Many things can keep people up at night. But few scenarios instill fear into the hearts of people more than a cancer diagnosis.
Hearing a doctor confirm a life-and-death health challenge is a game-changer no one wants to deal with.
Some sources say there are 200+ kinds of cancer — and you may have heard of some of them. However, some are not well known. One cancer you might not be familiar with is mesothelioma. There are typically only around 2,000 or so diagnoses annually in the U.S. And it’s as aggressive as it is rare since the life expectancy after a diagnosis is short. It usually doesn’t go beyond a year and a half…and can be as short as several months.
Mesothelioma is a disease that’s almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. There’s little margin for error on that front is small since even a single exposure incident is enough to lead to a cancer diagnosis.
If your home was built after the 1980s, your risk profile won’t be as high as it otherwise might. The reason is that homes constructed before the 1990s likely have materials that themselves contain asbestos. It wasn’t until the government of the United States issued a ban in 1989 that the widespread use of materials containing asbestos pretty much came to a halt.
You’ll have a problem if you live in an older home and want to conduct some renovations. Messing around with materials that have asbestos can send these fibers airborne. Breathing in these fibers can set off a chain of events that can lead to cancer. All it takes is for these fibers to get into your lungs.
Continue reading to learn about the four main kinds of mesothelioma that everyone should know about.
Table of Contents
1. Pleural Mesothelioma (Lungs)
The most common type is pleural mesothelioma, which occurs in the lining of the lungs. It’s so common, in fact, that it makes up around 75% — three-quarters — of all mesothelioma cases.
Symptoms include chest discomfort, fluid build-up in the lungs, shortness of breath, unexplained weight loss, and chronic coughing.
Someone diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma will have treatment options like radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy.
2. Peritoneal Mesothelioma (Abdomen)
Another kind of mesothelioma is peritoneal mesothelioma, which occurs in the lining of the abdomen. It makes up around 20% of all mesothelioma cases, which means it’s far less common than the pleural type.
Some symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma are abdominal discomfort, vomiting, and a loss of appetite. Patients diagnosed with the cancer often choose surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy, which refers to a special chemotherapy targeting the abdomen.
3. Pericardial Mesothelioma (Heart)
Yet another type of mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the heart. It’s called pericardial mesothelioma, and it’s so rare that it only accounts for approximately 1% of cases.
People who get this type of cancer often experience symptoms like difficulty breathing, chest pain, fluid building around the heart, and arrhythmia. Surgery and chemotherapy could provide some relief.
4. Testicular Mesothelioma (Testes)
Testicular mesothelioma, which occurs in the lining of the testicles, is even more rare than the pericardial type. In fact, testicular mesothelioma occurs in less than 1% of cases.
Symptoms include a lump in the scrotum and testicular swelling, and treatment could include surgery and chemotherapy.
These are the types of mesothelioma you should know about. While it’s a rare disease, it’s an aggressive one that is difficult to treat and leaves patients with low life expectancies post-diagnosis. Avoiding asbestos exposure and seeing your doctor for regular check-ups can help lower your risks.