What is Mesothelioma Lung Disease

What is mesothelioma? Lung disease? Yes, mesothelioma, also known as malignant mesothelioma is one of the many diseases that affects the lungs. Mesothelioma is actually a cancer of the mesothelium. Although it is mainly a disease that affects the linings of the lungs which is commonly known as pleura, mesothelioma may also affects other parts of the body such as the heart, peritoneum as well as the internal chest wall.

What are the causes of mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is usually caused by the prolonged exposure and the regular inhaling of a substance called asbestos into the body. Asbestos is a material known for its flexibility, light weight and its insulative property. It has been widely used in the early 20th century and has been used to make many industrial products such as roofs, cements and even textiles. At that time, the risks associated with the exposures to asbestos are not commonly known and therefore people who have worked in places where they are exposed to asbestos particles are at risks of developing mesothelioma.

Although mesothelioma symptoms may only appear from 20 to 50 years later in life after the initial exposure to asbestos, they are very hard to diagnose early on.

Common symptoms include :

• shortness of breath
• chest pain
• Fatique
• Cough
• Loss Of Appetite

More severe symptoms in cases where the cancer has spread to other parts of the body include :

• Painful swallowing
• Blood clots in the arteries of the lungs
• Yellowing of the eyes and skins 
• Swelling of the neck and face

What is mesothelioma lung disease and what treatments are available? Although there are many mesothelioma treatment options available today, conventional therapies which uses chemotherapy with radiation have proven to be the most successful of all in treating early to mid stage mesothelioma with an average success rate of more than 70 percent in extending the patients life by five or more years in total. Other treatment options although not as successful could sometimes be used under certain circumstances, they are immuno-therapy and the more traditional method; surgery.

Although mesthelioma is a rather rare disease, it is a very difficult to cure disease. Besides being very hard to diagnose in its early stages, what is mesothelioma lung disease showing is that mesothelioma mimics the many symptoms and characteristics of many other common diseases such as pneumonia.