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.

Asbestos is the name given to a group of minerals that occur naturally in the environment as bundles of fibers and can be separated into thin, durable threads. These fibers are resistant to heat, fire, and chemicals and do not conduct electricity. For these reasons, asbestos has been widely used in many industries.

There are two subgroups of asbestos: chrysotile, which has curly fibers and is in the serpentine family of minerals; and amphibole asbestos, which has straight, needle-like fibers and includes actinolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, crocidolite, and amosite asbestos. Chrysotile asbestos is the form that has been used predominantly in commercial applications worldwide

Mesothelioma is a cancerous disease that is becoming more and more common. Affecting the mesothelial cells that make up the mesothelium – the outer lining that protects the body’s major organs such as the heart, stomach and lungs – this form of cancer is a direct result of regular and unprotected exposure to asbestos. The symptoms and the latency period of this disease mean that it is difficult to diagnose. Treatment for mesothelioma is still being investigated through clinical trials and research, but as a rule it responds poorly to the treatments that are currently used.

The people most at risk from being carriers of this cancer are those have worked with asbestos over the past thirty to fifty years. Because of this, the disease is most common in men between the ages of sixty and seventy as this is the group that commonly worked with asbestos during those years. Because of the lack of protection and regulations in those days, these workers were constantly exposed to the dust and fibres from the asbestos, which caused the cells of the mesothelium to become abnormal. However, because the disease takes decades to develop fully and manifest, many of them were oblivious to this until thirty to fifty years later. It is these men who are now lodging multi-million dollar lawsuits against the unscrupulous companies that exposed them to the dangers of asbestos, even though they were aware that it could cause harm to the employees.

There are also other people at risk from the disease; namely those who have had regular contact with a person who has worked with asbestos. Because these workers regularly carried dust and fibres on their clothes, skin and in their hair, they fibres and dust could be ingested by family members, who were then at risk of developing mesothelioma, respiratory problems or another asbestos related disease.

The organs most affected by mesothelioma are the lungs and the surrounding tissue. Pleural mesothelioma, which is the type affecting the lining of the lungs, is the most common variation of this cancer with symptoms which include breathing and swallowing difficulties, coughing, shortness of breath, fever and weight loss.