Mesothelioma Illinois

Mesothelioma Cancer : After performing the physical exam and taking a his­tory that concentrates on whether you have developed shortness of breath or pain, the doctor will order a chest x-ray. Based on what is found, the doctor will determine what other tests you will need. The doctor may also order blood work. When a tumor or fluid is found, the doctor will need to perform a procedure that mil obtain cells for the physicians to study to determine whether this is a cancer or not. This can be done by performing a biopsy of the mass or by tapping fluid (inserting a needle and drawing out fluid) from the chest or belly cavity and then analyzing the cells that come with the fluid. The analysis of cells from fluid is called cytology. Although an x-ray or scan may provide useful information about the size, shape, and location of a tumor or fluid and may alert your doctor to the possibility of a cancer, an actual diagnosis of mesothelioma cannot be made without a biopsy, or undeniable evidence of cells in the fluid that have the characteristics of a mesothelioma. Mesothelioma Cancer

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There are no specific blood tests that can tell your doctor you have mesothelioma. Certain blood cell values may be abnormal when a patient has mesothelioma, but these are nonspecific (that is, they do not definitively tell the doctor that it is mesothelioma or another type of cancer or a benign condition). The white blood cell count (cells that fight infection) may be elevated and/or the platelet count (cells that help the clotting system) maybe elevated above normal values.

The liquid part of blood (serum) is partially comprised of dissolved proteins. Currendy, there are no specific proteins in the serum that can tell your doctor you have asbestosis or mesothelioma. Proteins that are spe­cific to a certain disease are called biomarkers. There is great interest in the discovery of these biomarkers, which may represent unique proteins from the tumor that appear early in the disease and increase as the dis­ease progresses. Ask your physician whether any of these markers are under study or whether any have been approved by the FDA for the study of mesothe­lioma. These markers include soluble mesothelin related protein (SMRP) and osteopontin. Mesothelioma Cancer

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The results of the chest x-ray will usually prompt the doctor to order a CAT or CT scan (computerized axial tomography scan) of the chest and abdomen. These scans provide a three-dimensional view of the area of the body that the physician is interested in. CT scans have a better ability to show how much solid mass is present and how much fluid contributes to the picture. They also give a much better anatomic picture so your doctor can see how any masses relate to the lung, heart, diaphragm (the muscle that helps you breathe), and blood vessels in the chest or abdomen. CT scans do not tell the doctor what type of tumor it is or whether the disease has invaded other structures, but they do give a very good idea of whether your disease can be classified as early with minimal disease (Stage I), later with moderate amount of disease (Stage II), or advanced with a large amount of disease (Stages III and IV). (We will discuss the concept of staging in more detail later on.) In mesothelioma, a CT scan is not very good for showing whether your lymph nodes (the round structures in certain positions in the chest and abdomen that drain the lung and intestines and act as filters and sites for immune responses) are involved. The reason it does not show this well is that the pleura can be thickened in areas where the lymph nodes are, and this lumpy, bumpy thickening can be confused with lymph nodes or can hide lymph nodes.

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Mesothelioma Cancer