In as much as the symptoms of each mesothelioma cancer is different from one another, being aware of how the symptoms vary will be very important in determining early treatment for the disease. In this article, we will be looking at what symptoms represent peritoneal, pericardial, and testicular mesothelioma.
Peritoneal Mesothelioma Symptoms
Basically, peritoneal mesothelioma is cancer of the lining which surrounds the abdomen and represents between 23% and 30% of the mesothelioma cases. Only around 50% of individuals who are diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma have known history of the exposure to asbestos. The initial appearance of symptoms varies considerably, which depends on the individual. The most common initial symptoms and signs of peritoneal mesothelioma are swelling and abdominal pain, loss of appetite or anorexia, fluid buildup in the abdomen or ascites, and significant weight loss. Additionally, individuals may experience nausea, fever, and pose the signs of anemia. Irritable bowel syndrome, which is also known as IBS, and inguinal hernia are generally mistaken diagnoses.
Pericardial Mesothelioma Symptoms
The cancer of the lining which surrounds the heart is referred to as pericardial mesothelioma, which is a very rare cancer representing less than 1% of mesothelioma cases and is often diagnosed after the patient dies. The most common symptoms and signs that are associated with pericardial mesothelioma are heart murmur, chest pain, the fluid buildup in the sac which surrounds the heart, irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia, night sweats, and fever. Depending of the dominant symptom, pericardial mesothelioma can be quite mistaken for heart failure, inflammation of the lining of the heart, coronary heart disease, and muscle inflammation.
Testicular Mesothelioma Symptoms
The cancer growing on the lining which covers the testes or tunica vaginalis is known as testicular mesothelioma. Testicular mesothelioma is also found to be very rare, which represents less than 1% of mesothelioma cases. Only about 30% of patients diagnosed with testicular mesothelioma. The symptoms of testicular mesothelioma include painless enlargement of the scrotum, solid mass, and fluid accumulation (hydrocele).
Metastatic Mesothelioma Symptoms
Metastasis is known as the spread of caner to various parts of the body away from its original growth area. The symptoms that are caused by metastases may not appear in the area where the mesothelioma developed initially. When the symptoms do actually appear, there appear to be some evidence of the advanced mesothelioma. The most common symptoms associated with metastatic mesothelioma are laryngeal nerve palsy, which occurs due to damage to the laryngeal nerve resulting in paralysis of the voice box, coughing or spitting up blood (more commonly known as hemoptysis), nerve issues such as the problems with the arms, and Horner’s syndrome.
To sump, the symptoms of different mesothelioma vary to some great extent, and that makes it rather difficult, if not impossible, to detect the early sign of mesothelioma at the early age. This is associated with the dormancy period of the cancer. The dormancy or latency period of mesothelioma is between thirty and forty five years. But, this latency period can be significantly shortened by various factors as extremely high levels of exposure to asbestos. These influential factors lead to very few individuals being diagnosed with the early stage 1 mesothelioma.
