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Epithelioid Mesothelioma
Of the three main types of this
disease, epithelioid mesothelioma has the best prognosis of all,
promising patients good treatments and the possibility of a better life
expectancy compared to the other variants .
Like all forms of this malignant
disease, epithelioid mesothelioma is caused by prolonged exposure to
asbestos in its friable form, that is in a form where particles are
thrown into the air. This usually occurs when the asbestos is processed
in some way, such as by cutting or sawing.
Epithelial mesothelioma is a rare and
deadly form of cancer that can have a significant effect on the membrane
lining the chest cavity, heart, lungs and abdominal cavity. Currently,
there are three forms of epithelial mesothelioma: the most common,
pleural mesothelioma; the second most common, peritoneal mesothelioma
and the least common form, pericardial mesothelioma.
Most if not all epithelial
mesothelioma cases are the result of asbestos exposure. Indeed, one of
the most worrying aspects of this type of cancerous disease is that
patients who suffer it were generally exposed many years, often decades,
earlier. This naturally makes it difficult to determine when and where
the disease was contracted.
The basic symptoms of epithelial
mesothelioma are hard to detect. They include shortness of breath and
chest pain. Because these symptoms could be caused by other factors,
epithelial mesothelioma is not often detected early on. Usually when its
diagnosed it is already in an advanced stage and treatment options,
never good at the best of times, are extremely limited.
However, if the cancer is in an early
stage, some surgery treatments can be tried. Aggressive treatments are
treatments aimed at curing the asbestos lung cancer, or at least
increasing the patients lifespan. In some cases an extrapleural
pneumonectomy can be performed to try to stop the spread of the
epithelial mesothelioma.
For more information, visit
www.mesothelioma.com
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