To make things simple for the layman, in non medical terms Mesothelioma can be defined as a deadly cancer, which, if not detected at its early stage of inception can prove to be fatal often leading to death of the victim.

The good news is that this disease is almost 100% avoidable

Causes of Mesothelioma

• Mesothelioma is most commonly found among people who are continuously exposed to asbestos. Statistics indicate that around 70 percent to 80 percent of the cases reported all over the world are of people getting directly exposed or indirectly exposed to asbestos during work.

• there are cases of mesothelioma, where the victim was had never contacted asbestos even once in his life time. Also, not everyone who is heavily exposed to asbestos develop this disease.

• On the lighter side there is some good news for smokers. The belief that smoking can lead to mesothelioma is totally baseless. However, for people working in asbestos dominant environment, smoking can act as a catalyst and increase the chances of lung cancer.
   

Symptoms
Mesothelioma is one of the most difficult diseases to be diagnosed at an early stage of its inception because of the very non specific nature of its symptoms. Also, the latency period from the time the victim is exposed to asbestos fibers to the occurrences of the symptoms is very high, sometimes as high as 30 to 50 years.

-Shortness of breath and pain in the chest
-Weight loss and abdominal pain and swelling
-Bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever
-Continuous and persistent coughing for long period

Diagnosis
A series of test are performed by the doctors to diagnose if the patient is actually suffering from mesothelioma. Once confirmed that the patient is suffering from mesothelioma, another setoff tests are conducted to find out the type of mesothlioma the victim is suffering from and its stage.

Following are some of the tests that the doctor recommends for his patients for initial diagnosis:

• Full physical examination that includes x-rays of the chest and abdomen and lung function tests, a CT (or CAT)scanand MRI are also performed.

• A biopsy is also performed by the doctors to confirm diagnosis of mesothelioma.

Once it is confirmed that that the patient is actually suffering from mesothelioma, then, then the doctor would want to know the type of mesothelioma and its severity. The doctor would want to know if the cancer is limited to one specific body organ or it has spread its tentacles to other parts of the body as well. For this another set of tests are compulsorily performed by the doctors.

Treatment - Surgery
In surgical treatment, the tissue in the affected area is cut out. This may involve removing part of the organ depending on the size of the affected area.  Following are the different types of surgical treatment options that are available.

a. Pneumonectomy is one of the most commonly used surgical procedure.            

It can be used for pleural mesothelioma and involves the removal of the diseased lung. An extra-pleural pneumonectomy may be necessary depending upon the spread of the disease, and this may involve the removal of parts of the diaphragm as well as the lung. There is a high risk factor with this surgery, and its viability is dependant upon the patient’s overall health, smoking habits and the extent of the asbestos exposure.

b. Pleurectomy , part of the chest, abdominal lining and surrounding tissue are removed.