Peritoneal mesothelioma is less common than pleuralmesothelioma, but both of these typically malignant mesotheliomas can be justas tragic.  Peritoneal mesotheliomabegins in the abdominal cavity, as opposed to the lungs and pleural areas ofpleural mesothelioma.  ?Peritoneal? meansit has to do with the peritoneum, which is a membrane that surrounds theabdominal area.  ?Pleural? refers to thepleura which is a membrane that surrounds the lungs.  There is also a ?pericardial? mesotheliomawhich targets the heart membrane first.

The lungs, abdominal area and heart all have a membrane madeup of mesothelial cells, named the mesothelium. A cancerous attack of these membrane areas are mesotheliomas.  Asbestos is the cause of peritonealmesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma in well over90% of the cases.  There are a few rarerecorded cases of malignant mesothelioma when asbestos exposure was notidentified. If you have been exposed to asbestos, there is a high chance youwill suffer from an asbestos-caused disease such as asbestosis or pleuralplaques.  However, not allasbestos-caused diseases are fatal.

Peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma andpericardial mesothelioma can be fatal malignant mesotheliomas which spreaduncontrollably, or they can be benign, when the tumor stays where it is and canlikely be removed.   Unexplainable weightloss is a mesothelioma symptom which may occur in as many as 90% of benign andmalignant mesothelioma. Generally, benign mesothelioma tends to show lesssymptoms than malignant mesothelioma.  Mesotheliomasymptoms for peritoneal mesothelioma almost always includes abdominal pain.This is because there is excess fluid between the peritoneal membrane and theabdomen walls.  Pleural mesothelioma hasexcess fluid in the pleural area and this causes shortness of breath and chestpain.

The mesothelioma symptoms of pleural mesothelioma andpericardial mesothelioma are not as outwardly visible as the symptoms ofperitoneal mesothelioma.  In peritonealmesothelioma, the abdomen can appear larger. Tumor masses may be visible, butexternal tumor visibility only occurs in a minority of peritoneal mesotheliomacases.   Nausea is a common mesotheliomasymptom with peritoneal mesothelioma, and the abdominal area will also be verytender.

In a healthy peritoneal area between the membrane and thewall, the peritoneal fluid helps the intestines move food.  In peritoneal mesothelioma however, excessfluid causes bowel obstruction.  Themesothelioma symptoms of extra fluid and bowel obstruction both contribute toabdominal pain.  The bowel obstructioncan also produce mesothelioma symptoms of constipation and diarrhea.  Many peritoneal malignant mesothelioma patientshave reported mesothelioma symptoms of a burning sensation in the abdomen.  Mesothelioma symptoms for peritoneal malignantmesothelioma may not surface for 20-30 years after asbestos exposure, but itgenerally surfaces sooner than pleural mesothelioma.

Peritoneal mesothelioma is fortunately rare, however itsrarity sometimes makes it harder to diagnose.  The symptoms are similar to hernias and gallbladder problems, and identifying peritoneal mesothelioma in a CT scan isdifficult. The medical industry is aware that asbestos-related diseases will beescalating over the upcoming years, and treatment for peritoneal malignantmesothelioma is undergoing many clinical trials.  If you have been exposed to asbestos and haveunexplainable abdominal pain and are experiencing unexplained weight loss,begin preliminary testing for peritoneal mesothelioma. The sooner the testingbegins, the higher the chances for symptomatic relief, and hopefully today?smesothelioma clinical trials will lead to a mesothelioma cure in the future.