Pleural Mesothelioma: The Mesothelioma of the Pleura

The mesothelioma of the pleura or commonly known as pleural mesothelioma is another type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos which greatly damages the pleural sac; a thin lining that surrounds the lungs. Statistics show that 75% of all mesothelioma cases are pleural. It is due to the reason that asbestos fibers can easily be inhaled than eaten.

What is Pleura?

It is a sac which surrounds the lungs together with a thin membrane commonly known as “mesothelium”. Mesothelium keeps the fluids and enables the lungs to contract and expand when breathing. Once asbestos fibers are inhaled, they will cause irritating build-ups inside the lungs and due to their sharp and microscopic properties they could easily penetrate the wall of the lungs and sooner enter the premises of pleural cavity wherein the sharp asbestos fibers will shred, mutilate and totally destroy mesothelium which will naturally lead to cancer.

Over time, cancerous tumors will start to develop and hinder the lungs from their proper movement due to the thickening of the pleural fluids caused by the tumors. As tumors grow in size and infect other healthy cells, they will press on the ribcage and other organs resulting to devastating pain. And since the lungs are responsible for oxygenating the blood, the possibility of developing tumors in other parts of the body is high, thus, leading to more serious problems in the future.

Furthermore, pleural mesothelioma is usually confused with other diseases like common colds, whooping cough, the flu, pneumonia and laryngitis. In few cases, pleural mesothelioma shows no symptoms at all. That is why diagnosis for this kind of disease leads to nowhere especially if the patient fails to mention being exposed to asbestos in the past.

If there was a possible exposure to asbestos, the patient must not fail to mention it to his/her doctor so that proper diagnosis steps can be done and correct results will be attained.