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Pericardial mesothelioma is an extremely rare cancer that affects the sac surrounding the heart and the lining of the heart itself. In some cases, the tumors completely encase the heart and push into the blood vessels. Like patients with most other types of mesothelioma, patients with pericardial mesothelioma report shortness of breath, pain in the chest, night sweats and some swelling in the upper body and face. Unfortunately, in many cases of pericardial mesothelioma, patients do not notice symptoms until the disease has advanced significantly. Because the disease often does not present symptoms until it has entered the advanced stages, doctors have difficulty diagnosing pericardial mesothelioma. In a study reviewed by the journal CHEST, doctors diagnosed pericardial mesothelioma before the patient died in only 13 of 31 reported cases. According to Mesothelioma Web, researchers who studied 500,000 autopsy records of cancer patients demonstrated that primary tumors of the pericardium were the cause of death in only 0.0022% of the cases. Only two to three percent of all pericardial and cardiac tumors stem from mesothelioma. In the rare cases that doctors detect pericardial mesothelioma relatively early, surgical removal is possible. In some cases, doctors drain fluid from the lining of the heart to relieve pressure. Radiation therapy is also a risky option because exposing the heart to radiation could harm the patient. Chemotherapy is not an effective option for pericardial mesothelioma. The prognosis for patients with pericardial mesothelioma is poor. According to Mesothelioma Web, the average survival time for patients is six months post-diagnosis.Symptoms
Difficulty of diagnosis
Prevalence
Treatment options
Prognosis
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by Mesothelioma_C on November 11th, 2010
Peritoneal Mesotheliom is a cancer that affects the lining of the abdomen. Learn more about it here: http://www.mesotheliomacancernews.com/peritoneal-mesothelioma
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