Mesotheioloma Types
Mesotheioloma is not a one size fits all cancer. This disease may manifest itself in different places within the human body and can cause a variety of issues for the patient. Understanding the type of Mesotheioloma can be helpful in knowing how it affects you or your loved one.
Three primary branches – one tree
The tree primary types of Mesotheioloma include Pleural, Peritoneal and Pericardial. The primary culprit is asbestos exposure and can take from 20-50 years to fully develop. There is one of these cancer types that may not always develop due to asbestos exposure.
Let’s take a closer look at the primary types of Mesotheioloma.
Pleural
The National Cancer Institute describer the pleura as, “A thin layer of tissue that covers the lungs and lines the interior wall of the chest cavity. It protects and cushions the lungs. This tissue secretes a small amount of fluid that acts as a lubricant, allowing the lungs to move smoothly in the chest cavity while breathing.”
It is the pleural layer that is often the location of cancer in Mesotheioloma patients. In fact this type of Mesotheioloma is considered the most common type.
The problems begin when small, but fibrous asbestos particles are inhaled. The small fibers irritate air passageways within the lungs. This may result in coughing, but the patient likely remains healthy in most other ways. This irritation can cause scarring within the lungs. A secondary event takes place in this environment. The cells the asbestos comes in contact with will often become abnormal. In some individuals this condition leads to the development of cancer cells that take over the abnormal cells.
The lining of the Pleura then becomes increasingly thick and accumulates more of the fluid designed to keep the lungs lubricated. The end result is a significant decrease in lung capacity making it difficult for patients to feel as if they are getting enough oxygen.
Peritoneal
The peritoneal is essentially the lining of the abdomen. Mesotheioloma can make its presence known in this cavity as well. Some may ask how a fibrous substance like asbestos could cause cancer in a location other than the lungs. There seems to be two schools of thought on this subject. A patient could be diagnosed with Pleural Mesotheioloma, but that cancer may have spread beyond the lungs to the abdomen in which case the patient would have both Pleural as well as Peritoneal Cancer.
The second thought is that asbestos fibers may be ingested instead of inhaled. The landing spot for these fibers would be in the stomach and/or intestines. This may provide an explanation as to how asbestos can cause Mesotheioloma in the abdomen if there is no evidence of Pleural Mesotheioloma in the patient.
Like the Pleura the asbestos causes problems with the lubrication mechanism - in this case that would be the abdomen. This can lead to a variety of stomach complaints that are not remedied through traditional medications.
Pericardial
This is the least diagnosed version of the primary three Mesotheioloma types and affects the heart. The prevailing belief is that most cases begin in the lungs and move on the heart. Like the other types of Mesotheioloma this too affects lubricating fluid around the organ. Among all other types of cancer affecting the heart Pericardial Mesotheioloma is rare. Some have argued that this type of Mesotheioloma is the only one that can’t be directly related to asbestos exposure except in the event of spread from the lungs.
A related cancer
Tunica vaginalis is another location where Mesotheioloma may occur. Essentially this is a testicular cancer and may have some connection to peritoneal cancer although some in the medical profession dispute a connection. In many cases patients can experience full recovery from this type of cancer if they did not experience additional cancer spread. Some who have been diagnosed with this type of Mesotheioloma don’t seem to have a direct connection to asbestos exposure.
The next step
In our next section we take a look at treatment options for Mesotheioloma patients.
We also provide a separate section that will deal with alternative treatment options that allow many cancer patients to experience hope.
