Mesothelioma. How do doctors diagnose Asbestos Cancer? Part 2

Continued from part 1.

If the effusion is suspicious for some infection or cancer, sample of the fluid may give the clue whether the cause is benign or malignant. However, four out of five tests may miss the cancer. Eventually, the biopsy of the pleura by a needle or by a surgical procedure confirms the diagnosis of the mesothelioma.

For abdominal mesothelioma, an abdominal x-ray checks the fluid in your belly.

Sometime an x-ray may show not only effusions, but also mass, or signs of asbestos accumulation, pleural plaques and calcifications or scarring due to asbestosis and chronic inflammation.

Drain of the fluid is done by needle in the chest or abdominal cavity. The name is thoracocentesis or pleural aspiration from chest, and abdoparacentesis or peritoneal aspiration in tummy.

At modern days the CT (computerized tomography) scan is used more often. CT is a special x-ray machine that shows sliced images of your body. CT scan of chest or abdomen shows the swellings in organs, cavities, and lymph nodes. A contrast dye may help to the scan. CT scans show pleural effusion, pleural thickening, pleural calcification, spreading of tumor into chest wall. However, CT do not really distinguish benign asbestos disease, lung cancer or mesothelioma. Doctors also use CT scans for guiding needle aspiration of suspicious pleural masses.

Thoracoscopy is the procedure when a surgeon makes small cut in your chest wall between two ribs and looks through a thoracoscope (a tool with a video camera). The biopsy (tissue sample) goes to a lab to check for cancer cells.

Bronchoscopy allows doctors to look inside the airways. A thin flexible tube (bronchoscope) helps to get samples of tissue and send them sent to a lab for testing for cancer cells.

Mediastinoscopy checks mediastinum (the area in chest containing heart, great blood vessels, lymph nodes, esophagus, nerves and so on). Mediastinoscopy allows sampling lymph nodes in your body to look for metastases.

Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure when doctors look inside of your belly with a small camera-fitted tube. The surgeons will biopsy suspicious areas. The bioptate (the tissue sample) goes to the laboratory. A pathologist checks it under a microscope. Laparoscopy leaves a small cut on the skin of your belly. Another name of the same procedure is peritoneoscopy. The tool is named peritoneoscope.

Putting a needle into your abdomen and removing the fluid inside is named paracentesis Putting a needle into your chest and draining the fluid is named thoracentesis.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan gives a sliced picture of the inside of your body. It is better than X-ray or CT scan because there is no radiation of your body. However it requires significant time. Sometimes it takes up to 20 minutes. And some people afraid to stay in the machine for half an hour required for the test. Besides MRI has a limitation. The test requires avoiding metals in your bodies (like metal joints and other metal implants). MRI is not a routine test, so sometime it is not ordered. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is most commonly ordered to determine the extent of tumor to plan the surgery. MRI also easier than CT scans shows enlarged lymph nodes and surface of diaphragm and this is important for surgical planning.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) came recently for diagnosing different type of cancers and mesothelioma as well. PET uses special radioactive substances that emit positrons. Localized mesothelioma is confined to the pleura. Advanced mesothelioma spreads to the lungs, chest wall, abdomen and lymph nodes.

Pathological examination checks biopsy samples under the microscope It is difficulty to diagnose mesothelioma sometime. The cells of the tumor may be of many different types. These cells may look similar to other cancers. Peritoneal cells may look similar to pleural mesothelioma or other types of lung cancer and even ovarian cancer. Epithelioid type of mesothelioma is more common and considered better for treatment more than aggressive sarcomatous type. Biphasic mesothelioma is the mixture of both.

Doctors and scientists also proposed some immunological makers to find mesothelioma, however majority of the markers are not very specific. Just to mention: Epithelial membrane antigen, CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen √ very unspecific, may happen in many different cancers), Calretinin, Mesothelin, Cytokeratin, osteopontin and some others.

Look also: http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact, http://www.nlm.nih.gov, http://www.rdoctor.com

So, to recap, the tests used by doctors:

*X-rays

*CT scan

*Thoracocentesis

*Paracentesis

*Thoracoscopy

*Bronchoscopy

*MRI scan

*Mediastinoscopy

*Laparoscopy

*All kinds of biopsy

The diagnosis is done after careful evaluation of complaints, physical exam and imaging in addition to the biopsy.

