Abdominal Mesothelioma

Abdominal Mesothelioma is also known by its more medical name Peritoneal Mesothelioma. It is considered one of the rare sorts of Mesothelioma Cancer and accounts for only roughly 30% of all cases reported. Abdominal Mesothelioma affects the abdominal lining (a.k.a Peritoneal) which is a membrane that covers and protects the organs in the abdomen.

The Peritoneal is divided into two parts, the Visceral and Parietal Peritoneal. The Visceral Peritoneal covers the outer layer of most organs in the abdominal areas while the Parietal Peritoneal is the lining that covers the abdominal wall. Each of these membranes secretes mucus which is used to lubricate the movements of the organs inside the abdomen.

The onset of Abdominal Mesothelioma causes either one or both of the Peritoneal membranes to over-produce mucus. This causes fluid build-up in the abdominal area which is both very painful and dangerous to the patient.

Abdominal Mesothelioma generally affects people aged 50 to 70 year. Women generally only make up 1/5 of all Abdominal Mesothelioma cases.

The first signs of Abdominal Mesothelioma are abdominal pains, abdominal weakness, loss of weight, nausea and abdominal swelling. If patients present these symptoms and have indicated that they may have been exposed to asbestos before then the next steps normally are to scan the patient for abnormalities in the chest and abdomen area. If the scans review abnormalities then a biopsy of the tissue in the area must be done to confirm malignancy.

It is unfortunate that as with other sorts of Mesothelioma, Abdominal Mesothelioma has a very high mortality rate. Part of the reason is that it takes a very long time for any symptoms to present, often over 20 years. At which state the cancer would already have probably progressed to a very advanced level.

Often with if a patient is diagnosed with advanced stage Abdominal Mesothelioma then the treatment would only be to make the patient as comfortable before his or her day comes. In such cases surgeries which remove part of the original tumor to relieve the pressure in the abdominal cavity is performed.