Mesothelioma Disease - What You Need to Know

Mesothelioma disease is a kind of cancer which can be benign or malignant. A malignant kind of cancer is considered to be very hazardous and may even be, in most cases, deadly. This disease wreaks havoc on the external membrane that covers and offers protection to the heart, abdomen, lungs, and other internal organs. This type of disease is fatal because it usually takes 20-25 years before the symptoms will be detected or discerned. This cancer is discovered only when the person starts to experience the symptoms. Usually, by the time that the person is aware that he or she has this kind of disease, he is already advancing in age. So the people aged 60-70 years old are the ones who are usually diagnosed to have mesothelioma.
These people aged 60-70 who are diagnosed with the mesothelioma disease may affect those persons who are in contact with them. That is one of the reasons why even the man, who did not work in areas wherein he was constantly exposed to asbestos, can develop this disease. The microscopic particles of asbestos can be attached to the hair, skin, nails, and clothing of the persons who are exposed to asbestos. So when the person goes home, he carries with him those asbestos particles which can infect his family members. He may cause the development of the various types of mesothelioma cancer which are classified according to the area of the tumor.
One type of mesothelioma disease, classified according to the area of the tumor, is called the pleural type. The tumor will or has developed in the outer membrane which surrounds the lungs. This type of mesothelioma cancer is more popular because there are a lot of cases wherein the person is diagnosed to have pleural mesothelioma. Another is called the peritoneal type. In this kind of cancer, the tumor will or has developed in the external membrane which surrounds the abdomen's internal organs. It is less popular when compared to the pleural mesothelioma. However, peritoneal mesothelioma is considered to be more dangerous than pleural mesothelioma. The pericardial mesothelioma is called like that because the tumor will or has developed in the outer sac, called pericardium, which includes not just the heart but also its great arteries. Since the pericardium offers protection to the heart, a type of cancer which develops there is a very deadly kind of mesothelioma cancer.