Sunday, September 12, 2010

Info With Regards To Mesothelioma And Diagnosis

By Jerri Rauls

Mesothelioma is a very tricky disease. Symptoms may take a long time to become obvious like in many types of lung cancers.

Usually, those who are affected are people who have been overexposed to asbestos. Mesothelioma can go untreated and unnoticed for as much as 25 years until it is often too late. Unfortunately, when symptoms are present it is often too late to combat the cancer. Very few treatments are available at this point.

Symptoms of mesothelioma can vary from person to person, which adds to the difficulty in detecting the disease. Mesothelioma symptoms depend on the type of mesothelioma one has. Moreover, it is easy to misdiagnose Mesothelioma because the symptoms often take the form of other illnesses.

The best chance of detecting the disease is a careful review of the history of the patient. If your work history reveals that you have worked with asbestos extensively then you should go have yourself examined immediately.Testing that is currently used is quite expensive. Because of this many doctors will forgo testing unless there is a specific cause for concern.

If all goes well, new tests will be developed and released shortly that will help diagnose earlier. If they succeed, then the effectiveness of treatment will increase exponentially.

Because of the difficulty in diagnosing Mesothelioma and the fact that it is commonly mistaken for other disease, the cancer is given even more time to take root. Many patients have fallen victim to a misdiagnosis which occurs commonly unless the doctor is privy to the fact that the patient has handled asbestos.

When it comes to treatment, a patient is limited to just three options.The treatments include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.Surgery is the most common option since it allows for removal of the infected area. The linings of various organs must be separated from the rest of the body and taken out for the surgery to be effective. What cannot be removed by surgical means must be killed using radiation.Chemotherapy can also be used to kill off cancer cells. None of these treatments work by themselves and sometimes not even in conjunction if the cancer was given the opportunity to grow uncontrollably for a long period of time.

Unfortunately, such is the fate of many Mesothelioma sufferers.It is difficult to detect during early stages when cancer is best treated. Further preventing its diagnosis is the pricetag associated with the tests. Most doctors suspect other diseases before testing for mesothelioma. Therefore, it is extremely critical that if you have been exposed to asbestos at some point in your life that you contact your doctor immediately and let them know. Doing this will increase the chances of early detection, successful treatment, and longer life.

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