subject: All Pericardial Mesothelioma Information Faq [print this page] What is pericardial mesothelioma?
Pericardial mesothelioma is a serious heart condition which consists of cancerous cells building up on the lining of the heart. Similarly to pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, this is a terminal illness due to the importance of the area on which it grows.
What causes pericardial mesothelioma and who are most at risk?
The primary cause of pericardial mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos dust and fibres. Therefore those at risk are those who are most likely to have inhaled these deadly fibres such as construction workers and asbestos manufacturers. Those in contact with these people also have a chance of getting pericardial mesothelioma because these people might have asbestos fibres stuck to their clothes or hair.
What are the symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma?
The symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma change from patient to patient. Usual symptoms include persistent coughing, coughing up blood, shortness of breath, chest pain and palpitations. Other symptoms patients could experience are nausea, weight loss, vomiting and loss of appetite.
What are the treatments available for pericardial mesothelioma?
You will find various different treatments for pericardial mesothelioma although none of these have a high success rate. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, dual therapy and surgery are the treatment methods available. Chemotherapy includes utilizing drugs to kill off cancerous cells and radiation therapy uses doses of radiation to kill cancer cells although this is challenging in the case of pericardial mesothelioma due to the surrounding vital organs just like the heart and lungs. Dual therapy is a treatment combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy. Surgery comes in two types; aggressive surgery and palliative procedures. Aggressive surgery is a extremely challenging procedure and consists of removing large chunks of cancerous cells in an attempt to gain long term control over the cancer. Palliative procedures just attempts to lessen the symptoms for the patient.
How much exposure to asbestos is needed for there to be a possibility of getting pericardial mesothelioma?
This depends on how robust and resistant the person is to disease and on the concentration of asbestos in the environment around him. It's possible to get pericardial mesothelioma from as little as a couple of months of exposure to asbestos although on average it would take a couple of years for enough asbestos fibres to build up to cause cancer.
What is the prognosis for pericardial mesothelioma?
This is highly dependent on how early and how aggressively the cancer is treated. If pericardial mesothelioma is treated when it has fully developed and matured in that case the odds of a patient's survival is very small. The prognosis can be just a couple of months.
Is there any promising research into cures for pericardial mesothelioma?
Research into cures of pericardial mesothelioma and every other forms of mesothelioma is being done in several research labs through out the USA. Many pharmaceutical firms are also working hard to research new drugs for chemotherapy. So far, research has been mostly unsuccessful.
by: Greg. Gardner
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