Malignant Mesothelioma

It is a common misconception that if a patient suffers from mesothelioma that they suffer from a serious cancer that is very life threatening. Fortunately as with other types of tumors there can be a Non-Malignant Mesothelioma and also Malignant Mesothelioma. Of concern is when a patient discovers that he/she has a Malignant Mesothelioma. Fortunately there are a much higher number of people with Mesothelioma which are non-malignant compared to people with malignant ones. It also has to be said that men are more likely to develop Mesothelioma compared to women.

Non-malignant Mesothelioma is sometimes called benign Mesothelioma or even described in full as a non-cancerous tumor of the Pleura or Peritoneal. These non-malignant tumors, although less dangerous than cancerous tumors can still cause illnesses. Most commonly, these tumors can grow to large size and compress the lung causing chronic cough, shortness of breath, and chest pains. It should be noted that these are also the symptoms of some types of asthma so professional diagnosis is vital.

Treatment for a solitary tumor is normally to surgically remove it. Removing the tumor is comparatively easy compared to other treatments for malignant Mesothelioma and thus the survival rate is excellent. The most common complication from surgery around the Pleura and Peritoneal areas is Effusion where the liquid produced by these two lining can drain through a tearing or a whole into the abdominal cavity or into lung.

Generally the symptoms of both malignant Mesothelioma and benign Mesothelioma are the same. Patients normally complain of chest pains, shortness of breath then seek a physician’s advice. It is unfortunate that at this stage, patients with deadly malignant Mesothelioma have a very slim chance of survival as the cancer would already be at its late stage of development.

The symptoms as described earlier can be caused either by the cancerous tumor itself, which irritates nerve cells in nearby tissues thus causing the pain, or by a collection of fluid between the two layers of the pleura in the chest where too much fluid is produced or has leaked to other organs. This collection of fluid is called a pleural effusion. People with mesothelioma that develops in the abdominal lining can have abdominal pain and swelling caused by an accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity.