Possibe Mesothelioma

  Thank you for responding doctor. I know that you said that mesothelioma masses would show up on a CT scan or Xray.  What about the early stages of the disease like pleural effusions or ones in the abdominal cavity?  I have lots of pain in my lower abdominal area and pain in my chest that sometimes hurst when I breathe.  I have had CTscans and chest X-rays and they cannot figure out what's going on.  I'm just scared that it is mesothelioma.  I don't know how often I was exposed to asbestos.  I know a few of the buildings I worked in had it in there.  I heard there is a latency period of at least 10-15 yrs  if exposed but I am still very scared.

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi. Pleural effusions can also be seen on chest x-ray and CT scan.  If the mesothelioma has progressed enough to cause symptoms, usually, some abnormality can already be seen in the imaging study (xray, CT), so if your symptoms were due to this disease, in all probability, your XRay and CT would have shown some lesions.  Abdominal mesothelioma is an even rarer condition.  I would try to rule out some other non-cancerous causes of your symptoms before even entertaining the possibility of abdominal mesothelioma.  Chest pain at your age can have a variety of causes, from heart or lung disease and musculoskeletal problems.  Even a thyroid abnormality can have chest pain as a symptom.