Basically, the symptoms of mesothelioma can oftentimes be confused with the other warning signs of some other less serious disease. In addition, the long latency period of the disease makes people unaware of how deadly the disease can be.
The Key Points about the Symptoms of Mesothelioma
It is very hard to diagnose mesothelioma based on the occurring symptoms alone-commonly a biopsy is needed. The symptoms which are experienced by patients diagnosed with mesothelioma are dependent on the cell type and location of the tumors in the patient’s body. If you experience some symptoms of mesothelioma, you should contact your doctor immediately. In the majority of mesothelioma cases, the symptoms develop one or even three decades after the initial exposure to asbestos-related products. Many of the initial symptoms are often not so obvious and resemble the symptoms of other, more common health conditions. As a corollary, individuals may not pay proper and serious attention to their symptoms, and physician often incorrectly diagnose mesothelioma for some other diseases. Once the symptoms get more serious, an average of 4 months elapses before most individuals that are diagnosed with mesothelioma are accurately detected.
What are Mesothelioma Symptoms?
The symptoms may vary significantly, which depends on the type of mesothelioma person suffers from. Most people in the initial stage of mesothelioma will feel no symptoms at all or will hardly identify them. As the disease develops, the types of symptoms which manifest will depend on the specific organ that is included, be it lung, heart, testes, or abdomen. A lot of symptoms are caused in part by the increased pressure in those organs from getting thicker of the lining and the buildup of fluid which results from tumor growth. When the cancer spreads or metastasizes to the other areas in the body, a wider range of cancerous symptoms may occur, which depends on the area affected.
Mesothelioma may Resemble Other Diseases
There are lots of possibilities that mesothelioma symptoms are confused with the other less serious diseases. For instance, mesothelioma which develops in the lining of the lungs, known as pleural mesothelioma, is likely to be mistaken for the pneumonia or flu. Mesothelioma that affects the abdomen, known as peritoneal mesothelioma, may be misdiagnosed as an inguinal hernia or irritable bowel syndrome, also known as IBS. If the heart is affected, which will commonly lead to pericardial mesothelioma, the symptoms may be similar to those related to heart failure, pericarditis, and coronary heart disease. A rare form of the cancer which affects the testicles may be confused with hernia.
The Most Common Symptoms of Mesothelioma
The most common signs as well as symptoms of mesothelioma will vary by the type of cell and location.
- Pleural mesothelioma: chest pain, shortness of breath, and fluid buildup around the lungs.
- Peritoneal mesothelioma: bloating from the buildup of fluid in the ascites or abdominal cavity, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and weight loss.
- Pericardial mesothelioma: fluid buildup in the sac which surrounds the heart, chest pain, and abnormal heart sounds.
- Testicular mesothelioma: hydrocele.