Keywords: Diagnosis, asbestos cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, mesothelioma symptoms, peritoneal mesothelioma, lung cancer

Aleksandr Kavokin, MD, PhD. Medical Articles http://www.kavokin.com, Free On-line diagnostics at http://www.symptomat.com, http://www.rdoctor.com

Is Asbestos killing your family?

Mesothelioma is one of the worst diseases known to man, the average life expectancy is less than two years once the disease is diagnosed. Thousands of people every year are diagnosed with Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a Cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs and has a direct link to people who have come into direct contact with asbestos.

Mesothelioma is also known as Asbestos Cancer, it strikes many, many thousands of people across the world every year. Over three thousand people are diagnosed in the United States every year. Once a person is diagnosed with Mesothelioma they are usually dead within two years.

The people who are most likely to contract Mesothelioma are usually labourers who have worked in factories, in mines, in manufacturing facilities or have continually been in contact with Asbestos or Asbestos Dust.

Mesothelioma symptoms include: Shortness of Breath, Repetitive Coughing and painful chest and abdomen. Occasionally the patient my feel severe stabbing pains in the chest or abdomen. Mesothelioma symptoms usually only surface 35 - 50 years after Asbestos contact. However, if an individual displays symptoms of Mesothelioma they should consult a doctor immediately.

Mesothelioma is usually diagnosed through a chest X-Ray, Complete Blood Count, Biopsy or a Thoracotomy.

There are a number of different treatment options for people suffering from mesothelioma. The most common form of treatment is surgery, where doctors will try to remove as much of the Cancer as possible.

Palliative surgery is used when the disease is in a more advanced stage.It is used to relive or control symptoms where there is an accumulation of fluid in the lung or the tumour is pressing against the lung wall.

Radiation is used to kill cancer calls and shrink tumours, it works by firing high energy X-Rays at the tumour. Radiation has a few side effects, such as Vomiting, Nausea and general fatigue.

Chemotherapy is another way of treating mesothelioma cancer. Chemotherapy does not show a good success rate when it comes to treating mesothelioma cancer, the response rate is around 15%.

It's important to come to term with your cancer, by doing so will make your life more enjoyable by not living in anger, fear or sadness.

There are many groups that offer support to people living with mesothelioma cancer, ask your doctor first.

Anthony Gregory Helps to promote the following Sites:

Asbestos Survey
car insurance UK
SEO

Personal injury claims : Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral, which is heat resistant, insulating, and toxic. Asbestos was utilized in variety of everyday used products, such as for insulation of buildings and wiring, floor and ceiling tiles, up to around 1980 in United States. It was used in spite of evidence from early on that it was dangerous. As a result of this, large numbers of people have been exposed to asbestos for long periods. Thousands of people have developed life threatening deceases that have been linked to asbestos, such as asbestosis, peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma, and lung cancer.

Scientists have found that asbestos fibers when inhaled get clogged up in the lungs causing scaring and lesions, which in turn leads, to further complications and deceases including cancer, and eventually to death. Most of the asbestos related deceases do not surface for decades, which may explain the recent surge in number of people diagnosed with such deceases. People who were exposed to asbestos before 1980 at work including most construction workers, miners, shipbuilders, floor installers, insulators, auto repair workers and others are at serious risk of falling ill. Anyone who was exposed to asbestos even for a short time can with the help of a personal injury lawyer file a claim for compensation.

Asbestosis
Asbestosis is a non cancerous decease caused due to asbestos exposure. It develops when asbestos fibers get clogged in the lung. The resulting scars and inflammation stiffen the lungs and impede the flow of air through it, causing the symptoms of the decease, such as difficulty in breathing and severe cough. Anyone with asbestosis is considered to have an increased risk of other respiratory deceases. Pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma Pleural mesothelioma is a deadly lung cancer with no cure, caused by exposure to asbestos. The cancer is developed when asbestos fibers cause scars and lesions in the pleura (the membrane enveloping the lungs)

When asbestos fibers cause scars in peritoneum (the membrane lining the cavity of the abdomen) peritoneal mesothelioma develops. This decease is also a deadly cancer with no cure. Both these cancers may lie dormant for years, sometimes up to forty years after the exposure to asbestos. Symptoms when the cancer is diagnosed include chronic cough, stomach and chest pain, coughing of blood , shortness of breath, and weight loss. Presently there is no cure, but the cancer can be treated by surgery, removal of accumulated fluid from chest, chemotherapy, radiation, gene therapy, immunotherapy, and photodynamic therapy.

