What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is the medical name for cancer of the pleura (lining of the lungs and chest cavity) or cancer of the peritoneum (abdominal lining). This is usually caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that occurs in the thin tissue that covers most internal organs (mesothelium). Mesothelioma Doctors divide into several types based on which part of this cancer occurs. Among others:

• malignant pleural mesothelioma, occurs in tissues that line around the lungs and is the most common type.
• Peritoneal mesothelioma, occurring in tissues that line the stomach.
• pericardial mesothelioma, occurring in the tissue lining around the heart.
• Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis, occurs in the lining around the testicles.

Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until between twenty and fifty years after exposure, which explains why so many new cases of this form of cancer that comes into the present.

As with other cancers, mesothelioma tumor can spread rapidly, often infecting the opposite pleura, and proceed to other internal organs. Symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and weight loss.