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Peritoneum is a thin membrane of mesothelial cells. It envelops many of the organs in the abdomen. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a tumor that affects this membrane.
Since Peritoneal mesothelioma is located in the abdomen, it is common to experience symptoms such as loss of appetite, abdominal pain, nausea, weight loss, abdominal swelling etc.
The only known cause of this deadly disease is exposure to asbestos. Usually, Peritoneal mesothelioma is detected only when tumor begins to grow. Like mesothelioma that affects lungs, It can lay dormant for several years without showing any symptom of the disease.
Peritoneal mesothelioma can be either malignant or benign as any kind of cancer. When the tumor grows, abdominal organs are subjected to extreme pressure and this results in distention and bowel obstruction and breathing gets obstructed.
A condition called ascites occurs due to collection of fluid in the peritoneal space.
Detection
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Scientific research has shown that the only cause of Peritoneal mesothelioma is prolonged exposure to airborne asbestos fibers. Generally, symptoms of this disease begin to appear several
years after exposure. The first step in diagnosing Peritoneal mesothelioma is CT scans and
X-rays.
A procedure called peritoneoscopy is conducted under anaesthesia for observing any abnormality in the peritoneum. If any change is detected, a sample tissue is collected for conducting biopsy.
Treatment
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There are treatments for peritoneal mesothelioma though it remains an incurable disease.
Medical prognosis is depended by the extent of the tumor, its cell type, size of the tumor etc.
In case the disease is detected and treated early, there are chances for the tumor to respond to treatment. Treatments for Peritoneal mesothelioma include chemotherapy and other drug-based therapies.
It has not yet been found how or why asbestos particles make cells cancerous. But it is well known that the fatal disease is the result of asbestos exposure.
Peritoneal mesothelioma always progressed to later stages before diagnosis because companies did not warn workers that they were being exposed to dangerous asbestos fibers. For decades asbestos companies failed to protect workers and surrounding people from the risk of asbestos exposure.
It could well be concluded that the only way to prevent mesothelioma and other asbestos-related disease, is to adopt strict measures to control asbestos exposure.
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