Peritoneal Cancer -
A Rare and Aggressive Cancer
Peritoneal cancer is a rare, but aggressive kind of cancer which is usually caused by asbestos exposure. About 20% of the total mesothelioma cases in the United States are peritoneal cancer cases. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the membrane that covers the organs in the abdomen, called the peritoneum. Inhaled asbestos affects the peritoneum, a membranous layer which has two sub-layers called the parietal and visceral layers, and protects the abdominal organs. People who work, or have worked, with asbestos are in the highest risk group for peritoneal cancer. Asbestos exposure at the home or workplace is a leading contributing factor for peritoneal mesothelioma. Between the 1940s and the late 1980s, millions of Americans were exposed to asbestos at work. The highest risks for peritoneal cancer were seen in shipyard workers, workers in asbestos mines, and those employed in asbestos mills, and factories producing asbestos products. Asbestos was also used in heating, insulation and construction, and affected people in these industries as well. Even people living with workers in those fields, and family members of asbestos workers are at an increased risk for peritoneal mesothelioma. The worst of peritoneal cancer, for the patient at least, is the fact that symptoms can take many years to become noticeable. Peritoneal mesothelioma may not be diagnosed for as much as half a century after the initial asbestos exposure. When asbestos fibers lodge in the peritoneal layers, causing irritation and inflammation, cancerous cells develop, and divide and burgeon. This causes thickening of the peritoneum, and fluid begins to build up, and soon, tumors begin to form. Symptoms of this type of cancer can include abdominal pain or swelling, diarrhea or constipation, lumps under the abdominal skin, night sweats, fever, unexplained weight loss, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, anemia, frequent urination, lack of appetite, and unexplained vaginal bleeding in women. The process of diagnosis may involve common tools like the X-ray or more sophisticated diagnostic imaging, fluid, and tissue tests. CT scans and other imaging technology detects abnormalities and a biopsy confirms whether the abnormality is cancerous, and if so, if it is mesothelioma. Mesothelioma symptoms can vary depending on the part of the body that is affected. For example, when asbestos fibers are inhaled, and cross from the lung, into the spaces between the mesothelial cells, they cause pleural mesothelioma. The pleural membrane thickens, and a build-up of fluid, or pleural effusion, occurs. This is the major symptom, along with dry or raspy coughing, blood in the sputum, loss of appetite, swallowing difficulties, shortness of breath, chest pain, lumps under the skin of the chest, and night sweats, are the symptoms of the pleural variety. Treatment of peritoneal cancer is difficult because it is hardly ever detected in the early stages. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, along with medication to combat pain, is usually recommended. There is no known cure for peritoneal mesothelioma but combination treatments have yielded some results in the past. New kinds of therapies and clinical trials for new drugs are providing new hope to patients for the quality and length of life they can expect after diagnosis. Surgery, to remove the tumor and affected organs; chemotherapy to kill remaining cancer cells; Radiotherapy, high-energy radiation, to shrink or destroy tumors; and suitable pain management constitute the commonest treatment method for peritoneal cancer. The disease has a high rate of recurrence and patients may require repeated cycles of surgery and chemotherapy.
Click Here To Leave Peritoneal Cancer and Return Home
|
