Pleural Mesothelioma – Its Symptoms, Development, and Stages
Our body can contract illnesses that may lead to death. One illness that is not known to many of us but can be life threatening if present is pleural mesothelioma. The video that follows below provides a very good overview of this condition.
What is Pleural Mesothelioma?
To understand this condition it is important to know what the key terms mean.
The first term would be “mesothelioma”. This term is used to refer to a rare form of cancer of the mesothelium cells. The mesothelium refers to the lining that covers and protects the organs inside our bodies.
The second term is “pleural”. This came from the word pleura, referring to the lining which protects our lungs.
Thus, this condition is a cancer in the pleura. Pleural mesothelioma can be contracted if you have been exposed to asbestos, usually over longer periods of time.
How To Know if You Have Pleural Mesothelioma?
Before a patient is diagnosed with this condition, they generally experience what appear to be common illnesses. If you know that you were exposed to asbestos visit a doctor to check for this condition. You need to get a check-up if any of these symptoms are experienced:
• Weight loss – especially if there is no cause such as dieting or exercise
• Pain emanating from the chest; also called pleurisy
• Pain in the lower back area
• Dry (and commonly painful) cough or coughing blood (hemoptysis)
• Swelling in the arms and face
• Fever
• Dyspnea – difficulty in breathing
• Buildup of fluid in the affected area, also called pleural effusion
• Chest lumps
Some of these symptoms are experienced by people who have other respiratory problems. Since pleural mesothelioma is rare many doctors do not order a biopsy to determine if cancer cells are present in the body.
How Does Pleural Mesothelioma Develop?
Here is a physiological explanation about what happens inside the body of a person who has this condition:
• When a person has inhaled asbestos particles, the pleura (both the parietal and visceral) become irritated and may become inflamed.
• The body will try its best to expel the inhaled asbestos through coughing. However, not all particles can be expelled. The particles that remain lead to scarring of the pleura.
• The scarred tissue becomes the cause of tumors and genetic damage.
It often takes between 10 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos before the pleura develops the cancer. This form of cancer easily spreads to other organs in the body. This is because the pleura and the lungs are close to many vital organs.
The 4 Stages of Pleural Mesothelioma
Just like other cancers, pleural mesothelioma also has 4 stages of severity. These stages are as follows, along with a brief description of what these are:
• Stage 1 – the cancer cells are only located in the pleura
• Stage 2 – cancer cells now spread to a larger area in the lungs, some parts of the diaphragm, and lymph nodes around the organ are also affected
• Stage 3 – nearby organs and a larger number of lymph nodes are affected by the cancer cells
• Stage 4 – all lymph nodes and other organs are affected.
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