Benign Mesothelioma Information

Posted by admin on June 27, 2008

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Most people who develop benign mesothelioma have operated in places where asbestos is the main product being mined, manufactured or deals with sale of products made from it. Doctors cautions that if these people inhale or ingest the asbestos dust particles over a long period of time without wearing protective clothing and equipment, they are at this risk. This dust will then be settled in various body parts such as lungs and the abdominal cavity.

Benign mesothelioma cancer- this is also the localized mesothelioma that will only be found on the membrane surface where it originated.

Types

There can either be benign pleural (chest cavity parts) cancer or peritoneal benign (abdominal parts) cancer. This depends on which parts are diagnosed with cancer first, but most patients, show up pleural cancer. If this cancer becomes malignant it will affect other parts of the body.

Symptoms of benign mesothelioma

Benign mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelium, a disease in which cells of the mesothelium (membrane that covers many internal body parts) become abnormal but will not spread to other parts.

They can not attack and damage nearby tissues and organs. Most cases of benign mesothelioma begin in the pleura or peritoneum. When this happens one may start seeing some early signs that one is likely to send home as insignificant common problems.

Then if one has pleural benign mesothelioma, they will show the following symptoms: Shortness of breath and pain in the chest wall due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleura are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. Additionally, one may also experience pleural effusion or a fluid surrounding the lungs, fatigue, anemia, wheezing, hoarseness, cough and blood in the fluid coughed up (sputum).

Contrary to this, one may also suffer from peritoneal benign cancer which is the tumor that affects the abdominal cavity. The symptoms include: abdominal pain, abnormal accumulation of fluid in the stomach, a mass in the abdomen, bowel obstruction and weight loss.

Benign mesothelioma diagnosis

Review process- this enables the doctor to learn about you medical history and if you have had exposure to asbestos.

Physical test- a physical test will enable the doctor to start the proper diagnosis process where a number of things will be done. X-ray show pleural solidifying generally seen after the asbestos exposure.

CT and MRI scan is a chain of comprehensive pictures of areas inside the body that could be affected; they are viewed on a monitor and can also be printed. These should show if there are benign cells or not.

A biopsy is required to confirm a diagnosis that the doctor performs on mesothelioma.

Thoracoscopy is where the doctor uses a tool called a thorascope inserted between the two ribs to get the tissue material, after making a small cut on the victim’s chest.

Peritoneoscopy- if the doctor need to get tissue sample from the abdominal cavity, he execute this procedure using a peritoneoscope. This is inserted through a small opening that a he or she makes on the abdomen and is able to search and clutch some tissue samples.

If the diagnosis is benign mesothelioma, the doctor will then want to find out how far the cancer has gone. Staging involves more unique tests.

Benign mesothelioma treatment

The treatments of benign mesothelioma consist of three typical treatment options which are chemotherapy, radiotherapy or radiation therapy and surgery. Patients should discuss which among the three options they want to use.