Mesothelioma Information

Digopedia - What is Mesothelioma? Mesothelioma cancer of the lining of the lung or the lining of the abdomen is very different from a lung cancer. A typical lung cancer grows as a single identifiable nodule or mass which is anywhere from the size of a grape to the size of a baseball or larger when discovered. Because most lung cancer grows as a solitary defined mass, sometimes it can be cut out and followed up with chemotherapy or radiation which results in removing and killing off all of the lung cancer cells so that the cancer does not return.

So far, medical science has only very, very rarely been able to accomplish the same thing for persons with mesothelioma. The reasons for this is that mesothelioma grows on the lining of the lung (or the lining of the abdomen) as a diffuse multi-site tumor with tumor nodules being spread on a wide area of the pleura. Even when an individual is able to undergo surgery for removal of the entire pleura, lung on the side where the mesothelioma is located, and parts of the diaphragm, this almost never results in total removal of all of the cancer cells. Mesothelioma Information, symptoms and causes:

Facts About Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma cancer does not act the same way in all people. In addition, a person's general state of health can have a lot to do with how they fare with the mesothelioma.

There are different cell types of mesothelioma. Of the three cell types of mesothelioma, epithelial mesothelioma seems to grow the slowest. Sarcomatous or spindle-cell mesotheliomas seem to grow the fastest and biphasic mesotheliomas, which have characteristics of both epithelial and sarcomatous mesotheliomas seem to grow at a rate in between those two. Life expectancy from the date of diagnosis with mesothelioma to death varies from as short as several months to five years or in some cases longer. Age at time of diagnosis and overall general health make a big difference in how long a person lives.

A few cases are reported of persons alive five and more years after diagnosis. More of these cases are occurring as time goes on and more is known about how to try and fight the cancer. Readmore...