Mesothelioma Symptoms
The most troubling aspects of mesothelioma is that a patient’s symptoms do not appear until decades after one has been exposure to asbestos fibers and the cancer is in an advanced stage.
Depending on the advancement of the disease, mesothelioma is usually discovered when a patient visits a doctor or hospital complaining of symptoms resemble pneumonia – shortness of breath, a persistent cough, pain in the chest, back and abdominal area. This accumulation of fluid in the affected area is called an effusion.
Pleural Mesothelioma Symptoms
The most common type of mesothelioma is called pleural mesothelioma, affecting the membrane lining the chest cavity and lungs causing a buildup of fluids there that makes normal breathing difficult or impossible. This form of the disease accounts for up to 75 percent of all cases of mesothelioma. Symptoms of this form include recent onset of shortness of breath, recent increase in shortness of breath, cough, chest pain, general weakness, and—the most common finding upon physical examination—an accumulation of fluid called pleural effusion. Additional symptoms include: