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Mesothelioma
Lawyers & Mesothelioma Diagnosed
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If your doctor suspects you may have mesothelioma, you may have quite a few tests. This is because it can be difficult to diagnose. Many of the usual tests used to diagnose lung disease prove negative when used to diagnose mesothelioma. You may have :
X-ray
You will almost certainly be asked to have a chest X-ray or
abdominal X-ray. A chest X-ray can show up fluid collecting around
the lung. An abdominal X-ray may show up a swelling or fluid in the
abdomen (tummy).
CT
scan
This is a computerised scan using X-rays. You may be asked to have a
CT scan of your chest or abdomen. A CT scan can show abnormal
swellings in body organs or lymph nodes. You may be given an
injection of dye called ‘contrast’ before the scan. This helps to
make the scan clearer to read.
Thoracoscopy
This is a small operation usually carried out by a specialist
surgeon. It is done under a general anaesthetic. A small cut
(incision) is made in your chest
wall and a thoracoscope (a telescope like instrument with a video camera attached) is inserted
through the hole. Using forceps the doctor can take a small sample
(biopsy) of the pleura, the tissues which cover the lungs. This is
then sent to a laboratory for testing to see if there are any cancer
cells. This is sometimes the only certain way of finding out what's
wrong because mesothelioma can be so difficult to diagnose. Other
tests may not always show mesothelioma or may not be able to show
whether the problem is mesothelioma or a different type of lung
problem.
Fluid drainage
Many people with pleual mesothelioma have fluid around their lungs
(a pleural effusion). People with peritoneal (abdominal) mesothelioma may have
fluid in their abdominal cavity (peritoneal effusion). The diagram
shows a pleural effusion.
Fluid build up happens because cancer cells are irritating the
pleura or peritoneum. Fluid in the plura can make it difficult to
breathe. Fluid in the abdomen can make the abdomen feel swollen and
tight and uncomfortable. If mesothelioma is the cause of the fluid
build up, the fluid may contain cancer cells. To drain the fluid
off, a needle is put into the chest or abdominal cavity and the
fluid drained through a tube into a bag. A sample of the fluid will
be sent to a laboratory for testing to see if contains cancer cells.
Your doctor may call this 'thoracocentesis' or pleural aspiration if
you are having fluid removed from your chest. If you are having
fluid removed from your tummy (abdomen), you may hear your doctor
call it an abdoparacentesis or peritoneal aspiration.
Difficulty with diagnosis
Mesothelioma can be difficult to diagnose. This is because there are
many different types of cells that can make up a mesothelioma tumour.
Sometimes it can be very difficult for a pathologist (doctor who
looks at cells under a microscope) to decide if the cells or tissue
taken from the lungs (pleura) or the abdomen (peritoneum) are a type
of mesothelioma. These cells can often look very similar to other
types of cancerous cells. For example, pleural mesothelioma can look
like other types of lung cancer and peritoneal mesothelioma can look
like some types of ovarian cancer. Also, many of the usual tests
doctors use to diagnose lung disease prove negative when they use
them to diagnose mesothelioma. For these reasons if your doctor
suspects you may have mesothelioma, you may have quite a few tests
so they can be sure of a correct diagnosis. In some cases, you may
even need to have surgery to find out what's wrong. This surgery is
called a surgical biopsy.
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