|
|
Mesothelioma - The 3 Main
Types
by William
Johnston
In general, mesothelioma is a rare form
of cancer. Different types of mesothelioma are distinguished
between by where the cancer is growing. Pleural mesothelioma,
the most common, accounting for 75% of all mesothelioma cases,
is where cancerous cells develop on the lining of the lungs.
The next most common form of mesothelioma
is peritoneal mesothelioma and this is where cancerous cells
grow on the peritoneum which is the lining of the abdomen.
Pericardial mesothelioma, the least
common major form of mesothelioma, makes up roughly 5% of all
mesothelioma cases. This is where malignant cancer cells grow
on the lining of the heart.
All three of these forms of mesothelioma
are caused by asbestos. Asbestos is a naturally occurring
fibrous mineral that was discovered around the 1860s. Due to
its highly useful property of being fireproof, asbestos was
used greatly in construction in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
It was not until the early 1960s when the
severe health hazards that asbestos causes were discovered,
that asbestos stopped being used. When exposed to asbestos
with insufficient protection a person will breathe in tiny
asbestos fibres which are suspended in the air. These fibres
pass into the respiratory system until they become lodged in
the lining of the lungs.
Over time, an accumulation of these
asbestos fibres in the lungs can cause pleural mesothelioma.
Asbestos fibres may also pass into the lymphatic system and be
transported to either the lining of the abdomen or the tissue
surrounding the heart. This may cause either peritoneal
mesothelioma or pericardial mesothelioma.
In terms of symptoms, the three main
types of mesothelioma have some symptoms in common with each
other. These symptoms are usual of all three types: chest
pain, shortness of breath, coughing, coughing up blood,
vomiting, nausea, weight loss and loss of appetite. An
additional symptom of pericardial mesothelioma is
palpitations.
There are a few treatments for all types
of mesothelioma but none of these have a high success rate.
The effectiveness of the treatment depends on how early and
how aggressively the cancer is treated. If the cancerous cells
are treated when they have fully matured and developed then it
is unlikely that treatment methods will be successful.
Treatment methods include chemotherapy
which is the use of drugs to kill the cancer, radiation
therapy which uses a radiation dosage to kill off cancerous
cells and surgery which attempts to gain long term control
over the cancer by removing a large portion of malignant
cells. These treatment methods can be combined in the form of
dual therapy.
For more information on pericardial
mesothelioma such as the risks, causes, symptoms and
treatments go to:
http://www.pericardialmesothelioma.co.uk, http://www.pericardial-mesothelioma.co.uk and http://www.asbestos-resource.co.uk
|
|
| | |
