Mesothelioma affects millions of American families every day. It is typically a very deadly and aggressive form of cancer, and many people who suffer from this disease also live with the knowledge that there is no cure.
Even though there may be no way to cure many kinds of mesothelioma, recognizing the symptoms is vital. According to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of mesothelioma are different if it is pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma.
Symptoms of pleural mesothelioma
This particular type of mesothelioma affects the tissue that surrounds the lungs. There are several symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. These include chest pain, shortness of breath and painful coughing.
Additional signs of pleural mesothelioma include finding strange lumps of tissue under the skin covering your chest. Unexplained weight loss is also a very common side effect of mesothelioma, as it is with other forms of cancer.
Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma
This variety of mesothelioma affects the tissue in your abdomen. Symptoms associated with peritoneal mesothelioma include swelling of the abdomen, abdominal pain and nausea. As with pleural mesothelioma, you may also experience unexplained weight loss.
Many of the symptoms associated with both major forms of mesothelioma are easy for laypeople to confuse with other illnesses or cancers. Additionally, there are other forms of mesothelioma. These can include pericardial mesothelioma which affects the tissue around the heart. There is also mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis, which affects the tissue surrounding testicles. If you suspect that you or somebody you love is suffering from mesothelioma, getting it checked out by a medical expert is a must.
