Mesothelioma Different Types

Types of Mesothelioma

A disease that is only beginning to emerge in recent years, mesothelioma is a cancer that usually presents as a malignant form and results in tumors around vital organs of the body. The definition of the word mesothelioma is literally cancer of the mesothelium (-oma is a medical term for cancer). The mesothelium is the sac that covers and protects vital organs like the heart and lungs, and the disease causes the lining cells become abnormal and malignant.

The result of asbestos exposure, mesothelioma has three forms: pleural mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma. All three have a variety of symptoms, and some of the symptoms that are common to all three diseases. In any case, the disease, sufferers are unlikely to realize that there is a problem until years after they have actually contracted mesothelioma, regular exposure to asbestos.

The symptoms of all types of mesothelioma do not usually appear for several decades after the contraction. This can make the disease difficult to diagnose and is often too late to save the patient when making a diagnosis.