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MESOTHELIOMA COMMON QUESTIONS

What is Mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is a type of cancer of mesothelial cells. These cells cover the outer surface of most of our internal body organs, forming a lining sometimes called the mesothelium. It is most common around the lungs and abdomen. The tissues liningthe lungs are called the pleura, of which there are two. These are called pleural membranes. The gap between them is called the pleural space. The pleura are fibrous sheets that help to protect the lungs, producing a lubricating fluid that fills the gap between the two pleura. This helps the lungs to move smoothly in the chest when they are inflating and deflating while breathing.

Mesothelioma is most often diagnosed in the pleura. This is known as pleural mesothelioma. Because the pleura is so close to the heart, pleural mesothelioma can also affect the sheet of tissue covering the heart. This tissue is called the pericardium, often called the lining, and it is outside of the heart. It protects the heart and allows it to move smoothly within the sac that surrounds it, doing much the same job for the heart as the pleura do for the lungs.

 

How do you get Mesothelioma?
Most people with malignant mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they breathed asbestos. It is about 4 times as common in men as in women. This is probably because many cases have been caused by exposure to asbestos at work. Pleural mesothelioma is more common than peritoneal mesothelioma.

70 – 80% of those diagnosed with mesothelioma say they have been in contact with asbestos.  Your risk is greater if you were exposed to large amounts of it from an early age for a very long period of time.  But there are some cases that say they have no history of any heavy exposure to asbestos.

 

Questions for your doctor

  • I may have been exposed to asbestos at work. Is that a problem?
  • What is mesothelioma?
  • How would I know if I had mesothelioma?
  • Can I be tested for mesothelioma?
  • Is my family at risk of mesothelioma if I have been exposed to asbestos?
  • What should they do?
  • What are the symptoms of mesothelioma?
  • What treatments are there for mesothelioma?