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The main reason responsible for pericardial mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can damage different portions of your body. Similar to other mesothelioma forms, symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma can take ten to fifteen years to show up. If you have been diagnosed with this disease, you will find cancerous tissues around the heart lining. The pericardium plays a vital part in body functioning especially when it comes to protecting your heart.

Symptoms

Tissue expansion and fluid accumulation will happen when there is a fast growth of the cancerous tumors. The fluid can have a negative impact on the proper functioning of your heart causing irregular heartbeat and chest pain. When you complain of chest pain, you are going to be diagnosed. Some of the less common symptoms of this disease are cough, fever, fatigue and shortness of breath.

Individuals suffering from pericardial mesothelioma can exhibit all three types of mesothelioma cancer cells. It includes epithelioid mesothelioma, biphasic mesothelioma and sarcomatoid mesothelioma. Your prognosis can be affected by the kind of cancer cells. Recent study has come to the conclusion that individuals with biphasic mesothelioma cancer cells normally have a shorter life expectancy.

Treatments

Cancer surgery is not a good option for individuals that are diagnosed with pericardial mesothelioma. Prognosis for patients of pericardial mesothelioma is grim and often palliative treatment is an only option available for them. By opting for this treatment, your overall life quality is going to improve. Another good thing about this treatment is that it decreases the complexity of symptoms that happen because of fluid buildup in the pericardium. To get rid of excess fluid, there is a strong possibility that fine needle routine can be implemented. Radiation therapy can also play a significant part in removing excess fluid.

Diagnosis

Accurate and quick pericardial mesothelioma diagnosis is tough because of the non-specificity of the symptoms. To diagnose this form of cancer, your health care provider needs to take into consideration your symptoms, past medical record and current medical state. In the initial stage, all the focus is on the medical records and conducting physical examination.

To evaluate the exact location of cancer, your health care provider will conduct plenty of imaging tests. MRI tests are the way to go if you are looking to get an idea of cancer stage. The diagnosis of pericardial mesothelioma ends with a biopsy. The main objective of doing biopsy is to get a proper understanding of the cancer origin point.

While there is still no cure for mesothelioma cancer, the forms of treatment and care are being worked on so that the life expectancy of patients can increase. New and improved methods of treatments are being tested to work on the quality of patient’s life and reduce pain.

Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer that affects the lining of the lung, lining of the abdominal cavity or the lining around the heart. It is caused by the exposure to asbestos and occurs in those who have breathed in asbestos fibres. Mesothelioma may not show until 20 to 50 years after the contact with asbestos which is why it was widely used in various industries for many years without anyone realising the damage it was doing to the health of the people working with it. It is estimated that by 2029, 250,000 workers in Western Europe alone will have died from Mesothelioma.

Asbestos is the name given to a group of minerals that occurs naturally in the environment, these bundles of fibres can be separated into thin durable threads which are resistant to heat, fire and chemicals and do not conduct electricity. These properties mean that asbestos was widely used in many industries including building and construction, roofing, fireproofing, shipbuilding and the automotive industry. Asbestos was also used to make ceiling and floor tiles, paint, adhesives and plastics. In the late 1970s the dangers of asbestos were first recognized and it was banned in certain industries. Nowadays asbestos is rarely used at all and any found in domestic or industrial building is carefully removed or encased by experts.

The primary symptom of Mesothelioma is shortness of breath; sufferers may also be affected by a persistent and productive cough, chest tightness, chest pain, loss of appetite and a crackling sound in the lungs when inhaling. Chest X-rays are the most common method of detecting this disease but other techniques can be used such as pulmonary function tests, Biopsy/Bronchoscopy and CT scans. The treatment for Mesothelioma depends on the location of the cancer, how developed it is and the patient’s age and general health. Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Everyone is exposed to asbestos at some time as low levels of the mineral are present in the air, water and soil. However it is generally only people who have been exposed to larger quantities on a regular basis who become ill. The main factors which determine how an individual is affected by asbestos exposure are dose, duration, size, shape and chemical makeup of asbestos fibres, source and individual health factors such as smoking and lung condition. Since the 1940s millions of American workers have been exposed to asbestos, some of the most hazardous trades being shipbuilding, asbestos mining and milling and construction and building.

Workers involved in the rescue, recovery and cleanup at the site of the September 11 attacks on the world trade centre are another group at risk of developing Mesothelioma or other asbestos related disease. Asbestos was used in the construction of the North Tower of the WTC and hundreds of tons were released into the atmosphere when the building collapsed. The firefighters, police, paramedics, construction workers and volunteers are most at risk, but also nearby residents and school children will need to be followed to determine the long term consequences of their exposure.

Steve Batchelor is the webmaster at www.cancerhelpguides.info where you can find relevant and informative information on many different cancer types. He also recommends infogoldmine for more info on cancer treatments and care as well as many other subjects.