General Symptoms
Mesothelioma symptoms are different according to severeness in each case. Symptoms are also relative to three particular types of the disease -- pleural, pericardial, or peritoneal.
The contributing factors that determine how a patient will be affected by symptoms depend on which type of mesothelioma is present together with an individual's overall health, as well as a person's age.
Diagnosis of mesothelioma can often be challenging due to doctors mistaking symptoms of the disease with common illnesses such as bronchitis, flu, heart diseases and other sicknesses.
Since mesothelioma is a cancer that invades the mesothelium (tissue membranes covering lungs and internal organs), patients can experience breathing difficulties. Other general symptoms include nausea and vomiting, chest and abdominal pains, weight loss and appetite suppression, difficulty sleeping, fever and lower back pains.
Pleural Mesothelioma
The pleura is a thin, membranous sac around the lungs. This lining (mesothelium) is vital to lung function, secreting fluids which enable expansion and contraction of the lungs during breathing. When cancer due to asbestos exposure affects this membrane, its known as pleural mesothelioma. Comprising 75% of all mesothelioma cases, this is the most commonly diagnosed cancer of the three mesothelioma types.
Symptoms
- Difficulty breathing & shortness of breath
- Constant cough
- Chest, or abdominal pains
- Fluid in lungs, chest, or abdomen
- Lack of appetite
- Abnormal weight loss
- Sleeplessness
- Hoarse voice
- Problem swallowing
Peritoneal Mesothelioma
This type of mesothelioma involves the abdomen's lining, or peritoneum. An abdominal cancer that also goes by the name abdominal mesothelioma, symptoms are sometimes confused with other common diseases. This is the reason why many people affected by peritoneal mesothelioma remain undiagnosed, or they are inadequately diagnosed before a suitable decision for therapy is reached.
Symptoms
- Intense, piercing abdominal pain
- Abdominal swelling from accumulation of fluids
- Breathing difficulty
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Bowel blockage
- Nausea accompanied by vomiting
- Fever
- Anemic & feeling of weakness
Pericardial Mesothelioma
Of the three types of asbestos cancers, pericardial mesothelioma is the most rare, uncommon variety of this disease. While it accounts for only about 10% of all reported mesothelioma cases, pericardial mesothelioma invades the lining around the heart (pericardium) making it the most severe form of mesothelioma.
Symptoms
- Chest pains; sometimes very severe
- Shortness of breath
- Rapid heart palpitations
- Persistent cough
- Extreme tiredness & low energy after little exertion
Mesothelioma symptoms can take years to manifest themselves in a person exposed to asbestos. Usually appearing between 15 to 50 years after exposure, this painful and deadly disease is typically diagnosed in advanced stages only after symptoms have been confirmed. Unfortunately, by then the cancer has had an opportunity to spread, or metastasize in the body. The confusion of symptoms with other illnesses delays
diagnosis of mesothelioma; and since symptoms mainly appear in later stages after the disease has progressed, treatment of this cancer is largely ineffective.