10 Common Mesothelioma Symptoms

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that occurs when a person has been exposed to too much asbestos. What happens is the lining around the organs, (called the mesothelium), becomes afflicted by tumors, which will eventually spread to other parts of the body. Mesothelioma is a very serious disease that does not have a good prognosis. However, it is still important that a person at least know if they are suffering with the disease. With treatment they can at least have a better quality of life, even if the prognosis is not as good. So, if you experience any of the 10 common mesothelioma symptoms, get yourself checked out as soon as possible. For more information on the 10 common mesothelioma symptoms, check out the list below.
1. Pleural Effusion
First to be discussed in the list of them is pleural effusion. Pleural effusion is when too much fluid builds up in the lining of the lungs. As a result a person may experience chest pain and dyspenea, (which is defined as difficulty breathing).
2. Coughing Up Blood
Coughing up blood is probably one of the most alarming in the list of the 10 common mesothelioma symptoms. It may be accompanied by difficulty swallowing or hoarseness.
3. Horner's Syndrome
Horner's syndrome is a collection of abnormal symptoms such as the sinking in of an eyeball, droopy eyelids, abnormal pupil constriction, and anhidrosis, (which is a lack of sweating). These complications are a result of nerve paralysis.
4. Weight Loss
Many people may not think weight loss is one of the 10 common mesothelioma symptoms, but it can be for a lot of sufferers. If weight loss is unexplained and a person has any of the other symptoms listed here, they should go to a doctor.
5. Lumps
Lumps around the skin of a person's chest or abdomen is another poignant sign in the list of the 10 common mesothelioma symptoms. If you can't see these lumps, you should be able to feel them when you go to take a bath or a shower.
6. Dry Cough
When a mesothelioma sufferer has a dry cough, there will be no phlegm associated with
it. So, that right there should be an indication that the cough is not due to a cold.
7. Abdominal Swelling
If you have mesothelioma of the stomach lining, (also known as Peritoneal mesothelioma), you may have abdominal swelling severe enough that you may think you have actually gained weight. In reality the swelling is caused by the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity.
8. Problems with Bowel Habits
Peritoneal mesothelioma can also cause you to have more bouts of diarrhea or constipation.
9. Aches and Pains throughout the Body
When mesothelioma metastasizes into other areas of the body, sufferers will experience complications from those organs as well. One of the most common complications is pain.
10. No Symptoms
Why would 'no symptoms' be in the list of the 10 common mesothelioma symptoms? Well, believe it or not, around 3 percent of all mesothelioma sufferers actually do not have the typical signs of the disease. If you believe you are in this category, and you are at high risk for the condition, (you are elderly and have been exposed to asbestos), discuss with your doctor getting checked out for the condition just to be on the safe side.
By Steven Pedersen

Mesothelioma Cancer and Asbestos

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer which occurs in thin membranes (called the mesothelium) lining the chest, lungs, abdomen and sometimes the heart. Although quite rare, mesothelioma symptoms strike more than 200 people each year in the United States. The majority of mesothelioma cases are directly linked to asbestos exposure.

Because of the long latency period of mesothelioma, the average age of patients is between 50 and 70 years. Mesothelioma affects men most due to the high exposure of asbestos in industrial typed jobs. Mesothelioma symptoms include respiratory problems, shortness of breath, continual cough and pneumonia. Other mesothelioma symptoms include weight loss, abdominal problems and swelling. In some mesothelioma patients, the mesothelioma symptoms are quite muted, making it hard for mesothelioma doctors to diagnose.

Mesothelioma doctors specialize in the study, research, and treatments of Mesothelioma cancers.

Mesothelioma (or the cancer of the mesothelium) is a disease in which cells become abnormal and replicate without control. During Mesothelioma, these cells will invade and damage tissues and organs. Mesothelioma cancer cells can spread throughout the body causing death.

Mesothelioma treatments and Mesothelioma clinical trials and tests

There are many mesothelioma treatment options available. Treatments include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy and the mesothelioma treatment depends on the patient’s age, general health and stage of the cancer. There has been much mesothelioma research conducted throughout the past two years to find new treatment methods. Click here to read more about mesothelioma treatment techniques.

