What is pericardial mesothelioma?
Pericardial mesothelioma is a serious heart condition which
consists of cancerous cells building up on the lining of the
heart. Similarly to pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, this is
a terminal illness due to the importance of the area on which it
grows.
What causes pericardial mesothelioma and who are most at risk?
The primary cause of pericardial mesothelioma is exposure to
asbestos dust and fibres. Therefore those at risk are those who
are most likely to have inhaled these deadly fibres such as
construction workers and asbestos manufacturers. Those in
contact with these people also have a chance of getting
pericardial mesothelioma because these people may have asbestos
fibres stuck to their clothes or hair.
What are the symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma?
The symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma change from patient to
patient. Usual symptoms include persistent coughing, coughing up
blood, shortness of breath, chest pain and palpitations. Other
symptoms patients may experience are nausea, weight loss,
vomiting and loss of appetite.
What are the treatments available for pericardial mesothelioma?
There are various different treatments for pericardial
mesothelioma although none of these have a high success rate.
Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, dual therapy and surgery are
the treatment methods available. Chemotherapy includes using
drugs to kill off cancerous cells and radiation therapy uses
doses of radiation to kill cancer cells although this is
difficult in the case of pericardial mesothelioma due to the
surrounding vital organs such as the heart and lungs. Dual
therapy is a treatment combining radiation therapy with
chemotherapy. Surgery comes in two forms; aggressive surgery and
palliative procedures. Aggressive surgery is a very difficult
procedure and consists of removing large chunks of cancerous
cells in an attempt to gain long term control over the cancer.
Palliative procedures just attempts to lessen the symptoms for
the patient.
How much exposure to asbestos is needed for there to be a
possibility of getting pericardial mesothelioma?
This depends on how strong and resistant the person is to
disease and on the concentration of asbestos in the environment
around him. It is possible to get pericardial mesothelioma from
as little as a couple of months of exposure to asbestos although
on average it would take a couple of years for enough asbestos
fibres to build up to cause cancer.
What is the prognosis for pericardial mesothelioma?
This is highly dependent on how early and how aggressively the
cancer is treated. If pericardial mesothelioma is treated when
it has fully developed and matured then the chances of a
patient's survival is very small. The prognosis could be only a
couple of months.
Is there any promising reSearch into cures for pericardial
mesothelioma?
Research into cures of pericardial mesothelioma and all other
forms of mesothelioma is being done in numerous reSearch labs
all over the USA. Many pharmaceutical companies are also working
hard to reSearch new drugs for chemotherapy. So far, reSearch
has been mostly unsuccessful.
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About the author:
For more information on pericardial mesothelioma such as the
risks, causes, symptoms and treatments go to:
http://www.pericardialmesothelioma.co.uk,
http://www.pericardial-mesothelioma.co.uk and
http://www.asbestos-resource.co.uk