5 commonly used imaging tecniques in the diagnosis of Mesothelioma - Health - Cancer

To make a diagnosis of mesothelioma, doctors usually start with the taking of a detailed medical history from the patient. Once there is enough clinical suspicion from the history the doctor will usually order for certain imaging tests and fluid and tissue sample tests for making a definitive diagnosis. This article will be looking at the different types of imaging tests that are usually used to diagnose mesothelioma.

Some of the most commonly used imaging methods include:

1-Chest X-ray

A chest x-ray can show the following:

-pleural effusion, this is accumulation of excessive fluid in the pleural space either in the right {60%} pleural space or in the left {40%} pleural space. The pleural space is the space between the two layers of the pleural membrane.

-x-ray can also reveal a mass in one of the lungs

-pleural plaques or pleural scarring might be seen.

2-Computed Tomography (CT)

Signs to look out for in the CTscan include:

-pleural thickening and pleural calcification

-thickening of interlobular fissures

-chest wall invasion

CT sans can also be used to guide the needle used in fine needle aspiration of tumor masses used for tissue biopsy.

3- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) This test produces a multi dimensional image of the tumors and the lung tissue so it is able to clearer picture of the diseased lung. It can show:

-the presence of mediastinal lymph nodes {lymph nodes situated in the tissue that divides the chest cavity into two halves}.

-a clear picture of the diaphragm to show whether it has been affected by the tumor.

4- Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

This is a relatively new technique that is very useful in determining the staging of the tumor.

5-CT/PET

By combining the benefits of CT and PET (anatomic and metabolic information) into a single scan, this technology can more accurately determine the stage of the cancer, and can help identify the best treatment option for the patient.Once mesothelioma is suspected through imaging tests, it is confirmed by pathological examination. Tissue is removed, put under the microscope, and a pathologist makes a definitive diagnosis, and issues a pathology report.Mesothelioma victims should be aware of the different types of diagnostic tests that they might be subjected to so that they can cooperate fully.

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Mesothelioma life expectancy: Important factors that can improve the lifespan of Mesothelioma Patients - Health - Cancer

Good prognostic factors for the survival of mesothelioma are:

1-Early stage at diagnosis.

Patients that are diagnosed when the tumor is still in either stage 1 or stage 2 have a better prognosis than patients that are diagnosed when the tumor is already in the stages 3 and 4 by which stage only symptomatic treatment to reduce the symptoms can only be given.

2- Good general state of health.

The better the state of health the better the patient will be able to withstand the stress of treatment and extensive potentially curative surgery which in turn translates into achieving better results of treatment.

3-Younger age The younger the age of the patient at the time of diagnosis the better the outcome of the treatment for the disease. Older victims tend to have some other chronic age related illnesses like diabetes and hypertension which further decreases the state of health of the patient.

4-Epithelioid subtype

There are different types of mesothelioma based on histological characteristics of the cancer cells{cellular structure of the cells}.The different histological types are the sarcomatoid, the epitheliod type, the biphasic type, and the desmoplastic type. The epitheliod type of cancer however has the best prognosis as it is very responsive to treatment and it does not spread as quickly as the other types.

5- Absence of chest pain. The presence of chest pain could signify that the tumor has infiltrated into the chest wall and other nearby structures thus making treatment difficult.

6- Nil significant weight loss Weight loss is a sign of advanced cancer so if the victim is still of normal weight by the time of diagnosis it means that the tumor is still likely to be localized.

7-Normal levels of a substance in the blood called LDH

8-Normal red blood cell counts, white blood cell counts, and blood platelet counts

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Mesothelioma and Asbestos - Health - Cancer

Asbestos is a fibrous material which has been in use for a long time mainly for its fire resistant qualities. Asbestos is a preferred building material due to its fire resistant and heat resistant capability coupled with the fact that it is not expensive.

Asbestos was very popular amongst California business owners in the early and mid 20's and they used it in nearly every way they could. They tried to use asbestos to create safer, and cheaper buildings, but time has proven that these building are not any safer, nor are they more cheaper,as the high cost of treating the mesothelioma disease that they caused, they also lead to loss of lives.

Asbestos was once used in everything from automotive parts, clothing, and blankets. It was a natural choice for fire fighter gear. The asbestos material, looked like it was the absolute safest and most rewarding discovery of the 20th century, with buildings, homes, and businesses less likely to burn to the ground with the use of asbestos. The fact that about 3000 people died annually from Mesothelioma, made people to start to see things differently after some time.