Through mesothelioma research, The National Cancer Institute has sponsored mesothelioma tests and clinical trials that are designed to find new treatment methods. Because of the increase in number of mesothelioma cases in the United States, both governments have increased funding for mesothelioma research. Mesothelioma research and clinical trials have been successful in developing new techniques to fight this cancer and the outlook for more advanced mesothelioma treatments is promising.

Surgery is the most common treatment method for malignant mesothelioma. Tissues and linings affected by mesothelioma are removed by the doctor and may include the lung or even diaphragm.

A second mesothelioma treatment method is radiation therapy through the use of high energy x-rays that kill the cancer cells. Radiation therapy can be outside or inside the body.

A third mesothelioma treatment method is chemotherapy. Through pills or drugs through needles, chemotherapy drugs are used to kill cancer cells.

A new mesothelioma treatment method is called intraoperative photodynamic therapy. In this treatment, light and drugs are used to kill cancer cells during surgery for early stages of mesothelioma in the chest. Although there are numerous treatments and drugs for mesothelioma, doctors are losing the battle against this deadly disease. Most mesothelioma treatments involve old techniques combined with different drug cocktails. However, in most cases, these mesothelioma treatments have many side effects including organ damage, nausea, increase in heart failure etc. The rush to find a more effective mesothelioma treatment or even cure is ongoing at numerous clinical labs across the nation. Let's hope that the mesothelioma treatments will one day erradicate mesothelioma cancer and asbestosis.

Mesothelioma is such a harsh disease. Not only does it take years for symptoms to appear, but there are limited treatements and drugs that will prolong the lives of workers stricken with mesothelioma. In many cases, the death rate of mesothelioma is unfortunately very high. However, with increased funding in mesothelioma research through the government and private grants, the outlook for a mesothelioma cure is quite possible. In the meantime, mesothelioma support groups and local discussions provide the ongoing support for mesothelioma patients.

By Michael Wong

Cancer care rationing begins in America as cancer clinics turn away thousands of Medicare patients

Federal sequestration measures that came into effect on April 1 are making it impossible for many cancer clinics across the country to administer conventional care to patients, and particularly to those on Medicare. Consequently, thousands of cancer patients with taxpayer-funded insurance coverage are being turned away, according to reports, as clinics simply do not have the capacity nor the funding to administer expensive pharmaceutical-based treatments such as chemotherapy.
According to the Washington Post, many cancer clinics are having to turn away patients without adequate coverage, or else face potential closure of their practices. Since many of the latest cancer drugs now cost upwards of $35,000 or more per year, it is grossly unsustainable to deliver such treatments to patients without adequate insurance coverage -- doing so would spell financial suicide for even the most successful and well-funded cancer clinics.
"If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, we'd be out of business in six months to a year," said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New York, to the Washington Post. "The drugs we're going to lose money on we're not going to administer right now."

Back in October, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, another New York-based cancer center, announced that it would not be administering an expensive new cancer drug known as Zaltrap (ziv-afilbercept), a Sanofi-Aventis creation designed to treat metastatic colorectal cancer. According to an op-ed piece published by The New York Times (NYT), an average month's worth of treatment with Zaltrap costs more than $11,000, or more than $132,000 per year.
"We don't sugar-coat things, we're cancer doctors," explained Charles Holladay, an oncologist at the Charleston Cancer Center in South Carolina, to the Washington Post. Holladay's facility began informing many of its government-covered patients several weeks ago that they would have to seek out alternative treatment options.
"We tell them that if we don't go this course, it's just a matter of time before we go out of business," he added.
Prevention, natural treatments are the keys to beating cancer and avoiding a total healthcare meltdown

Even if sequestration was not a factor in the current cancer treatment crisis, the ever-escalating costs of conventional cancer treatments would still be bankrupting an already-overburdened American healthcare system. The public at large is still not being informed about effective cancer prevention strategies, for instance, nor is there any effort whatsoever being made by public health authorities to teach people about effective natural cancer treatment options like the Gerson Therapy protocol, Indian black salve, and all-natural cannabis oil.
This, of course, is due to the fact that the conventional healthcare system is owned and operated by the pharmaceutical cartel, which has no interest in actually healing people. Instead, a sadistic combination of greed and eugenics is what drives healthcare, and especially the cancer industry, today -- and this death-care model is directly responsible for pushing the healthcare system to the precipice of complete destruction.
"With an aging global population and an endless conveyor belt of expensive new drugs and technologies and increasing financial pressures, the cost of cancer care in high-income countries is becoming unsustainable," said the journal The Lancet Oncology in a statement back in 2011 about the failure of the conventional cancer industry.

