This document provides information about the symptoms of mesothelioma cancer. It discusses the different types of mesothelioma (pleural, peritoneal, pericardial, tunica vaginalis) and their associated symptoms. Common symptoms include pain, shortness of breath, abdominal swelling, fatigue, and weight loss. Early diagnosis is important but can be difficult due to mesothelioma's long latency period after asbestos exposure. Imaging tests and biopsies are used to diagnose mesothelioma. Compensation may be available for those diagnosed with mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure.

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Mesothelioma Symptoms: Early Signs and Latency Period
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Malignant mesothelioma is a highly aggressive and painful cancer with mesothelioma symptoms that vary from patient to patient
and with the area of the body affected.
Mesothelioma most often occurs in the tissue surrounding the lungs (pleural mesothelioma) but can also occur in the tissue in the
abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma), the tissue that surrounds the heart (pericardial mesothelioma) and the tissue surrounding the
testicles (mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis).
Because extending the life of a person with a mesothelioma prognosis depends in large part on early detection, it is vital that
patients understand the symptoms of mesothelioma and seek medical attention as soon as they are detected.
Contact your doctor right away if you experience any of the symptoms described below, especially if you were (or have reason to
believe that you were) exposed to asbestos, which is the only known cause of this type of cancer.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, as
well as the pain and suffering you have endured.
Contact us today to learn more about about us.
Mesothelioma Symptoms To Watch For: Pain
Over half of all pleural mesothelioma patients have muscle weakness and body aches in the lower, back or
sides of the chest. Sufferers of peritoneal mesothelioma may also experience pain in the abdominal area.
Pericardial mesothelioma patients often have chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and constant and acute coughing.
Mesothelioma patient pain areas: typically increases over time and can be acute in many cases, requiring prescription narcotics to
manage.
It is important that patients let their physicians know about the pain they are feeling.
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4. Support from a medical team can lessen mesothelioma symptoms by use of these
medications:
Mild pain is typically treated with over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) containing ibuprofen,
aspirin, naproxen or acetaminophen.
Moderate pain often involves the use of opioid medications that are sometimes used in combination with NSAIDs. Opioid
products are hydrocodone, codeine, methadone or oxycodone.
Severe pain is often experienced following surgery and is typically managed through “patient-controlled analgesia” whereby
the patient can manage the dosage of the painkiller. Most often this is a morphine drip. Higher doses of the moderate pain
relievers may be used or other drugs can be prescribed including fentanyl and hydromorphone.
Common Mesothelioma Symptoms by Type
Pleural Mesothelioma (Lungs)
Pleural mesothelioma symptoms are similar to those occurring with less severe respiratory and other diseases, making diagnosis
difficult.
Anyone with a history of asbestos exposure should seek immediate medical attention if they experience any of the following
mesothelioma symptoms:
Shortness of breath
chest pain
fluid buildup around the lungs (pleural effusion)
significant and unexplained weight loss
chronic coughing
dry cough
coughing up blood
painful coughing
loss of appetite
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5. difficulty swallowing
fatigue
respiratory complications
lumps under the skin of the chest
Peritoneal Mesothelioma (Abdomen or gastrointestinal)
Peritoneal mesothelioma patients most often experience the following symptoms (many of which are often associated with other
illnesses):
Ascites (buildup of abdominal fluid)
abdominal pain
unexplained weight loss
loss of appetite
nausea and vomiting
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6. diarrhea or constipation
bowel obstruction
anemia
fever
night sweats
Pericardial Mesothelioma
Pericardial mesothelioma symptoms are often insidious and may include:
chest pain
dyspnea
heart palpitations
breathing difficulty
constant and acute cough
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7. fluid in the pericardial space
fever
night sweating
paradoxical pulse
weight loss
generalized weakness
Tunica Vaginalis Mesothelioma Symptoms
Malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis represents fewer than 5% of all mesothelioma cases, and so little is known about
this type of cancer and its symptoms.
In documented cases, however, a testicular mass, accumulation of fluid in the scrotum and testicular swelling are the
primary symptoms.
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8. Mesothelioma Symptoms Latency Period and Misdiagnose
Malignant mesothelioma symptoms usually emerge in small, subtle ways which appear in other respiratory diseases which can
be confusing to the doctor.
Mesothelioma is a rare disease, so it is uncommon for a doctor to examine a patient with mesothelioma. Another difficulty that can
cause a misdiagnosis, is that the disease has such a long latency period, between 15 to 60 years after exposure to asbestos, so
the patient might not remember being exposed and the doctor will not attribute these symptoms as a cause to the exposure.
How can mesothelioma be diagnosed early?
Its is very important to diagnose the disease in the early stages for the patient to have better prognosis.
So it is important to look out for these mesothelioma symptoms over the whole body:
You or someone from your family have been exposed to asbestos? Even if it occurred from 20 to 50 years ago
A third of all mesothelioma patients diagnosed in the United States are veterans.
Look out for warning signs, such as pneumonia. A lot of times, people are misdiagnosed with pneumonia and don’t get better.
When these symptoms present themselves, you need to search for a clinician or a family practitioner that can be more invasive
and aggressive to get a better diagnosis. A lot of times, physicians are concerned that doing an invasive procedure is going to
add to the patient pain and suffering, which is not really true. Specialists can do a biopsy today in an outpatient setting — same
day in and out of the hospital with minimal pain. This would provide a really good tissue diagnosis. When it gets to
mesothelioma, early diagnosis is the best treatment.
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9. If your symptoms suggest mesothelioma your doctor will want to follow up with testing, beginning with imaging tests that allow your
body to be viewed from the inside and checked for abnormalities such as the presence of fluid or tumors. In addition to helping
your doctor make an initial mesothelioma diagnosis, imaging technologies may be used for cancer staging, determining a
treatment plan, and tracking response to treatments.
Compensation for Mesothelioma Treatment
If you or a loved one has received a mesothelioma diagnosis, you should know that you may be entitled to compensation from the
asbestos companies that causes this cancer and put you in harm’s way.
This compensation could cover your medical bills, any wages you missed from work, as well as payment to account for the pain
and suffering that you are being put through.
You and your family should not have to cope with this devastating disease alone.
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10. Contact us today to discuss your legal options and learn about the process for pursuing compensation.
Mesothelioma Symptom Sources & Author:
1. Sugarbaker, David J. Garcia, J.P. “Extrapleural Pneumonectomy on the multimodality therapy of malignant pleural
mesothelioma. Results in 120 consecutive patients.” Annals of Surgery 1996. September; 224(3): 288-296.
2. SEWA S. LEGHA, M.D., F.A.C.P.; and FRANCO M. MUGGIA, M.D., F.A.C.P. “Pleural Mesothelioma: Clinical Features and
Therapeutic Implications” Ann Intern Med. 1977;87(5):613-621. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-87-5-613.
3. Robinson, B. and Chahinian, A. (2002). Mesothelioma London
4. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mesothelioma/DS00779/DSECTION=symptoms. Accessed
February 18, 2013.
5. American Lung Association. Retrieved from: http://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-
lookup/mesothelioma/mesothelioma-symptoms-causes-risks.html
6. Mohit Godar, Jianhua Liu, Pengguo Zhang, Yang Xia, and Qinghai Yuan, “Primary Pericardial Mesothelioma: A Rare Entity,”
Case Reports in Oncological Medicine, vol. 2013, Article ID 283601, 4 pages, 2013. doi:10.1155/2013/283601. Retrieved from:
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/crionm/2013/283601/
7. The Meso Foundation: Symptoms of Pericardial Mesothelioma. The Meso Foundation.
8. Suman, S., Schofield, P., & Large, S. (2004). Primary pericardial mesothelioma deaths presenting as pericardial constriction: a
case report. Heart, 90(1), e4. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1767997/
9. Robinson, B. and Lake. R. Advances in Malignant Mesothelioma. (2005). Retrieved from:
http://www.accg.org.br/uploads/arquivos/60a8f968b51a724580704995fcfd39c7.pdf
10. Moore, A. J., Parker, R. J., & Wiggins, J. (2008). Malignant mesothelioma. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 3, 34.
doi:10.1186/1750-1172-3-34. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2652430/?tool=pubmed
11. Bridda, A., Padoan, I., Mencarelli, R., & Frego, M. (2007). Peritoneal Mesothelioma: A Review. Medscape General Medicine,
9(2), 32. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1994863/
12. Plas, E., Riedl, C. R. and Pflüger, H. (1998), Malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis. Cancer, 83: 2437–2446.
doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19981215)83:12<2437::AID-CNCR6>3.0.CO;2-G. Retrieved from:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/SICI1097-01421998121583:122437::AID-CNCR63.0.CO;2-G/full
13. Yang LH, Yu JH, Xu HT, Lin XY, Liu Y, Miao Y, Wang L, Fan CF, Jiang GY, Ding SL, et al. Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis
testis with prominent adenomatoid features: a case report. Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2014; 7(10):7082-7. Epub 2014 Sep 15.
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11. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22208496
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