Mesothelioma is a direct and profound consequence of long term exposure to asbestos. Asbestos fibers are in fact the only known cause of Mesothelioma. The great tragedy of Mesothelioma is far more insidious than the fact that thousands of people are diagnosed with Mesothelioma every year, but that the knowledge of what asbestos may very well do to the interior of those who were around it regularly has been well known since the 1920s.

Mesothelioma is one of the deadliest diseases with a virtual 100% mortality rate.Most cases will die within a year or two. The material that was often used to protect buildings from fire damage affected the internal organs of the people who worked with it, sentencing these hard working Californians early and painful deaths.

Asbestos affects slowly the lining of the organs, usually attacking the lining of the lungs. It may take somewhere between 10 and 40 years before the damage from asbestos becomes evident in the form of Mesothelioma. Those who worked with it never felt ill or had any physical warning signs that there was anything wrong.

The mortality rate has decreased slightly, as those who are now aware that they worked with asbestos in the past are receiving medical evaluations prior to having symptoms. Unfortunately, many of these individuals are finding their vigilance was warranted. However, with early detection, the survival rate has increased slightly.

For so many, early detection was never a possibility. So few companies were willing to inform their employees that they had been exposed to asbestos for fear of being compelled to reach reasonable and fair financial settlements with the victims of Mesothelioma and their families. Companies which had saved so much by effectively placing their employees at considerable risk need qualified California mesothelioma lawyers to stand up to them in order to provide financial relief from the devastation caused by asbestos.

Mesothelioma lawsuits are unfortunately the only available method of holding companies responsible for their asbestos negligence. A valid mesothelioma lawsuit will not only assists the victim in covering his astronomical medical expenses, but they also help to create awareness and ethical actions by other companies faced with choices during construction.

California mesothelioma lawyers who have excelled in the representation of Mesothelioma victims have surpassed most attorneys in providing aggressive care and representation for their clients. Mesothelioma has become such a glaring example of lack of company concern for their valuable employees. Big companies are required to examine their practices and their human obligation because of Mesothelioma lawsuits and the vast expense of Mesothelioma settlements.

Most of the companies chose to provide less than adequate protection for their workers but chose to provide good fire protection for their buildings. They did not mind some of their workers falling ill of even dying as long as they were able to preserve their buildings.

California workers have had enough of California bad business practice of placing production and performance over the health of their workers. The public needs to let these exploitative Carlifornia companies know that they would not allow them to exploit them any longer, they must challenge them in courts through the use of Mesothelioma lawsuits.

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Treatment of epithelioid mesothelioma - Health

Epithelioid mesothelioma is the most common cell type that is relatively uniform in shape and has a tubular pattern with a distinct cell nucleus. Epithelioid is the most common kind; 50-70% cases reported are of this type, which also has the best possibility of survival. This type affects the covering surrounding the internal organs and internal surfaces in the body.

In spite of various new treatment options, the survival rate of Mesothelioma disease is low. These options have helped in increasing the longevity of mesothelioma patients. Statistics indicate that the average survival period after diagnosis is about one year. The survival period might increase up to two years if the proper treatment is done aggressively. More than 95% cases with mesothelioma disease occur due to asbestos exposure.

Epithelium is a tissue separating different regions of the body. Like in the case of epithelial cells found in the skin detaches the outside of the body from the inside of the body. This serves varied responsibilities like protection, absorption, filtration, excretion, secretion or sensory reception.

Causes and symptoms of epithelioid mesothelioma:

There are various causes found of epithelioid mesothelioma. The most common cause of epithelioid mesothelioma is asbestos exposure where the fine particles and which are found thrown in the air either through sawing or cutting. Mainly the membrane lining of chest cavity, lungs, heart or abdominal cavity gets affected in epithelioid mesothelioma.

Usually there are misdiagnoses of the disease as the cells in other forms of cancer look quite similar to epithelioid cells as adenocarcinoma is a type of cancer which is often confused with epithelioid mesothelioma.

Symptoms of epithelioid mesothelioma:

Symptoms can occur after more than 40 to 50 years of being exposed to asbestos. Patients suffering from epithelioid mesothelioma can have a cough, weakness, tiredness along with inability to absorb nutrition causing weight loss. The breathlessness is caused when the tumor does not allow the lungs to expand and when it spreads further it results in severe chest pain.

