HealthSavvy Sign In |
Malignant mesothelioma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the mesothelium, which is a thin layer of tissue that covers most organs in the body. Mesothelioma most commonly affects the pleura (the thin layer of tissue that lines the chest cavity and covers the lungs) or the peritoneum (the thin layer of tissue that lines the abdomen and covers most of the organs in the abdomen). This article discusses malignant mesothelioma of the pleura.Being exposed to asbestos can affect the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma. Many people with malignant mesothelioma have worked or lived in places where they inhaled or swallowed asbestos. After being exposed to asbestos, it usually takes a long time for malignant mesothelioma to occur.Other risk factors for malignant mesothelioma include the following:Living with a person who works near asbestos. Being exposed to a certain virus. For information on malignant mesothelioma symptoms, see the full eMedTV article called Mesothelioma Symptoms.In order to make a malignant mesothelioma diagnosis, a doctor will perform a medical history and physical exam, followed by specific tests and procedures to confirm the diagnosis. Some of these tests may include CT scans, biopsy, and surgery. A malignant mesothelioma diagnosis is often difficult to make because the symptoms associated with the disease are similar to those of many other medical conditions. function createlink(url, title, index ) { var p=document.createElement("P"); p.setAttribute("onclick", "clickAnchor(event)" ); setClass( p, "chapterList" ); var a = document.createElement( "a"); a.style.color = "white"; var c = url.replace(/'/g, "'"); a.setAttribute("href", c ); a.innerHTML = title; p.appendChild( a ); return p; } function updateLinks() { var toc = document.getElementById("chapterTOC"); toc.innerHTML = ""; var p; p = createlink("#chapter_0","What Is Malignant Mesothelioma?", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("#chapter_1","What Are the Risk Factors?", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("#chapter_2","Symptoms and Diagnosis of Malignant Mesothelioma", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("/malignant-mesothelioma/malignant-mesothelioma-p2.html#chapter_3","Staging", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("/malignant-mesothelioma/malignant-mesothelioma-p2.html#chapter_4","Treatment Options for Malignant Mesothelioma", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("/malignant-mesothelioma/malignant-mesothelioma-p2.html#chapter_5","Prognosis", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("/malignant-mesothelioma/malignant-mesothelioma-p3.html#chapter_6","Research Studies on Malignant Mesothelioma", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); } updateLinks(); function addToolbarButton(txt,divclass,hrefdest,onclickfunc,title,id) { var tb = document.getElementById("articleToolbar"); var td = document.createElement("TD"); if(id) td.setAttribute("id",id); var d = document.createElement("div"); setClass(d,divclass); d.onclick = function(e){ if (!onclickfunc||onclickfunc(e)!=false) {window.open(hrefdest,"_blank","");}}; d.setAttribute("title", title ); var href = document.createElement("A"); href.setAttribute("href", hrefdest ); href.onclick = onclickfunc; href.setAttribute("title", title ); href.innerHTML = txt; href.target = "_blank"; td.appendChild( d ); td.appendChild( href ); tb.appendChild(td); } function savvyClick(event) { createCookie("articleReferer",window.location + "|Malignant Mesothelioma",0,".emedtv.com"); urchinTracker("/savvyclick/http://mesothelioma.emedtv.com/malignant-mesothelioma/malignant-mesothelioma.html"); var sc=readCookie("SAVVYLOGIN"); if (sc) { savvyAddTopic("Malignant Mesothelioma"); } else { grayWindow(); $('#logintext').html('Sign in to your HealthSavvy account to add this topic:'); document.forms['signinform1'].action='/savvy/loginAddTopicAndReturn.html'; document.forms['signinform1'].topicName="Malignant Mesothelioma"; domenu(event,'logininfo',0,-100,true,true,true); $('#email1').focus(); } return false;} function savvyAddTopic(str) { $.ajax({ url: "/savvy/ajaxAddTopic.txt?topic=Malignant Mesothelioma", success: function(data){if (data.substring(0,2)=="OK") {data = data.substring(2, data.length);$("#hs_savvy_favorite").css("display","none");}showMessageBox(data); }}); } function createToolbar() {var st=readCookie("SAVVYTOPCIS");if (!st || st.indexOf("|Malignant Mesothelioma|")==-1) {addToolbarButton("HealthSavvy", "tb_hsicon tool_sp", "#", savvyClick, "HealthSavvy","hs_savvy_favorite");} addToolbarButton("Share", "tb_face tool_sp", "http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3a%2f%2fmesothelioma.emedtv.com%2fmalignant-mesothelioma%2fmalignant-mesothelioma.html&t=Malignant+Mesothelioma", function() {urchinTracker("/facebookshare/http://mesothelioma.emedtv.com/malignant-mesothelioma/malignant-mesothelioma.html");}, "Share on Facebook",null); addToolbarButton( "Share", "tb_twit tool_sp", "http://www.emedtv.com/twittershare.html?status=Currently+reading+Malignant+Mesothelioma+on+eMedTV%3a+http%3a%2f%2fmesothelioma.emedtv.com%2fmalignant-mesothelioma%2fmalignant-mesothelioma.html", function() {urchinTracker("/twittershare/http://mesothelioma.emedtv.com/malignant-mesothelioma/malignant-mesothelioma.html");}, "Share on Twitter",null); addToolbarButton( "Email","tb_mail tool_sp", "#", function(event) {emailPage(event);return false;}, "Email Article",null); if ( window.external && typeof(window.external.AddFavorite) != "undefined" ) { addToolbarButton( "Add", "tb_favorite tool_sp", "#", function(event) {bookmarkPage(event);return false;}, "Bookmark Article",null); } addToolbarButton( "Print","tb_print tool_sp", "#", function(event) {printPage(event);return false;}, "Print Article",null); } createToolbar(); Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD var s = "Last" + " updated/reviewed: "; var lm = document.getElementById("lastmodified"); if ( lm ) { s += "November 03, 2008"; lm.innerHTML = s; }
View the original article here
