Most patients who are diagnosed with mesothelioma are told they have less than a year to live. However, when mesothelioma is caught very early, there are newer treatments and experimental treatments which can extend your life significantly. Mesothelioma is often misdiagnosed in the early stages, robbing victims of the opportunity to take advantages of advanced treatments. If you believe that you may have been exposed to asbestos and start to notice potential symptoms, please talk to your doctor today.
Symptoms
Except for rare cases of very intense exposure, most patients do not notice symptoms of mesothelioma until 20 or 50 years after their exposure to asbestos. Symptoms of all types of mesothelioma can include:
- Shortness of breath
- Difficulty breathing
- Fever
- Weight loss
- Chest pains
Additional symptoms depend on the type of mesothelioma that you have. You can have more than one type. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common. It affects the lining around the lungs. Other symptoms include:
- Persistent coughing
- Rasping
- Difficulty swallowing
- Coughing up blood
Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the abdominal area and causes symptoms such as:
- abdominal pain and swelling
- Bowel obstruction
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Constipation
- Blood clotting abnormalities
When mesothelioma affects the sac around the heart it can cause heart palpitations and irregular heart beat in addition to the basic mesothelioma symptoms.
If you or a loved one has mesothelioma or any asbestos-related illness, please call our California asbestos attorneys or submit an online questionnaire. The initial consultation with our mesothelioma lawyers is free of charge, and if we agree to handle your case, in most cases we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary recovery of funds. In many cases, a mesothelioma lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations. Please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.