Diagnosis of epithelioid mesothelioma

A methodical diagnosis is needed prior to any kind of treatment for mesothelioma. As the latency period of this disease's appearance of the symptoms early diagnosis becomes a difficult proposition. It is usually done only at the advanced stage leading to a survival rate of about 8 to 9 months.

Get more information about epithelioid mesothelioma and its treatment options at New Mesothelioma Treatments. The website provides reliable information about epithelioid mesothelioma for the mesothelioma patients throughout the World.

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How To Take Care Of Peritoneal Mesothelioma - Health - Cancer

Peritoneal mesothelioma treatment is imperative for those who are suffering from this disease. The treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma depends upon a number of factors, such as the size and stage of cancer cells, the patient's general condition and health, past medical history of the patient and the patient's age. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a type of cancer of the membrane in the abdomen.

Peritoneal mesothelioma treatments can be classified into two types, these are localized treatments and systemic treatments. Systemic treatments are whole body treatments like chemotherapy. Localized treatments include surgery and radiotherapy.

Surgical treatment is often not needed in the case of peritoneal mesothelioma. If the growth of cancer cell is found very early, it may be possible to remove tumor by operation. Radiation therapy or radiotherapy used to remove cancer cells in the affected area. Chemotherapy is used to kill mesothelioma cells by injecting anti-cancer drugs that are usually injected into a vein. The treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma is not possible by traditional mesothelioma treatment ways. Today's doctors and surgeons are constantly working to improve upon the existing peritoneal mesothelioma treatment.Peritoneal mesothelioma is also known as the cancer of the peritoneal regions. The exact cause of cancer in the region is still undecided, but researchers and doctors hold the opinion that the condition is the result of constant exposure to asbestos. The doctors consider this condition as a subdivision of asbestos cancer Mesothelioma. In the third and the final stage of peritoneal mesothe lioma, the cancer cells might have grown apart from the abdominal cavity. Chemotherapy for peritoneal mesothelioma is known to work in the case of some patients. It completely depends on how the body is responding to the treatment. Doctors have recorded instances where a patient undergoing stage three could recover, because his body responded to the chemotherapy sessions. Peritoneal mesothelioma can be a life threat disease, so take a proper treatment for this disease and live hassle free life. New Mesothelioma Treatments has a comprehensive list of mesothelioma doctors and surgeons of your local city, so visit us for proper and result oriented peritoneal mesothelioma treatment.

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Long Time Mesothelioma Survivors -What Do They Have in Common? - Other

Paul Kraus is one of the long-term survivors of malignant mesothelioma, there are many others and one thing they all have in common to all of them is the fact that they all focused most of their treatment on steps to improve or enhance their immune system. Some used alternative or complimentary therapies (with guidance from licensed clinicians) while others participated in clinical trials of immune therapy.

So does the immune system play a significant role in the control malignant mesothelioma? The experience of Paul Kraus and other long-term malignant mesothelioma survivors gives a lot of credit to the fact that the immune system is indeed very important in the management of malignant mesothelioma.

In quite a number of people with pleural mesothelioma that survived the cancer for a long time, their medical histories have shown that their immune system may have played a major role in their extremely long survival.

In 1986, an article appeared in a medical journal that discussed this very issue of malignant mesothelioma and immunity.(1) This research focused on the immune responses of 118 healthy people compared to 20 patients with malignant mesothelioma and 375 long-term asbestos workers who were cancer-free.

The researchers wanted to know if there were any measurable differences in the immune responses of the mesothelioma patients. Their findings demonstrated a relationship between the immune system and malignant mesothelioma. For example:

* The number of total T (T11+) and T-helper (T4+) cells were normal in asbestos workers with cancer, but were significantly reduced in patients with mesothelioma. T cells orchestrate, regulate and coordinate the overall immune response.

* Most patients with mesothelioma had a profound deficiency in Natural Killer cell (NK) activity which is suggestive of the role the immune system plays in the control of malignant mesothelioma. NK cells are a type of lethal lymphocyte that target tumor cells and protect against a wide variety of infectious microbes.

In the discussion section of the report, the researchers stated:"These findings led us to speculate that biological phenomena generally categorized as chronic immunosuppression associated with the presence of asbestos fibers in the exposed workers may have caused the eventual breakdown of the host's surveillance system and the onset of neoplasm [malignant mesothelioma]."

In other words, the researchers are suggesting that malignant mesothelioma may result from immune suppression. If this is true it would provide the biological basis for the role that the immune system and immune boosting approaches may play in the management of malignant mesothelioma.

