Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer of the lungs. Also known as Malignant Mesothelioma or Mesothelioma cancer, it is caused by a malignancy in the thin layers of tissue surrounding the lungs. This protective membrane, called the mesothelium, surrounds other vital organs as well, including the stomach and the heart.
Malignant mesothelioma has a relatively low incidence rate: only about 2,000 to 4,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States annually, compared with some 156,000 cases on non-mesothelioma lung cancer. It is sometimes referred to as Asbestos Lung Cancer, because contact with asbestos is by far its most prevalent cause. The disease has a significant “latency period,” the time between exposure to carcinogens and the first discernible symptoms. It often takes some 25 to 30 years before symptoms emerge, meaning that individuals exposed to asbestos early in life often may not develop the disease until late middle age.
Because of its long latency period, Malignant mesothelioma has often become widespread throughout the mesothelium by the onset of symptoms and therefore difficult to treat. Another factor making this type of malignancy relatively intractable is the fact that its early symptoms mimic those of other respiratory diseases, such as pneumonia and asthma.
Mesothelioma cancer differs from ordinary lung cancer in its point of origin: not in the lungs themselves, but in the mesothelium surrounding the lungs. Patients suffering from Malignant Mesothelioma often report chest pains and shortness of breath. Mesothelioma Cancer may also occur in the abdomen, around the heart, any part of the body that is surrounded by the tissues known as the mesothelium. Once a Mesothelioma diagnosis has been made, treatment usually consists of surgery to remove the affected area of the mesothelium and a course of chemotherapy and/or radiation.
