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Mesothelioma is a serious cancerous disease with low survival rates in spite of various new treatment options which have helped in increasing the longevity. Statistics indicate that the average survival period after diagnosis is about one year. The period might increase up to two years if the treatment is done aggressively. It has been found that more than 95% cases, mesothelioma occurs due to asbestos exposure.
Most people were earlier unaware of the danger caused by asbestos exposure as the mesothelioma occurs after about 20 to 40 years after being exposed to asbestos. Owing to this reason, this disease was also called as an `old person's disease' as people in 60's or 70's usually contract this disease. Higher prognosis help patients undergo better treatment and in turn better life expectancy.
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:
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. In epithelioid mesothelioma the membrane lining of chest cavity, lungs, heart or abdominal cavity gets affected. In the case of epithelioid mesothelioma the survival period of the patient is about eight and a half months.
The rate at which people suffering is as much as 50% to 70% of all cancer cells making it the most common type. It is identified based on the unique and organized cell structure which has tubular pattern with a specific cell nucleus. Usually there is a 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.
Distinguished by a papillary or tubular growth, is the most common subtype of mestothelioma, there are many abnormal histological variants which have also been found which include adenomatoid and deciduoid patterns or tumors composed of small cells or mucin-positive cells, apart from mesothelioma with lepidic intrapulmonary growth.
Symptoms
Symptoms can occur after more than 40 to 50 years of being exposed to asbestos. It is most of the time mistaken for a common bout of asthma, pneumonia or bronchitis due to symptoms of chest pain and breathlessness. Patients can have a cough, weakness, tiredness along with inability to absorb nutrition causing weight loss. Also the most common is the collection of fluid inside the pleural space called pleural effusion.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
A thorough 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.
To find out whether an individual has to undergo various diagnostic tests like X-ray, MRI, CAT Scan, Transbronchial biopsy where a scope is passed through the trachea to the bronchi area of the lungs, thoracotomy where the chest is opened and checked between the ribs for any tumor, thoracoscopy where a video camera is used to check between the ribs or Centesis where pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial fluid is removed.
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