Another example of a long time survivor of mesothelioma is James O'Connor.In October 2001, sixty-one year old James Rhio O'Connor ("Rhio") was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma caused by his exposure to asbestos when he was younger. His was given less than a year to live.

His tumor was not operable because the tumor was too close to his spinal cord chemo was also not an option because at the stage of his tumor chemo would not have been of any major help to him, it could not give any significant elongation to his life span. He was basically told to prepare for imminent death in a polite manner.

To soften this message, the doctor also recommended that Rhio take his wife on a cruise and then start hospice care upon his return. Rhio rejected the idea. He was determined to survive this cancer. Working with professional clinicians, he formulated a regimen of over 100 supplements a day, changed his diet, practiced mind-body medicine, most of these treatments were aimed at boosting the immune system, and he relied on his own discipline to see him through the difficult times ahead.

Rhio survived for 7 more years through his determination, knowledge, inexorable spirit, belief in something greater than himself, and the ability to make tough choices -qualities that spell success in any endeavor. Rhio passed away on July 11, 2009. He was 69 years old.Rhio was often asked how he was able to manage his mesothelioma or "Mr. Meso" as he called it.

To answer these questions and help and inspire others, Rhio wrote a book called "They Said Months, I Chose Years: A Mesothelioma Survivor's Story." In this book Rhio discusses what he did to live his life with "Mr. Meso" and much of the science behind his decisions. In his book he cites nearly one hundred medical articles that support the concept of using nutrition to help manage a chronic disease like cancer. Rhio's inspirational life and book reminds us that there may be other ways to manage cancer and extend life beyond the conventional methods of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

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Symptoms of Mesothelioma - Health - Diseases and Conditions

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma (mez-uh-thee-lee-O-muh) is a type of cancer that can be either malignant or benign. The malignant type of mesothelioma is the most hazardous form of cancer and may be deadly in most cases. This cancer affects the tissue known as the mesothelium, which protects the heart, stomach, lungs, and other organs by making a special fluid that allows the organs to move.

Causes of Mesothelioma

Almost always this type of cancer is caused by previous exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is a kind of fiber present in a lot of the insulating and building substances which are naked to the human eye. It is unclear how early the correlation between asbestos and mesothelioma was made.

Mesothelioma is a very aggressive form of cancer where early diagnosis increases the amount of effective treatments. Unfortunately, due to the way it forms, the cancer may not manifest until anywhere between 20 to 50 years after an asbestos exposure. Regardless of when the asbestos exposure occurred, it is important to tell your doctor so that the correct diagnosis can be made.

As with most diseases, symptoms of mesothelioma vary case by case. Symptoms can also be determined by whether the mesothelioma is defined as pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial.

Types of Mesothelioma

1)Pleural Mesothelioma is the most common form of mesothelioma. This is where the cancer affects the lungs and the protective lining and cavity of the lungs filling it with excessive liquid.2)Peritoneal Mesothelioma is a rarer form of mesothelioma where the cancer affects the stomach and abdomen. Symptoms include some or all of the following: abdominal pain and swelling, nausea, loss of appetite, chest pain, anemia, fever, and blood clotting abnormalities.3)Pericardial Mesothelioma is the rarest form of mesothelioma cancer. This is where the cancer affects the heart and the cavity that surrounds it, known as the pericardium. Patients have reported chest pain, shortness of breath, trouble breathing, persistent coughing, and palpitations.

Symptoms

Mesothelioma symptoms are generally non specific and resemble common sicknesses such as viral pneumonia, heart disease, flu, and bronchitis. These symptoms include: shortness of breath (dyspnea) or difficulty breathing, coughing and/or coughing up of blood, chest or abdomen pain caused by excessive fluid, weight loss, husky voice, difficulty swallowing, fever, anemia, bowel obstruction, inability to sleep, and loss of appetite. Since these are general symptoms of common viral diseases, it is important to report any asbestos history you have to a doctor so the correct diagnosis can be made.

When is it time to worry?

Usually the first two symptoms bring patients into the doctors office because they are the most common. Asbestos exposure, even if the occurrence was decades ago, is important information that doctors need to know in helping the diagnosis of mesothelioma. Providing this information early can assist in avoiding uncomfortable and expensive tests in addition to early detection increases the chances of eliminating the cancer.

The Asbestos & Mesothelioma Cancer Resource Center at Asbestos.Net

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