Abdominal mesothelioma, also known as peritoneal mesothelioma, is one form of a rare asbestos-linked cancer, mesothelioma. The abdominal mesothelioma, as the name suggests, is a cancer of the tissues in the abdominal cavity. Abdominal mesothelioma generally affects men ages 50-70, although women make up about one-fifth of all abdominal mesothelioma cases.
Abdominal pains, abdominal weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea, and abdominal swelling are all abdominal mesothelioma symptoms. Patients exhibiting these symptoms are usually scheduled for further examinations to search for other abdominal mesothelioma signs. If an X-ray or CT scan indicates signs that the patient indeed may have abdominal mesothelioma, a biopsy is conducted, allowing the physician to determine the malignancy level. Any abdominal mesothelioma treatment will be determined by the physician and patient, taking into account the stage of the abdominal mesothelioma, the location and sizes of any tumors, and the age and health of the patient. Abdominal mesothelioma has a very high mortality rate, and in many cases, diagnosis occurs when the abdominal mesothelioma has already progressed too far. In such cases, all actions focus on making the abdominal mesothelioma as comfortable as possible, often removing portions of the tumor to relieve pressure.
abdominal mesothelioma
Abdominal mesothelioma patients may be able to recover part or all of the costs of treating abdominal mesothelioma, due to its strong links to asbestos exposure.The mesothelium is the tissue that surrounds and covers the organs in the chest cavity and abdomen. The mesothelium allows all of the internal organs, the lungs and heart, on down to the stomach and colon, to move and perform their individual life-sustaining dances. This mesothelium tissue extends from the upper chest to the bottom of the pelvis. The more common form of mesothelioma originates in the upper part of the mesothelium, generally affecting the tissue around the lungs and heart, and is referred to as pleural mesothelioma. Abdominal mesothelioma originates in the lower part of the mesothelium, in the abdominal cavity. The mesothelium in the abdominal cavity is referred to as the peritoneum, hence the name peritoneal mesothelioma.
Only 100 to 500 cases of abdominal or peritoneal mesothelioma are reported in the United States each year. The cause of this cancer is widely attributed to exposure to asbestos. Some sources say that exposure to asbestos is the only known cause of malignant mesothelioma, while other sources mention the asbestos connection in a more non-committal way. In cases where asbestos has been identified as a contributing factor, the lag between the time of exposure to asbestos and the inception of the disease can be one or more decades.
