Mesothelioma Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of mesothelioma, a form of cancer, often take anywhere from 20 to 50 years to develop. Unfortunately, this delay often prevents the detection of the disease and leads to misdiagnoses. Early symptoms are similar to many more common illnesses, such as the cold or flu, and are easily dismissed. Further signs of mesothelioma include respiratory problems, such as pain in the chest, and breathing trouble. The three types of mesothelioma all have somewhat different symptoms.
Pleural mesothelioma, which develops as a result of pleural effusion, a build up of fluid in the pleura of the chest, typically causes symptoms such as the following: difficulty in breathing, difficulty in swallowing, shortness of breath, persistent coughing, weight loss, fever, coughing up blood, rasping, and pain in the chest.
Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining in the abdominal cavity, include weight loss, abdominal swelling and pain due to ascites (a buildup of fluid in the abdominal cavity), and may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever.
Finally, the rarest form of mesothelioma, pericardial mesothelioma, includes mild to severe chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, a persistent cough, and severe fatigue.
To diagnose whether a patient's symptoms are connected to mesothelioma, as opposed to something less severe, an x-ray or ultrasound can be used. If the results of those methods are inconclusive, a biopsy can determine for certain whether or not the cancer is present. There is currently no cure for mesothelioma, but research and clinical trials are ongoing.