Pleural Mesothelioma
Plueral mesothelioma can be either malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous).
Benign pleural mesotehlioma is almost always non-life threatening and is often removed through surgery.
Malignant plueral mesothelioma is much more serious. It is most often linked to exposure to asbestos. It is malignant pleural mesothelioma that we will talk about on this page.
Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the pleura. The pleura is a lining that goes around the lungs to protect them from damage against other parts of the body that they lie next to.
Pleural mesothelioma is the most common kind of mesothelioma. Around 75% of mesothelioma cases affect the pleura. It is caused by breathing in airborne asbestos particles. It is not yet known how the asbestos leads to mesothelioma. It is also not known if just one asbestos fiber can cause a mesotehlioma tumor or whether it takes a larger number.
Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include shortness of breath, weight loss, weakness, chest or lower back pains, loss of appetite or trouble swallowing and persistent coughing. It is also sometimes the case that the disease can be discovered during a routine chest x-ray. However, to confirm a diagnosis a biopsy (either needle or open) will be necessary so that the sample can be tested by a pathologist.
The cancer causes a build up of fluid in the lining around the lung. This is called “pleural effusions”. It can mean that sufferers may have trouble breathing. Because of this it may be necessary to perform a procedure to drain some of this fluid from the lungs.
As the tumor spreads it can cause the pleura to thicken. This can gradually restrict the movement of the lungs and therefore breathing becomes increasingly more difficult and can become troublesome even while resting.
As the tumor grows it can then spread to the chest wall and the ribs. The average survival time from the point of diagnosis is about one year, although for some people it can be as long as ten years. As with almost all cancers, the sooner it is diagnosed and treatment begins, the longer the life expectancy.