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Mesothelioma Diagnosis and Symptoms?
Diagnosing mesothelioma can be
difficult since there are sometimes no symptoms. This may lead
to a delay in a diagnosis. Another reason it is difficult to diagnose is
because many doctors are not very familiar with
mesothelioma cancer. If
there are any symptoms at all, you
should pay careful attention to
shortness of breath, cough that won't go away, pain in the chest, muscle
weakness, sensory loss, pain or swelling in the abdomen, coughing
up blood, fever, major weight loss, and difficult swallowing. If you
experience symptoms and you are working/have worked/ or exposed to
asbestos,
you should have your doctor conduct an x-ray of the chest or abdomen.
Again some people have to symptoms at all.
However if there are reasons to believe you are suffering from
mesothelioma cancer,
the doctor may want your medical history and you have to complete a physical
exam. The doctor will then perform one or more of the following diagnosis
tests:
The mesothelioma diagnosis can be performed through a careful assessment of
clinical and radiological findings proceeded by a confirming tissue biopsy.
The patient's medical history should be reviewed, including history of
asbestos exposure, followed by a complete physical examination, x-rays of
the abdomen and chest, and lung function tests. CT scan or MRI may also be
performed at this time. If there is an indication of
mesothelioma using any
of these tests, a biopsy is performed to confirm this diagnosis.
The doctor who conduct the mesothelioma diagnosis may use a needle biopsy of
the mass, or the removal and examination of the fluid surrounding the lung
for diagnosis. Sometimes these samples are inadequate as far as determining
cell type (sarcomatous, epithelial, or mixed) or because of the
unreliability of fluid diagnosis, the doctor may recommend open pleural
biopsy. In a pleural biopsy procedure, the surgeon makes a small incision
through the chest wall and inserts a thin, lighted tube called a
thoracoscope into the chest between two ribs. The surgeon then removes a
sample of tissue that a pathologist will review under a microscope. In a
peritoneal biopsy, the doctor makes a small incision in the abdomen and
inserts a peritoneoscope into the abdominal cavity. Mesothelioma is a very
complex disease and although you get a diagnosis from your local doctor you
may want to check out other doctors as well during your mesothelioma
diagnosis.
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