Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Dear Ask The Doctor: What are the early and late symptoms of Mesothelioma?

Dear Dan: Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that occurs in the thin layer of tissue that covers the majority of your internal organs that is called mesothelium.

One of the most common types of mesothelioma is Pleural malignant mesothelioma, which affects the tissue that surrounds the lungs. The common symptoms that would be present in this condition are Shortness of breath, Painful breathing or pleurisy, Painful coughing, Chest pain under the rib cage, unusual lumps of tissue under the skin on your chest, unexplained weight loss and dry cough.

As the cancer progresses, complications like swelling in the upper body caused by pressure on the large vein that leads from your upper body to your heart (superior vena cava syndrome), pain caused by pressure on the nerves and spinal cord, accumulation of fluid in the chest (pleural effusion) which can compress the lung nearby and make breathing difficult and ultimately people who die of mesothelioma usually die from related complications, such as lung failure, heart problems, stroke and other causes. I hope I could clear your doubts.