Mesothelioma is a rare disease although the number of patients with mesothelioma has been on the rise. Every year, more than 2,000 new cases are afflicted with mesothelioma in the United States of America alone and this fatal cancer mostly affects male than female while older people are at higher risk than the younger group.
About 8 out of 10 mesothelioma cases are connected with exposures to asbestos although rarely, several cases are reported without any connection of having asbestos exposures.
These cases of asbestos associated diseases are mostly detected in people who happened to be exposed to asbestos particles for a longer period. Nevertheless, there are people working with asbestos related products for years and have not yet experienced major health related troubles.
The symptoms and signs of mesothelioma patients may not come out at the initial stage. They may come out after 30 to 50 years from the person?s first connections to asbestos regularly. When the signs come, they may manifest chest pains, stomach pain, swelling of the abdominal area and others. Patients demonstrate heavy weight loss in these phases too.
When the disease happens in the abdomen, the patient may suffer from constipation, anemia, fever and extraordinary blood clotting patterns. When mesothelioma attacks the mesothelium and propagates further from the mesothelium to the other parts of the body, these patients experience pain, swelling of the neck and swallowing problem. As these symptoms manifest with other health issues as well, it is imperative to consult a physician to diagnose the real cause.
Treatment procedure for mesothelioma depends on the area it occurs in the body. Age and the health conditions of the patients are also important factors when treating these people. Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and other related treatments are common treatments though nothing much can be done for the survival of the patients except extending prognosis period.
