DiagnosisIfyouhavesignsandsymptomsthatmightindicatemesothelioma,yourdoctorwillconductaphysicalexamtocheckforanylumpsorotherunusualsigns.Yourdoctormayorderimagingscans,suchasachestX-rayandacomputerizedtomography(CT)scanofyourchestorabdomen,tolookforabnormalities.

OverviewMalignantmesothelioma(me-zoe-thee-lee-O-muh)isatypeofcancerthatoccursinthethinlayeroftissuethatcoversthemajorityofyourinternalorgans(mesothelium).Mesotheliomaisanaggressiveanddeadlyformofcancer.Mesotheliomatreatmentsareavailable,butformanypeoplewithmesothelioma,acureisn'tpossible.

OverviewCausedbyexposuretochemicalslikeasbestos,mesotheliomaaffectsthetissuethatcoversyourorgans.Whatismesothelioma?Mesotheliomareferstotumorsthatdevelopinthemesothelium,atypeoftissuethatmakesuptheliningofcavitiesorhollowsthatprotectandsurroundcertainorgans.Thistissueforms:

TheAmericanCancerSocietynotesthattherehavebeenafewpublishedreportsofmesotheliomasthatdevelopedfollowingexposuretohighdosesofradiationtothechestorabdomenorafter...

Findingsthatmightsuggestmesotheliomaincludeanabnormalthickeningofthepleura,calciumdepositsonthepleura,fluidinthespacebetweenthelungsandthechestwall,orchangesinthelungsthemselvesasaresultofasbestosexposure.Computedtomography(CT)scan

Doctorsoftenusesurvivalratesasastandardwayofdiscussingaperson'soutlook(prognosis).Thesenumberscan’ttellyouhowlongyouwilllive,buttheymighthelpyoubetterunderstandyourprognosis.Somepeoplewanttoknowthesurvivalstatisticsforpeopleinsimilarsituations,whileothersmightnotfindthenumbershelpful,or...

HowIsMesotheliomaDiagnosed?Itcanbehardtotellthedifferencebetweenmesotheliomaandothercancers.Youmayneedtohaveaphysicalexamandothertests,suchasimagingtests(achestX-rayorCTscan)orabiopsy(removingasmallpieceoftissuetolookatunderamicroscope).HowIsMesotheliomaTreated?

Phase1:Thefirstphaseofdiagnosisincludesgeneralexamsandtests.Phase2:Thesecondphaseofdiagnosisincludesspecifictestsformesotheliomaandcancer.Inthefirstphase,patientsdiscusstheirfullmedicalhistorywiththeirdoctor.Thishelpsthedoctorgetinformationthatcannarrowdownthepossibilities.

Teststhatexaminetheinsideofthechestandabdomenareusedtodiagnosemalignantmesothelioma.Certainfactorsaffectprognosis(chanceofrecovery)andtreatmentoptions.Malignantmesotheliomaisadiseaseinwhichmalignant(cancer)cellsformintheliningofthechestorabdomen.