by: Ethan A. Huff
Sources for this article include:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.fiercepharma.com/
http://www.naturalnews.com

What Are The Four Stages of Mesothelioma Cancer?

One rare form of cancer is called Mesothelioma, a malignant tumor in the mesothelial tissues of the lungs and the abdomen, arising from the inhalation of asbestos. Its rarity is one of the reasons why a lot of people are not aware of this kind of fatal disease. In fact, many people die of Mesothelioma undiagnosed. Although there is now a growing awareness of the hazards of asbestos to health, still many have not heard of Mesothelioma and thus, have not understood its nature, cause, signs and treatment. Even some physicians find it hard to detect Mesothelioma because its symptoms are akin to other diseases like lung cancer and pneumonia. Furthermore, it takes decades for a patient who was exposed to asbestos to develop Mesothelioma -- fifty years, at most.
Being unaware of Mesothelioma poses higher risks since it deters diagnosis and treatment. A person undergoing treatment must know the different stages of the cancer or the extent of the disease. Chances of recovering from Mesothelioma and the kind of treatment depend on the stage of the illness. There are basically two staging systems used for Pleural Mesothelioma (lungs): TNM system and Brighan system. These staging systems are also used in other kinds of cancers; however, the first is commonly used. There is no established method in determining the stage of the Peritoneal Mesothelioma cancer (abdominal) so the TNM system is used.
There are three variables in the TNM system: tumor, lymph nodes and metastasis. In the earliest stage of Mesothelioma, stage I, the malignant Mesothelioma cells start to grow and multiply only one layer of the pleura. The pleura is the membrane that encloses the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. However, there are some instances wherein the pericardium (membrane that covers the heart) and diaphragm cover are already affected. In this case, the cancer patient is still in stage I Mesothelioma.
In the second stage, the two layers of the pleura are already affected by Mesothelioma. Take note, however, that in this stage, only one side of the body is affected. Normally, the pleura produces only small amount of lubricating fluid that allows easy expanding and contracting of the lungs. The excess fluid is absorbed by the blood and the lymph vessels so there's a balance between the amount of fluid produced and removed. During the second stage Mesothelioma, fluid starts to build up between the membrane of the lungs and the membrane of the chest wall, resulting to pleural effusion. The increase in the volume of fluid produced causes shortness of breath and chest pain. Other Mesothelioma cancer patients experience dry and persistent cough. Diagnosis of the pleural effusion is achieved through a chest x-ray.
Stage III Mesothelioma means that the malignant cells have already spread to the chest wall, esophagus and the lymph nodes on one part of the chest. The patient may suffer severe pain near the parts affected. When not treated immediately or when the Mesothelioma patient doesn't respond well to medication, the cancer may advance to the fourth stage. The fourth stage Mesothelioma is formidable since at this stage the Mesothelioma cells have penetrated into the bloodstream and other organs in the body like the liver, the bones and the brain. The lymph nodes on the other side of the chest may also be affected by Mesothelioma in stage IV.
Brighan staging system, on the other hand, determines whether the Mesothelioma can be surgically removed or not and whether the lymph nodes are affected or not. In stage I Mesothelioma, the lymph nodes are not yet affected and the patient can still recover through surgery. In stage II, surgery can still be executed but some lymph nodes have already been infiltrated by the cancer cells. In stage III, the heart and chest wall are already affected; thus, surgery is no longer advisable. The lymph nodes in this stage, however, may or may not be affected. In the final stage, stage IV Mesothelioma, cancer cells have already gone to the bloodstream and other parts of the body like the heart, brain, bone and liver. In most cases, a patient who has reached stage IV Mesothelioma only has four to twenty-four months to live.

David Arnold Livingston