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Mesothelioma
Attorneys, Mesothelioma Lawyers & Law Firms Guide
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Mesothelioma Asbestos Cancer DiagnosisDiagnosisYour doctor will ask about your symptoms and your medical history before doing a complete physical examination. Tests usually are needed because the more common symptoms of chest pain and shortness of breath may come from many causes. These tests include an electrocardiogram (EKG), a chest or abdominal X-ray, depending on your symptoms and your physical exam. If these tests show any abnormalities of the lungs or pleura, you will need a computed tomography (CT) scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. These imaging studies allow the physician to determine the size, location and extent of any tumor in the chest or abdomen. If you have fluid in your chest or abdomen, a thin needle may be used to remove a small sample of the fluid for examination. This procedure, called fine-needle aspiration, also may be used to drain the fluid to relieve symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath. Occasionally, mesothelioma can be diagnosed from this fluid sample alone, but usually a tissue sample (biopsy) will have to be taken, too. The tissue sample can be obtained with procedures called a thoracoscopy or video-assisted thoracoscopy (VAT) for a pleural tumor or with a procedure called laparoscopy for an abdominal tumor. In both procedures, a tubelike instrument inserted through a small incision allows the physician to view the tumor and collect a tissue sample. You also may need a procedure called a bronchoscopy or a mediastinoscopy so the doctor can look for masses in the lung airways caused by other tumors or can remove tissue samples from lymph nodes. Once the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma has been confirmed, the next step is determining how far the tumor has spread (called staging). Imaging studies, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are used to assess the stage of the disease and determine the most appropriate treatment. There are four stages of malignant mesothelioma, with the lowest stage — stage I — having the best prognosis (outlook). In stage I, the tumor is limited to the pleural lining on one side of the chest without any signs of having spread. If the disease returns after being treated successfully, it is called recurrent mesothelioma. Stage I also is called localized disease, whereas stages II to IV are called advanced disease. Expected Duration Once it develops, this type of cancer will continue to grow and spread until it is treated. |
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