Cancer is among the leading causes of death that affects people from all walks of life. According to Cancer.Net, there are over 120 different types of cancer and related genetic syndromes. Malignant mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that usually develops in the mesothelium, a protective lining that shields various organs within a person’s body.
When individuals are exposed to asbestos and inhale the microscopic fibers they produce, they will enter your body when you ingest or inhale them. Once they are inside your body, the asbestos fibers will start to cause some discomfort in your internal organ because they usually don’t decompose. When the irritation continues for a long time, the fiber will affect your cellular and start mutating and lead to mesothelioma. The symptom of cancer will become visible after some decade from the initial exposure. Here are the different mesothelioma types that the Mesothelioma Cancer Network advises you to understand where and when they start to develop.
Pleural mesothelioma
This type of mesothelioma will start developing in the lining of a person’s lungs. It is the most common type that affects people as it accounts for about 75% to 80% of all the detected cases yearly. The early symptoms that will be detected about pleural mesothelioma include persistent coughing, the development of lumps underneath a person’s skin, difficulty eating and breathing, and fluid buildup in the lungs. As cancer progresses, a person will start to have painful tumors in their body.
The disease has stages in development. During the early stages, you will contain it in the main lung systems. As it develops, it will spread to other parts of the body. It is important that the moment you detect some of its symptoms, you seek early treatment. A surgery procedure can help remove the infected tissues and tumors and slow their progression.
Peritoneal mesothelioma
This type occurs in the lining around an individual chest, which offers protection to the abdominal organs. It is the second most prominent type of mesothelioma. When you inhale asbestos fibers and ingest them into your system, the ingested fibers will lodge in the digestive tract system and cause damage for so many years. This type of mesothelioma accounts for 10% to 20% of all the cases detected yearly.
The most prominent symptoms you can experience and know you are developing peritoneal mesothelioma are abdominal pain and swelling. You may also experience loss of appetite, diarrhea, constipation, and weight loss. As the tumor will continue growing, and the swelling and other systems will get worse. The good news about this type of cancer is that experts believe it is the easiest type when it comes to treatment.
Pericardial mesothelioma
Lastly, there is pericardial mesothelioma which commonly develops around a person’s heart lining areas. This form of mesothelioma accounts for only 1% of the annual cases that are reported. It presents similar dangers just the other two. Because it is rear type, experts have not fully understood how it develops or how the micro-scoping fibers of asbestos reach the heart lining.
Common symptoms it displays include chest pain, shortness of breath, chronic cough, and heart irregularities. As it continues to build up more fluid in the heart, the symptoms will worsen over time. There is a work in progress to develop a unified treatment plane for this rear form of mesothelioma. However, you can still get help using other multiple treatment procedures that doctors will administer.
