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Mesothelioma is generally present without specific symptoms, for this reason its diagnosis is delayed in majority of cases. For instance symptoms of pleural mesothelioma resemble viral pneumonia that is shortness of breath, chest pain associated with or without a persistent cough, while some patients may even present without such symptoms.

Fluid accumulation in the pleura or pleural effusion chest is shown by an x-ray. Generally the right lung is affected in many of the cases due to its anatomical position, which have 60% incidence rate. Both of the lungs are involved in about 5%of the cases.
The primary target site of this type of cancer is the chest and the abdominal cavity. So the symptoms that are associated with mesothelioma are of these sites.

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By Williams Smith
In most cases patients suffering from mesothelioma cancer rarely manifest symptoms at the early stage. However, the symptoms surfaces from 10 to 50 years after initial exposure to asbestos particles. This is what makes it extremely hard to detect the problem before it get late, which is one reason why mesothelioma cancer patient has such an unfortunate high fatality rate.
There are many types of mesothelioma cancer that are associated with exposure to asbestos fibers such as pleural mesothelioma cancer, peritoneal mesothelioma cancer, pericardial mesothelioma cancer and testicular mesothelioma cancer. Pleural mesothelioma cancer is the most common type of mesothelioma cancer, is a condition that affects the lungs, specifically the pleura, which is a protective membrane. This particular cancer is responsible for about 75% of all mesothelioma cancer cases.
In the United States, about 2,300 patients are diagnosed with some form of mesothelioma cancer. Unfortunately most of these patients were not even aware that anything was wrong with them until it was too late.
The symptoms vary depending on the type of mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma cancer that affects the pleura named as pleural mesothelioma cancer can cause these symptoms: Chest wall pain, Pleural effusion, or fluid surrounding the lung, Shortness of breath, Fatigue or anemia, Wheezing, hoarseness, or cough.
Do not hesitate to consult your doctor as soon as possible when you have been expose to asbestos fibers, care for your health because health is wealth. It may be less expensive to treat mesothelioma cancer at its early stage. So do the right thing at the right time.

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About the Author:
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When asbestos is disturbed or damaged, small fibers can break away and float like dust into the air.  If these fibers are inhaled, they can settle into the lungs and over several years cause life threatening health problems.  One interesting study is called, "Radiological survey of men exposed to asbestos in naval dockyards" by P. G. Harries, F. A. F. Mackenzie, G. Sheers, J. H. Kemp, T. P. Oliver, D. S. Wright - Br J Ind Med 1972;29:274-279.  Here is an excerpt: "Abstract - Radiological survey of men exposed to asbestos in naval dockyards. Asbestos related abnormalities were found in 3% of a 10% sample population in radiological surveys of the naval dockyards at Portsmouth, Chatham, and Rosyth. The prevalence of these abnormalities was related to the type of occupation and duration of exposure to asbestos. The results confirm the findings of an earlier survey at Devonport dockyard. No association between smoking, or the amount smoked, and the incidence of parenchymal or pleural disease due to asbestos was detected.  Pleural abnormalities were found 10 times more frequently than parenchymal disease, and concern is felt over the uncertainty of the prognosis in men with pleural abnormalities, especially as 37 men have developed pleural mesothelioma at Devonport since 1965. More work is required to establish the true significance of pleural abnormalities caused by asbestos and to explore possible methods of treatment."

A second study is called, "Parietal pleural plaques, asbestos bodies, and neoplasia. A clinical, pathologic, and roentgenographic correlation of 25 consecutive cases by Wain SL, Roggli VL, Foster WL Jr. - Chest. 1984 Nov;86(5):707-13.  Here is an excerpt: "Abstract - An investigation was made to correlate autopsy and roentgenographic findings of pleural plaques with occupational exposure to asbestos and occurrence of respiratory tract tumors. Of the 434 autopsies performed over a 2 1/2 year period, 25 (5.8 percent) had pleural plaques but no gross evidence of parenchymal fibrosis. Review of the posterior-anterior chest roentgenograms using the International Labor Office criteria for classification of pneumoconiosis (1980) revealed that only seven of the 25 cases had detectable pleural thickening or calcification, which demonstrates the poor sensitivity of standard x-ray films. There was no detectable difference in frequency of known or presumed exposure to asbestos between the pleural plaque cases and controls as determined by occupational information obtained from chart review. Asbestos bodies were identified in lung tissue digests from all 25 cases with pleural plaques, and exceeded the normal range for our laboratory in 14 cases (56 percent). Of the 25 cases with pleural plaques, four also had bronchogenic and three had laryngeal carcinoma. The prevalence of bronchogenic carcinoma in patients with plaques was not different from those without plaques (p greater than 0.50). However, the association between plaques and laryngeal carcinoma was highly significant (p = 0.004)."

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