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Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is very often linked to patience who during a period of their lives had a high level of exposure to asbestos or asbestos fibres or by products. People with the greatest risk of contracting mesothelioma are people that have worked in an environment where they were continually exposed to asbestos and where they inhaled asbestos particles. It is also not uncommon for the family members of people who worked with asbestos to contract mesothelioma due to their prolonged exposure to asbestos particles that were transported in their family member clothing etc. In the case of other forms of lung cancer there is a direct association between smoking, or the inhalation of smoke particles to the disease, however the contraction of mesothelioma appears to have no link to whether or not the person was a smoker. There is no proven evidence that smoking has anything to do with the development of mesothelioma cancer.
There are a number of symptoms connected to mesothelioma that could indicate the development of the disease. Shortness of breath, weight loss and chest pain are some of the signs that could indicate that there may be an occurrence of mesothelioma. The symptoms of chest pain and shortness of breath could be due to the fact that mesothelioma causes a fluid build up between the lung and the chest wall. This intern produces pressure and discomfort as well as reducing the lungs capacity causing shortness of breath. It is, however, often quite difficult to actually diagnose the diseases as the symptoms displayed by mesothelioma sufferers are very similar to a number of other lung conditions. The correct process of diagnosis often starts with a medical review of the patient past to try and determine if there has been a history of asbestos exposure. Once this has been confirmed by the doctor they have a better chance of diagnosing mesothelioma. The earlier mesothelioma is diagnosed the better the survival rate of the patients. More...
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