Mesothelioma, a malignant tumor; It is a disease caused by the membrane surrounding the organs in the heart, lungs and abdomen. Mesothelioma, also known as "lung membrane cancer", is usually seen in people who are exposed to a carcinogenic mineral called asbestos.
What is Lung Cancer (Mesothelioma)?
After inhalation of asbestos mineral, which has a fibrous structure, this mineral adheres to the lung membrane and this causes lung membrane cancer (mesothelioma).
Mesothelioma, which is among the rare tumor types in the world, has a higher incidence in Turkey than in the world. As Florence Nightingale, in this article, we will clarify the questions about lung cancer (mesothelioma).
What are the Symptoms of Mesothelioma?
When mesothelioma occurs, water accumulates in the lung membrane and edema begins to form. Due to the accumulation of water and edema, pain occurs in the chest, back and side areas. In the first phase of the pain, there is a stinging pain during breathing, but this pain becomes more and more continuous over time. Cough and shortness of breath are symptoms that accompany pain in some cases.
Who Gets Mesothelioma?
The risk of developing lung cancer is valid for everyone, but in some professions this risk is much higher than in others.
• Persons engaged in the manufacture or maintenance of automobile brake pads,• People who produce or use thermal insulation materials,• Shipyard workers,• People living in these houses in the same house.
How to Diagnose Mesothelioma?
A physical examination is performed for people who apply to a doctor. In the physical examination; If the chest area where the patient complains of pain is smaller than the other, if the shoulder on this side is lower than the other side, and if the patient's breathing sounds are decreased, the physician is suspected of pleural cancer. It is seen that fluid has collected in the cavity and the thickness of the membrane has increased. lure However, since these symptoms also indicate the possibility of tuberculosis disease, it is necessary to biopsy a piece of tissue taken from the patient's chest.
There are 3 different types of biopsy that can be used to make a definitive diagnosis of the disease.
- Open pleural biopsy
- Closed pleural biopsy
- Thoracoscopic examination
Mesothelioma (Lung Cancer) Who It Sees?
The risk of catching lung cancer is valid for everyone, but in some professions this risk is much higher than other people.
- People engaged in the manufacture or maintenance of automobile brake pads, /li>
- Persons who produce or use thermal insulation materials,
- Shipyard workers,
- Who work in or in the construction of houses known as “white earth” in the villages and used in the construction of these houses people living.
How to Treat Mesothelioma?
For lung cancer (mesothelioma) which has 3 different types, epithelial, sarcomatous and mixed type. There is no developed standard treatment method. There have been studies on this subject for years, but a clear result has not been revealed yet.
Multidisciplinary method is used in the treatment of mesothelioma. Surgical treatment, drug therapy and radiation therapy are applied to the patients. Successful results are obtained in up to 40% of patients treated with this method. The combination of surgical treatment with drugs and radiation therapy provides high success rates, especially in the treatment of epithelial mesothelioma.
In the surgical intervention performed for the purpose of intervention in lung cancer, the tissue affected by the disease is tried to be removed as much as possible. If the disease has started to spread and spread to the heart membrane or diaphragm muscle, these tissues are also surgically removed.
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