Mesothelioma Detection

Mesothelioma is a cancer and, like all cancers, can be detected through several different types of tests that your doctor can perform on you. this will not only give you a definitive diagnosis, but also let you know the type of mesothelioma and at what stage the cancer is. By having all of this information at hand, your doctor can better decide the most effective course of treatment for your particular case. Of course, having all of this information available to both you and your doctor must start with initial mesothelioma detection.

A patient unknowingly suffering from mesothelioma will first visit their doctor or local emergency room complaining of frequent, persistent chest pains. This type of persistent chest pain is caused by what is called a pleural effusion, a build-up of fluid in the pleural space. This build-up causes the chest pain and is present in most types of malignant mesothelioma. Other symptoms include persistent coughing and shortness of breath. While these symptoms can be attributed to many different diseases, several of them non-cancerous, they can also be indicators of mesothelioma. This is especially true where a patient has at one time been exposed to asbestos.

When a patient comes in exhibiting these symptoms, a doctor will often perform a chest imagery scan such as an x-ray or CT scan, allowing for the preliminary diagnosis of mesothelioma. There are also tests that can be performed to confirm the initial mesothelioma detection including PET imaging, or positron emission topography. This test checks for radioactive emissions and have come very quickly to the forefront of mesothelioma detection. While chest imaging can check for tumors or fluid buildup, factors that can be attributed to many different kinds of diseases, not just mesothelioma, the PET scan actually tests for the specific type of radioactive emissions that the disease lets off into your system, making initial detection and diagnosis much more accurate than before its conception.

Though a biopsy and subsequent testing of the possibly infected cells is still required to provide a definitive diagnosis, methods for initial detection of the disease are expanding quickly. In addition to the new scan there are also blood tests available that will check your system for elevated representations of SMR proteins, a variable found in malignant mesothelioma patients. A blood test can also be done to check your blood for osteopontin glycoprotein. Though the detection rate using this method is not perfect by any means, researchers have found a definitive link between elevated levels of osteopontin glycoprotein and patients suffering from malignant pleural mesothelioma.

When undergoing these tests, it is extremely important that you alert your doctor to any asbestos exposure that you or a family member may have had at any point in your life. Asbestos exposure can sometimes take a very long time to develop into any potential health problems, even mesothelioma. Early detection of the disease, like any other cancer, can help both you and your doctor in overcoming the problems associated with its presence.

 

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