Mesothelioma cancer overview

Mesothelium is the medical term for the thin layer of tissue that covers and protects most of our internal organs. Mesothelioma cancer is a very serious condition although it is very rare.

Since mesothelium covers many organs in the body, mesothelioma cancer can be divided into several different types, according to the part of the body that it affects. In the majority of cases, this cancer appears in the tissue that covers the lungs and therefore, it is termed as pleural malignant mesothelioma. Mesothelioma cancer may also affect the tissue around the heart, the tissues in the abdomen and the tissue around the testicles in men.

Mesothelioma cancer is a life threatening type of cancer and once one develops it, there is no cure for it. However, the treatment exists but it only relieves the symptoms of the cancer and, unfortunately, it cannot cure it.

Symptoms of mesothelioma cancer

The symptoms of this kind of cancer depend on the place where it occurs.

The most common warning signs of the pleural mesothelioma are the pain in the chest under the ribs, shortness of breath and painful coughing. Furthermore, the people who have developed this cancer may notice the abnormal lumps of tissues, which appear under the skin on their chest. Unexplained weight loss is also one of the signs of the pleural mesothelioma.Peritoneal mesothelioma is mesothelioma in the tissues that are in the abdomen. Those people suffering from peritoneal mesothelioma may feel pain in the abdomen and unusual abdominal swelling, along with the lumps beneath the skin in the abdominal area. The weight loss is also characteristic for this type of mesothelioma cancer.Pericardial mesothelioma is the mesothelioma that affects the tissue around the heart. The most common symptoms of the pericardial mesothelioma cancer are pain in the chest and troublesome breathing.Mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis is the name for the cancer that appears in the tissue around the testicles in men, and this type of cancer has an abnormal mass on the testicle as the first sign of the mesothelioma cancer presence in thisarea.

Causes of mesothelioma cancer

As any other type of cancer, mesothelioma occurs due to the genetic mutations in the cell, which leads to the abnormal multiplication of the cell. However, many researches have been carried out, and they show that this type of caner develops due to the combination of many factors like inherited conditions, environment and unhealthy lifestyle.