MALIGNANT MESOTHELIOMA & PATIENTS IN NEW YORK

Malignant Mesothelioma Information

Malignant mesothelioma is a fatal cancer occurring in the thin layer of cells lining the body's internal organs, known as the mesothelium caused mainly due to asbestos exposure. Depending upon the area affected malignant mesothelioma cancer can be divided into four types:

• Pleural mesothelioma-the most common form affecting the lining of the lungs, called the pleura.
• Peritoneal mesothelioma-the second most common form that develops in the lining of the abdomen, called the peritoneum.
• Pericardial mesothelioma -develops in the membrane that surrounds the heart, called the pericardium.
• Testicular mesothelioma-the rarest form that develops in the membranous lining surrounding the testicles, called the tunica vaginalis.

Malignant Mesothelioma Symptoms

The symptoms of mesothelioma patients are not so prominent in early stages resembling some less severe diseases but with the advance in time the disease can be easily detected.

Symptoms expressed by pleural mesothelioma patients include shortness of breath, chest pain and persistent cough. Peritoneal mesothelioma patients may display symptoms such as abdominal swelling, changes in bowel movement and development of lumps under the skin on the abdomen. Patients with pericardial mesothelioma may experience heart palpitations, chest pain, difficulty breathing and fever or night sweats. Testicular mesothelioma patients may notice testicular lumps.

Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment

Though malignant mesothelioma is not 100% curable and the survival rate of the patients is extremely low in New York but recent scientific research has produced significant breakthroughs and more options are now available for controlling the disease. Some of the clinical trials and experimental treatments which mesothelioma doctors in New York are recently focusing on to treat this cancerous tumor are:

• Immunotherapy
• Intraoperative Photodynamic therapy
• Gene therapy
• Drug therapy where FDA approved drugs like Alimta and Cisplatin(pemetrexed) are used

However, patients also have a number of  conventional mesothelioma treatment options  to consider, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery and “multimodal approach” involving use of combination of these treatments is really effective and popular in New York.

Malignant Mesothelioma Prognosis

Prognosis in malignant mesothelioma disease is difficult to assess consistently because there is great variability in the time before diagnosis and the rate of disease progression. In large retrospective series of malignant mesothelioma pleural in New York and malignant mesothelioma peritoneal in New York, important prognostic factors were found to be stage, age, performance status, and histology. The long term survival of patients with diffuse malignant mesothelioma in phase III is really under question but patients with non malignant mesothelioma can even expect a complete cure of the disease. With the increased mortality rate of mesothelioma patients in New York various law firms have come up where mesothelioma attorneys can help you get the compensation for the disease.

To get more details on this dreadful cancer you can continue to explore the resources on this website.