Asbestos Info | What is Mesothelioma?

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• Mesothelioma In Family Members
• Symptoms and Treatment
• Causes
• Diagnosis
• Treatment by Stage
• Government Resources
• Mesothelioma Law

Malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, is a disease in which malignant cancer cells are found in the sac lining the chest (the pleura) or abdomen (the peritoneum). Most people with malignant mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they breathed in asbestos dust, while some were exposed at home as a result of family members bringing it home on their clothing. If you would like to find out if you have a valid mesothelioma cancer lawsuit, contact our mesothelioma attorneys serving Annapolis and Baltimore, Maryland, as well as victims throughout the United States, today.

Diagnosis

A doctor should be seen if a person has shortness of breath, pain in the chest, or pain or swelling in the abdomen. These symptoms could be indications of mesothelioma. If the person knows they have been exposed to asbestos, the doctor should be made aware of this fact as well in order to make a mesothelioma diagnosis.

The chance of recovery (prognosis) depends on the size of the cancer, where the cancer is, how far the cancer has spread, how the cancer cells look under the microscope, how the cancer responds to treatment, and the patient's age.

Stages of malignant mesothelioma

Once malignant mesothelioma is found, more tests will be done to find out if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. This is called staging. A doctor needs to know the stage of the cancer to plan treatment. The following stages are used for malignant mesothelioma:

• Localized malignant mesothelioma
• Stage I: The cancer is found in the lining of the chest cavity near the lung and heart or in the diaphragm or the lung.

• Advanced malignant mesothelioma
• Stage II: The cancer has spread beyond the lining of the chest to lymph nodes in the chest.
• Stage III: Cancer has spread into the chest wall, center of the chest, heart, through the diaphragm, or abdominal lining, and in some cases into nearby lymph nodes.
• Stage IV: Cancer has spread to distant organs or tissues.

• Recurrent malignant mesothelioma
• Recurrent disease means that the cancer has come back after it has been treated. It may come back in the lining of the chest or abdomen or in another part of the body.

To learn more about mesothelioma, please visit our frequently asked questions about mesothelioma page.

Click here to learn about the differences between lung cancer and mesothelioma.

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