Pericardial Mesothelioma, also known as mesothelioma of the pericardium is a disease that affects the lining of the heart. This is found in less than 10 percent of the patients who have mesothelioma.
The following information about pericardial mesothelioma will help you understand the condition:
* A conclusive symptom of periodical mesothelioma is the rapid growth of the cancerous tumors that cause expansion of the tissue and accumulation of fluid. Fluids then obstruct the function of the heart causing chest pain and irregular heartbeat. Mostly, complaints of chest pain and other heart related symptoms are conclusive of the condition. Other symptoms for pericardial mesothelioma includes murmurs, cough, difficulty in breathing even when at rest, difficulty in breathing while lying down, fatigue and fever or night sweats.
* Because of the non-specificity of the symptoms, it is difficult to diagnose this type of cancer. But initially, it is through physical examination that can largely point out the condition.
* Diagnosis can be totally confirmed when doctors conduct variety of imaging tests to be able to determine the exact location of the cancer and Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI is found to be the most effective instrument on evaluating the disease and in finding out the extent of its development.
* The final stage in diagnosing pericardial mesothelioma is through biopsy where the point of origin of the cancer is verified. The test involves the removal of tissue or fluid from the pericardium for testing and analysis to confirm the presence of mesothelioma.
* The possible treatment for this type of mesothelioma includes palliative treatment which is often the only option when pericardial mesothelioma gets worse. Palliative treatments aim to improve the patient's quality of life by reducing the severity of symptoms caused by the accumulation of the fluid in the pericardium.
* A palliative treatment using fine needle aspiration technique maybe done to drain accumulated fluid surrounding the heart.
* Radiotherapy can also be used to shrink the tumor and alleviate the symptoms due to the compression of the heart by the accumulating fluid. Although this procedure is very risky because of the proximity of the heart and lungs.
Pericardial mesothelioma accounts for about half of all pericardial tumors and is extremely rare but then again, prevention or early detection is essential in order to succeed. If you are proactive and start getting checked early you have a much better chance of finding and successfully treating this cur upon humanity.
Author Resource:-
The least common and most rare of all asbestos related cancers, pericardial mesothelioma makes up less than 10% of all the asbestos-related cancers. These serious cancers are most often deadly. Go to a-mesothelioma-guide.com to learn more about this health condition.
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