Mesothelioma Lung

Removing the affected lung and the tissue that surrounds it may relieve signs and symptoms of pleural mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma lung. If you ll be receiving radiation therapy to the chest after surgery this procedure also allows doctors to use higher doses since they won t need to worry about protecting your lung from damaging radiation. Mesothelioma in the lungs pleural mesothelioma this is the most common form of the disease. Other rarer types of mesothelioma affect tissue in the abdomen peritoneal mesothelioma around the heart and around the testicles. Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs known as the mesothelium.

Though malignant pleural mesothelioma affects the lungs it is not considered a type of lung cancer because it forms in the lining around the lungs rather than in the lung tissue. This happens when cancerous cells accumulate in the pleural lining and often cause symptoms. Doctors divide mesothelioma into different types based on what part of the mesothelium is affected. This type is called pleural mesothelioma.

The most common is the production of fluid buildup known as a pleural effusion. Exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of malignant mesothelioma. Signs and symptoms of mesothelioma may. It usually occurs from prior exposure to asbestos a type of mineral fiber used in the insulation industry.

The cells are slow to metastasize or spread and respond more favorably to treatment than other mesothelioma cancer cells. Other times it could include pleural based nodules. There are about 2 500 to 3 000 cases of it every. Mesothelioma most often affects the tissue that surrounds the lungs pleura.

It accounts for about 75 of all mesothelioma cases. Epithelial cells can develop in the lining of the lungs abdomen or heart. Less commonly the lining of the abdomen and rarely the sac surrounding the heart or the sac surrounding the testis may be affected. The average life expectancy of mesothelioma patients is 12 21 months after diagnosis.

Wide local excision which removes the cancer along with some of the healthy surrounding tissue pleurectomy and decortication in which the surgeon removes part of the covering of the lungs chest lining and outside. Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that that develops in the pleura a thin membrane that separates the lung from the chest wall. Epithelioid mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure and is the most common form of the disease accounting for 70 80 of diagnoses. The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall.

The main surgeries used in mesothelioma treatment are. Symptoms can include chest pain shortness of breath and general fatigue.