diagnosis. The most common symptoms include dyspnea, chest pain, persistent cough, fatigue and weight loss, some patients show no symptoms. In order to identify the disease, the patient is seen by a health care provider and research is necessary, which may include CT scans, X-ray scan or MRI.

However, they can not easily be attributed to mesothelioma unless the patient is examined by their health care provider and the necessary tests are conducted, which may include CT scans, X-ray scan or MRI. Surgery may be one of the treatment options, but the recurrence rate of cancer cells is high. If the operation is viable, radiation therapy and chemotherapy may be useful. It is very important that the disease is diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Peritoneum is a thin membrane lining the abdomen. The inner layer is known as visceral peritoneum, is adjacent to the abdominal organs and the outer layer, the parietal peritoneum that covers the abdominal cavity. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a tumor in the peritoneum. This type of mesothelioma cause thickening of the membranes surrounding the abdominal organs, and fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity, which really swollen abdomen.The only known cause of this disease is exposure to asbestos.

Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include abdominal pain, loss of appetite and weakness. However, patients may have relatively advanced cases of this disease and experience no symptoms whatsoever. This type of mesothelioma is less common accounting a quarter of all mesothelioma cases. Peritoneal mesothelioma can cause ascitis, increased pressure in the abdominal cavity, which can lead to bowel obstruction.

Pericardial mesothelioma
This is the rarest form of asbestos related cancer. With pericardial mesothelioma cancer develops in the tissues surrounding the heart. Chest pain, shortness of breath, persistent cough, and palpitations are symptoms indicating