Mesothelioma Lung Cancer Plus Helpful Facts
Mesothelioma lung cancer is a very tricky disease
. It is very hard to detect and diagnose. There are a few tests and procedures that can be done to help your doctor tell what's going on in your body. X-rays, biopsies, and CT scans are all procedures that can be done to diagnose the disease. The sad news is that mesothelioma is rarely detected in its early stages. It's usually caught in the later stages where there are few treatments and procedures that can be done after so many stages are passed.
Today, there are three systems that are used to determine the stages of mesothelioma. Each system has four stages that it goes by. These systems are the Brigham system, TNM, and Butchart system. These systems work in similar ways, but they go about getting the results differently.
The Brigham system is used today, but not as much as the others. In fact, it is used the least. Mesothelioma is usually diagnosed in its later stages, so most of the time, surgery not a choice here. That is the reason why this particular system is used the least. It's good for telling your doctor all of the possible ways that the tumor can be removed surgically. This is known as resectability. Since this medical condition is most often caught in the later stages, this system is really no help at all.
As far as peritoneal mesothelioma goes, weight loss and sweating may occur. A person might also experience discomfort or pain in their abdominal cavity. This is due to fluid build up. More symptoms include anemia, fever, and blood clotting.
So many people worry because there is no medical test to detect this issue. Even though this is true, there are other things and tests that can be done to help diagnose it in its early stages. These tests include x-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans. All of these scans and tests are very similar. The little details make them different from each other.
Radiation therapy is also a form of treatment for mesothelioma. This becomes an option when your health is very fragile and frail. This also happens when your body is too weak to undergo surgery or chemotherapy. There are two kinds of radiation therapy available. They are brachytherapy and external beam radiation. Brachytherapy is barely used these days. This is when radioactive material is put directly into the lungs or abdomen.
With the Butchart system, there are four stages. This is the oldest and most commonly used system out of all of the systems in place today. In stage one, mesothelioma can be found in the membrane that covers the lungs. This is called the pleura. There are two sides, which are the left and the right. Mesothelioma can be present in either side.
This is a very serious medical condition and should be treated as such. Many of the systems that come along with this disease do not start to occur until the later stages of the disease. Just to be on the safe side, have your doctor run a few tests. It never hurts to know where your health status stands.
by: John Lamberts
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