Pericardial Mesothelioma Treatment

Pericardial Mesothelioma Treatment

Pericardial Mesothelioma is an extremely difficult cancer to treat and presently, all treatment methods used have a poor success rate.  The chances of a patient’s survival depend largely on how early and how aggressively the cancer is treated.  If pericardial mesothelioma is treated when it has fully matured and developed then the chances of survival are very slim and the prognosis for a patient could be only a couple of months.  The latency period of pericardial mesothelioma (30 – 50 years), and its symptoms which are ordinary of other more common diseases such as pneumonia, make it extremely difficult to diagnose and therefore difficult to treat in its early stages.  In this way, a lot of pericardial mesothelioma treatments do not aim to cure patients but instead focus on reducing the symptoms.

Before a patient is treated, a doctor will evaluate him or her, and afterwards decide which treatment method is most suitable for the patient’s situation.  The patient’s age, medical history, general well being and even weight are taken into account before the doctor will decide which of the three treatments are most appropriate.  These treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Pericardial Mesothelioma

What is pericardial mesothelioma?
Pericardial mesothelioma is a serious heart condition which consists of cancerous cells building up on the lining of the heart.  Similarly to pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, this is a terminal illness due to the importance of the area on which it grows.

What causes pericardial mesothelioma and who are most at risk?
The primary cause of pericardial mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos dust and fibres.  Therefore those at risk are those who are most likely to have inhaled these deadly fibres such as construction workers and asbestos manufacturers.  Those in contact with these people also have a chance of getting pericardial mesothelioma because these people may have asbestos fibres stuck to their clothes or hair.

What are the symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma?
The symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma change from patient to patient.  Usual symptoms include persistent coughing, coughing up blood, shortness of breath, chest pain and palpitations.  Other symptoms patients may experience are nausea, weight loss, vomiting and loss of appetite.