ADSENSE HERE!
types of mesothelioma
What Are
the Types of Mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma
is a rare kind of cancer that develops in the tissue covering most of your
organs. There are four different types of this disease. What kind you have
depends on where in your body it develops.
 |
| types of mesothelioma |
Mesothelioma in the Lungs (Pleural
Mesothelioma)
This is the most common form of the disease. It accounts
for about 75% of all mesothelioma cases. There are about 2,500 to 3,000 cases
of it every year in the United States.
Symptoms: You
might feel pain in your chest or when you cough. You may have shortness
of breath and unexplained weight loss. Lumps often will form under theskin on
your chest.
Causes: Asbestos is
the main culprit. These mineral fibers were once widely used to build houses
and other products. That’s because the fibers are resistant to heat and fire.
But doctors later learned that they can get stuck in yourlungs when you
inhale them. This can cause inflammation and scarring. Over many
years, this can lead to the development of mesothelioma in your
lungs.Your
genes and other factors also influence your risk.
Diagnosis: Mesothelioma shares a lot of symptoms with other diseases, so
diagnosing it is tricky. Your doctor might order X-rays of your chest, or do a
CT scan to look for signs of asbestos exposure. He might also do a PET scan to
find out where the cancer has spread. All of these imaging tests can help him
see if something is wrong. If so, he’ll have to take a small lung tissue sample
(biopsy) to know for sure if it’s mesothelioma.
Treatment:
It’ll depend on how advanced your cancer is. Your doctor may perform more
imaging tests to figure out what stage of the disease you’re in. There are four
stages. The higher the number, the more the cancer has spread.
If it’s in the early stages, you might need surgery. It can sometimes cure
the cancer. In other cases, it just helps reduce your symptoms. You might also
need chemotherapy, or "chemo." This can be used alone or before
surgery to help shrink your cancer or to keep it from spreading as fast. It can
also sometimes be used after surgery to reduce the chance of the cancer coming back.
Radiation therapy after surgery might help kill any cancer cells that are still
in your body.
Most
of the time, mesothelioma isn’t diagnosed until it’s advanced. If it’s too far
along, doctors can’t operate. In that case, your doctor might suggest
treatments to control your symptoms.
ADSENSE HERE!
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar