What You Should Know About Epithelioid Mesothelioma

Epithelioid mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer.  It can have a significant effect on the membrane that lines the heart, lungs, chest cavity and abdominal cavity.  The basic symptoms of such condition are very hard to detect early on.  This is because these symptoms can be caused by other factors.  Most of the time, it is diagnosed in an advanced stage already and treatment options are extremely limited. 

Early detection is indeed very important.  It is considered as a powerful asset during treatment.  That is why you must equip yourself with necessary information on the said condition that will help you determine whether you have it or not.  This article will provide you a brief overview on epithelioid mesothelioma. 

What Is It?

Epithelial mesothelioma is the most common cell type.  It constitutes about 50 to 70 percent of all malignant mesothelioma.  These cells have a tubular pattern, are relatively uniform in shape, and have a distinct cell nucleus.  Individual cells have similar shapes to multi-sided boxes or cubes.

3 Forms of Epithelial Mesothelioma

There are three forms of epithelial mesothelioma.  The most common of which is pleural mesothelioma, followed by the second most common, peritoneal mesothelioma.  The least common is pericardial mesothelioma. 

Causes

Most cases are caused by prolonged asbestos exposure.  Usually, this occurs when asbestos is processed through cutting, sawing, or other ways, which lead to asbestos particles being thrown into the air.   It is very worrisome for patients who were exposed to it for many years, and even decades earlier.  This makes determining where the disease was contracted very difficult. 

Symptoms

There are symptoms to epithelial mesothelioma.  Although they are indeed very hard to detect since it can easily be caused by other factors, you can at least take note of these symptoms.  They include chest pain, chronic cough and shortness of breath. 

Treatment

The condition can be treated.  This is so especially if the cancer is diagnosed while at an early stage.  There are some surgery treatments that can be tried.  Such treatments focus on curing the asbestos lung cancer or increasing the longevity of the patient.  There are also some cases where an extrapleural pneumonectomy is performed.  This is done as an attempt to stop the spread of epithelial mesothelioma. 

But then, this operation is risky.  Because of the risk involved and its high mortality rate, many medical centers will not perform it.  The said procedure involves removing the whole lung and extensive epithelial tissue, thus reducing the breathing capacity of the patients in half.  And, even when the procedure is done successfully, it will not eliminate the mesothelioma.  Rather, it only slows down the progress of the condition.   

That is why, early detection is indeed vital.  Once epithelioid mesothelioma is diagnosed at an advanced stage, it might be difficult to eliminate fully.  So if you encounter its symptoms, don’t disregard it and treat it as an ordinary cough, especially if it becomes frequent.  It’s better if you call your health care provider to set up an appointment.