Mesothelioma is a very tricky disease. It is a type of lung cancer and, as is common with lung cancer, symptoms of the disease can take many years to develop.

Mesothelioma is caused from exposure to asbestos. The disease usually lies undetected for up to 30 years after it first develops. Once symptoms are present the disease has already progressed to the late stage when treatment is very difficult. There is little treatment that can be effective in the later stages of mesothelioma.

Detecting the Disease

Symptoms of mesothelioma can vary from person to person, which adds to the difficulty in detecting the disease. Symptoms also vary depending on the type of mesothelioma. It can be pleural, peritoneal or pericardial. Another issue with detecting the disease is that the symptoms can often be confused with common illnesses like the flu, bronchitis and heart disease. (more…)

My dad was exposed to asbestos while at work which lead to him contracting the deadly disease, eventually leading to his untimely death. The symptoms of Mesothelioma were non-specific and it took more than 30 years to appear from the time he was exposed to asbestos at his workplace. The symptoms included shortness of breath and severe pain in his chest due to accumulation of fluid around his lungs. It also led to him losing weight.

Now my mother has developed Mesothelioma because she handled his clothing. In spite of this disease being quite rare, it can be developed even if one member of the family is exposed to asbestos and brings it home on the clothes. It can affect family members through secondary exposure, just as it happened in my family. Though it occurs more among men than women and the risk of developing it is more for older people, there are chances that it can appear among either gender at any age. (more…)

Pericardial mesothelioma accounts for about half of all pericardial tumors and is extremely rare. This cancer accounts for about 6% of all mesothelioma cases, these tumors are typically diffused and tend to cover the whole heart.

Pericardial mesothelioma affects the pericardium which is the membrane made up of mesothelial cells that surrounds and protects the heart. This membrane has two layers: A} an outer layer called parietal pericardium B} an inner layer called the visceral pericardium {epicardium}

Cause

Unlike in the case of pleural mesothelioma, there is no clear link between this cancer and exposure to asbestos fibers, but a number of patients with pericardial mesothelioma have a history of exposure to asbestos. (more…)

Mesothelioma is a fairly rare cancer that is associated with exposure to asbestos. The cancer manifests with many different symptoms depending on the stage it is in and the location of the body. In many cases, shortness of breath is one problem, but there are a number of ways to deal with it.

Mesothelioma is somewhat of a catch phrase for a certain type of cancer caused by asbestos exposure. It refers to a cancer of the Mesothelioma lining in the upper body. The problem is this lining is found everywhere from the sac surrounding the heart down to the organs in the lower abdomen. As a result, a diagnosis of Mesothelioma around the lower, far right lung is much different then the same diagnosis for the heart. (more…)

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is fairly rare, but very serious. If you or a friend has been diagnosed with this form of cancer, knowledge is the key to dealing with the diagnosis, treatment and potential outcomes.

Mesothelioma is a malignant cancer found in the Mesothelium. The Mesothelium is often referred to as the lining found in the chest cavity and abdomen. A better description of it is that it acts as a sort of protective sack around the internal organs. It consists of two layers. One presses against the organs and the other acts as a sack of sorts. There is lubrication between these two layers, which allows the organs to move freely such as when the lungs inflate and deflate with air.

Mesothelioma occurs when cells in this layer start to mutate and grow uncontrollably. This cancer is particularly difficult to deal with because the Mesothelium is so pervasive through the chest cavity that the cancerous cells can spread far and wide. That being said, most forms of Mesothelioma begin in the lining around the lungs or abdomen. Once established, they can spread in any direction. (more…)

The endothelial lining of blood vessels, lymphatics spaces and serous membranes occasionally give rise to tumors which could be malignant.

They could arise from the pleura (Pleural mesothelioma) and rarely from the pericardium (Pericardial Mesothelioma) or Peritoneum (Peritoneal Mesothelioma.) Asbestos inhalation may provoke their development, blue asbestos fibers especially have been shown to be a cause this.

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Breaf History of Hyperthermia
The healing effect of heat treatment was already mentioned in the advanced cultures of the old Egypt (2400 B.C.), but only the medical professionals of the Greek Antique used this therapeutic approach consistently, acknowledged it and called it over-warming (in Greek: Hyperthermia). “Give me the power to produce fever and I heal every illness”, said Parmenides, Greek physician, 540-480 B.C.

Hyperthermia in cancer treatment
Hyperthermia (also called thermal therapy or thermotherapy) is an acute condition which occurs when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it can dissipate. It is usually caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures. The heat-regulating mechanisms of the body eventually become overwhelmed and unable to effectively deal with the heat, causing the body temperature to climb uncontrollably.

Hyperthermia can also be created artificially by drugs or medical devices. In these instances it may be used to treat cancer and other conditions. Cancer cells are more heat-sensitive than healthy cells and their structure reacts differently to overheating. (more…)

Making a choice on your preferred doctor can be a long process and you should resist the temptation of rushing the process so as to get your treatment started as soon as possible.

Carefully choosing the doctor you need now (such as a good surgeon, radiologist, and/or oncologist) will pay off for years to come. Your relationship with this person will probably last through treatment into long-term follow-up care. These are some important steps you need to take to be able to make the best choice:

1-Make up your mind about the desired qualities you want in your doctor.

Before you start looking for a doctor, think about the qualities you want your doctor to have. A few ideas are listed below, but you may want to add others.

•Choose a doctor who has experience with mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer and doctors have better success treating this cancer only if they have a lot of experience with it.

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Mesothelioma is a form of cancer often associated with exposure to asbestos. It is a brutal form of cancer because it can take as much as 40 years to manifest. That being said, there are three forms of surgery that are used although only two are really used for actual treatment.

Mesothelioma. It is not a word you want to hear form a physician. The abdomen, lungs and chest have a lining called the mesothelium. This lining can be adversely impacted by pollutants and become cancerous. One of the classic pollutants is asbestos which is breathed in by individuals and enters the body through the lungs. How exactly it causes cancer in the mesothelium is a bit of a mystery because of the long gestation period. Still, the diagnosis is not a favorable one and often ends in death.

The first form of surgery undertaken for Mesothelium is known as a thoracoscopy. This is not used to actually treat the patient. Instead, it scope is inserted surgically into the chest so that the physicians can view the condition of the mesothelium, lungs, heart and what have you. Having made a visual inspection, they are in a far better position to render a potential plan of treatment and assess the potential outcomes.

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