Mesothelioma Support

Most of the people go to their doctor for test & diagnosis after symptoms. Doctor will take your medical and occupational history before doing further physical examination. Your doctor after examination may arrange some tests or x-ray. You may refer to hospital for test & diagnosis. Below are the methods to diagnosis Mesothelioma.

Chest X-Ray-A chest x-ray or Lung capacity testing will be done to check for any abnormalities in your lungs, such as thickening of the pleura or fluid in & around the lungs. The following tests may also be required to diagnose mesothelioma, and your doctor may arrange for you to go through one or more procedures for Mesothelioma diagnosis.

CT scan
A CT scan (computerised tomography scan) takes a series of x-rays, which produce a three-dimensional picture of the inside of the body. CT scan will take 10 to 30 minutes.

CT scans of the chest and of the abdomen will show the exact size and position of the mesothelioma and whether it is spreading to other parts of the body or not. CT scan use a small amount of radiation, which will not harm you.

Pleural or peritoneal aspiration
If there is fluid in your chest or abdomen, the doctor can take a sample by using a needle through the skin into the fluid with the help of anesthesia. Some of the fluid is then withdrawn into a syringe and sent to laboratory for tests to look for mesothelioma cells.

Biopsy
If you need a biopsy, your doctor will take a sample from the thickened pleura or peritoneum. A special type of needle is passed through the skin into the tumor for sample with the help of local anesthesia.

Sometimes, even after taking a biopsy, the doctors may not be satisfied with the diagnosis, because mesothelioma is very difficult to separate from other illnesses. In this situation, the biopsy samples may be sent to other laboratories to confirm about the diagnosis, doctors can repeated your test or you may be referred for second opinion in another hospital.

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