Pericardial Mesothelioma - Symptoms, Treatment and Diagnosis

The main reason responsible for pericardial mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can damage different portions of your body. Similar to other mesothelioma forms, symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma can take ten to fifteen years to show up. If you have been diagnosed with this disease, you will find cancerous tissues around the heart lining. The pericardium plays a vital part in body functioning especially when it comes to protecting your heart.



Symptoms



Tissue expansion and fluid accumulation will happen when there is a fast growth of the cancerous tumors. The fluid can have a negative impact on the proper functioning of your heart causing irregular heartbeat and chest pain. When you complain of chest pain, you are going to be diagnosed. Some of the less common symptoms of this disease are cough, fever, fatigue and shortness of breath.



Individuals suffering from pericardial mesothelioma can exhibit all three types of mesothelioma cancer cells. It includes epithelioid mesothelioma, biphasic mesothelioma and sarcomatoid mesothelioma. Your prognosis can be affected by the kind of cancer cells. Recent study has come to the conclusion that individuals with biphasic mesothelioma cancer cells normally have a shorter life expectancy.



Treatments

Cancer surgery is not a good option for individuals that are diagnosed with pericardial mesothelioma. Prognosis for patients of pericardial mesothelioma is grim and often palliative treatment is an only option available for them. By opting for this treatment, your overall life quality is going to improve. Another good thing about this treatment is that it decreases the complexity of symptoms that happen because of fluid buildup in the pericardium. To get rid of excess fluid, there is a strong possibility that fine needle routine can be implemented. Radiation therapy can also play a significant part in removing excess fluid.

Diagnosis



Accurate and quick pericardial mesothelioma diagnosis is tough because of the non-specificity of the symptoms. To diagnose this form of cancer, your health care provider needs to take into consideration your symptoms, past medical record and current medical state. In the initial stage, all the focus is on the medical records and conducting physical examination.



To evaluate the exact location of cancer, your health care provider will conduct plenty of imaging tests. MRI tests are the way to go if you are looking to get an idea of cancer stage. The diagnosis of pericardial mesothelioma ends with a biopsy. The main objective of doing biopsy is to get a proper understanding of the cancer origin point.



While there is still no cure for mesothelioma cancer, the forms of treatment and care are being worked on so that the life expectancy of patients can increase. New and improved methods of treatments are being tested to work on the quality of patient's life and reduce pain.