Diagnosis Of mesothelioma

Imaging Scans and Diagnosing Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that affects, for the most part, those with long term exposure to asbestos fibers. Up until recently, this kind of cancer could be very hard to diagnose because the symptoms displayed in the patient are similar to a number of other illnesses and conditions. Now there are better, faster and more accurate methods that are excellent at assisting doctors with diagnosing mesothelioma and finding the tumors that are associated with it.
There are several symptoms that are displayed when an individual has developed this cancer of the mesothelium. In a lot of cases, these symptoms show up in other ailments and can make diagnosing mesothelioma very difficult. When the cancer has affected the chest area, the patient may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, wheezing or cough and they may begin to cough up blood. If the cancer has affected the abdomen, an individual may have abdominal pain and swelling and their bowels may not function correctly. Extreme weight loss may occur as well. In severe cases, blood clots may appear throughout the body. The eyes and skin may also become yellowed, indicating jaundice. In some extreme situations, a few of the organs in the body may begin to bleed.

Diagnosis Using Imaging Scans

Because the symptoms match those of many other diseases in the body, mesothelioma can be very hard to find. The tumors that are produced may show up in any part of the mesothelium and can even be found between organs. A doctor is going to begin any patient examination with a thorough review of the patient's medical history and the typical preliminary exams an individual receives when visiting the doctor. As the diagnosis process progresses, there may be several tools used simultaneously to get the most accurate results. Along with blood tests and other tests for the body, a medical professional may use one or more of several scans of the body to see of they can detect any abnormalities.

X-Ray

The first and most basic imaging scan is an x-ray. This scan is limited, but may be able to detect certain areas that show damage or abnormalities in the body. One of the biggest drawbacks in the x-ray is it can only produce a flat two-dimensional image. When an x-ray is taken, electromagnetic radiation is sent through the body with a photographic film on the other side. The way the waves, or rays, behave changes as they pass through the body and different kinds of tissue, thus, they show up on the picture differently.

CAT Scan

Computed tomography scans, referred to as either CT or CAT scan, still utilizes x-rays to capture images from inside the body. The x-ray machine and the film travel around the body on one axis and take a large number of pictures. The pictures can then be collated and combined to give doctors an excellent idea of what different tissues are to be found in the area(s) of concern. The data can even be manipulated to show different slices of the tissue and can be rendered into three-dimensional representations. An incredibly valuable tool to the medical industry, a CAT scan is still only able to present its data in various shades of light and dark.

MRI Scans

Magnetic resonance imaging scans use electromagnetic radiation to develop images of the body. Hydrogen atoms in the body respond to the magnetic signals by putting out a very weak radiowave, which the computer can analyze. With a few exceptions MRI scans are not harmful to the human body, while excessive exposure to x-rays can be. These scans do everything that a CAT scan does and more. The biggest bonus to MRI scans is the ability of the computer to differentiate between tissues in the body and assign them various colors. This lets doctors get a very clear picture of the interior of the body and find tumors much earlier than the other two kinds of scans. The earlier mesothelioma is discovered and operated on, the better odds a patient has for survival.

PET Scans

One of the best and most widely used scans for detecting and diagnosing mesothelioma and other kinds of cancer is the positron emission tomography, or PET, scan. These scans use tracers and cameras to develop a detailed image of the body and even detect changes in biological processes, allowing doctors to find even the smallest tumor. PET scans involve an injection of a radioactive tracer isotope, combined with some kind of glucose, into the blood stream of the patient. After a short waiting period, the scanners are able to detect gamma radiation produced by the tissues in the body interacting with the tracer isotopes. The scans can produce very accurate representations of the body and can even display to doctors what is happening chemically in the tissue.
The most powerful scanning tchnique combines at least two of the above. Many different scanning machines are coming to medical facilities with PET scanners and CAT scanners in the same casing, and some are combined with MRI. The advantage to this is that biochemical processes, which show up in a PET scan, can be compared to what the anatomy that shows in the CAT scan. Both scans can happen almost simultaneously, so the body does not have to be moved during the scan. This ensures that the images are accurate and align with each other.