If a person believes he or she is at risk of developing any of these deceases they should seek medical attention immediately. In addition they should seek the assistance of a personal injury lawyer specializing in asbestos exposure related tort cases in order obtain compensation. The compensation may depend on several factors including, how long a person was exposed to asbestos, where he or she was exposed, and the present financial state of the companies legally responsible for the exposure that caused the person injury.

Personal injury resource center. Lots of great aritcles and other information about personal injury cases in areas across the US. Visit us at http://www.personalinjuryplace.com/

Mesothelioma: More About this Asbestos Cancer

Cancers and other forms of diseases are usually named
according to the part of the body or the internal organ
where abnormal growth of malignant cells takes place.
In the case of Mesothelioma, the abnormal cells grow in
the mesothelium, a surface cell layer that covers and
protects most internal organs. Normally, the
mesothelium produces small amount of fluid in order to
lubricate its layersone of which directly covers the
organand allow the movement of the organs, like the
expansion and contraction of the lungs. A Mesothelioma
cancer patients mesothelium produces too much of this
lubricating fluid, thereby damaging nearby tissues and
organs. The most common form of Mesothelioma is Pleural
Mesothelioma, which begins in the Pleural or
Peritoneum, the membrane that lines the chest cavity
and covers the lungs.

About 2,000 cases of Mesothelioma have been noted
yearly in United States. This is still a rare disease
to consider, although the reported incidents have
escalated in the past two decades. It has been observed
and proven that heavy and long exposure to asbestos is
the prime cause of Mesothelioma. Asbestos is a group of
minerals in strong, flexible and fibrous form. It is
used in industrial products such as cement, brake
linings, textiles, electrical insulation, flooring
products, chemical filters, fireproofing materials and
others. This explains why most Mesothelioma patients
are working in construction sites, shipyards and
manufacturing companies of said industrial products.
Small asbestos particles float in the air and are
either inhaled or swallowed by workers or persons
within the vicinity. Aside from Mesothelioma, these
people can acquire asbestosis, a non-cancerous chronic
lung sickness and other forms of cancer of the lungs,
cancer of the larynx and kidney.

Asbestos-related Mesothelioma comprise only 70 to 80
percent of the all the reported cases of the said
cancer. There are reported Mesothelioma cases wherein
the patients did not have any known exposure to
asbestos. Some have been exposed only for a short
period of time but still developed the cancer 20 to 50
years after the exposure, like in the case of a
Mesothelioma cancer patient who only washed clothes
that have been exposed to asbestos. Likewise, asbestos
fibers that have been stuck in the hair strands of a
factory worker can also risk the health of others whom
he lives with. It is therefore important for workers
exposed to asbestos to change their clothes and take a
shower before leaving the workplace to prevent his
family members or companions from inhaling the asbestos
particles and thus, from acquiring Mesothelioma.

The Mesothelioma cancer is slow-forming. Thats why one
develops the cancer so many years after the exposure to
asbestos. Some develop the cancer fifty years after the
exposure, which makes it hard to determine whether the
person has Mesothelioma or not, especially when the
patient has no knowledge of the exposure to asbestos.
Moreover, malignant Mesothelioma shows signs similar to
those of other ailments such as pneumonia. Symptoms of
Pleural Mesothelioma also evident in other illnesses
include: shortness of breath, persistence of cough,
weight loss and chest pain. Peritoneal Mesothelioma,
which affects the abdominal cavity, is indicated by
swelling of and pain in the abdomen, weight loss, bowel
obstruction, anemia, blood clotting abnormalities and
fever.
Complete physical examination is needed to make sure
one has Mesothelioma cancer. This includes xrays of the
body part where the symptoms are felt or seen, CT scan
and MRI. To confirm Mesothelioma, a biopsy is also
performed by a surgeon or oncologist (a physician who
is specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of a
cancer). The sample tissue removed by the surgeon is
examined by the pathologist. Once confirmed, the doctor
then finds out the extent of the cancer, which is
crucial to the treatment of Mesothelioma. Although
malignant, Mesothelioma when earlier diagnosed can
still be treated. Most Mesothelioma patients undergo
surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
David Arnold Livingston is an advocate for Health
and recommends, as a resource:
http://www.newmesothelioma.com/MesotheliomaCancer/