Many cases of pleural mesothelioma are misdiagnosed because the symptoms are very similar to other less serious diseases. Symptoms include a persistent cough, weight loss, dyspnea (dyspnea is a severe shortness of breath, much like the symptoms of asthma) and fatigue. Another form of the disease called peritoneal mesothelioma will manifest itself by causing pain in the abdominal area, a loss of overall body weight and abdominal swelling. If the cancer has metastasized (metastasis is the spreading of cancer from one part of the body to other parts) then symptoms may include difficulty swallowing and swelling of the facial and neck area.

The frightening thing about this disease is that these symptoms may not manifest themselves until 25-45 years after exposure! A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan (MRI), CT Scan or x-ray are often needed in order to make a proper diagnosis of mesothelioma. It is very important that mesothelioma is diagnosed and treated as early in the disease as possible for the cancer cells of mesothelioma are particularly resilient.
Asbestos: What is Asbestos Anyway?

Asbestos, believe it or not, is actually a naturally occurring, crystallized mineral. Asbestos crystals form long thin fibers that are remarkably strong and resistant to a wide variety of extremes including heat, cold, electricity, acids, alkalis, brine, dust, vibration, corrosion and more! Incredible, eh? As you might have guessed, these properties of asbestos made it a very popular substance used in many different industries throughout the industrialized world.

There are 4 distinct forms of asbestos that have been used in commercial and industrial applications:

* Crocidolite (blue asbestos)
* Amosite (brown asbestos)
* Chrysotile (white asbestos)
* Anthophyllite (gray asbestos)

Amosite and crocidolite are considered to be the most dangerous forms of asbestos.