What causes pericardial mesothelioma and who are most at risk?The primary cause of pericardial mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos dust and fibres Therefore those at risk are those who are most likely to have inhaled these deadly fibres such as construction workers and asbestos manufacturers Those in contact with these people also have a chance of getting pericardial mesothelioma because these people may have asbestos fibres stuck to their clothes or hairWhat are the symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma?The symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma change from patient to patient Usual symptoms include persistent coughing, coughing up blood, shortness of breath, chest pain and palpitations Other symptoms patients may experience are nausea, weight loss, vomiting and loss of appetiteWhat are the treatments available for pericardial mesothelioma?There are various different treatments for pericardial mesothelioma although none of these have a high success rate Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, dual therapy and surgery are the treatment methods available Chemotherapy includes using drugs to kill off cancerous cells and radiation therapy uses doses of radiation to kill cancer cells although this is difficult in the case of pericardial mesothelioma due to the surrounding vital organs such as the heart and lungs Dual therapy is a treatment combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy Surgery comes in two forms; aggressive surgery and palliative procedures Aggressive surgery is a very difficult procedure and consists of removing large chunks of cancerous cells in an attempt to gain long term control over the cancer Palliative procedures just attempts to lessen the symptoms for the patientHow much exposure to asbestos is needed for there to be a possibility of getting pericardial mesothelioma?This depends on how strong and resistant the person is to disease and on the concentration of asbestos in the environment around him It is possible to get pericardial mesothelioma from as little as a couple of months of exposure to asbestos although on average it would take a couple of years for enough asbestos fibres to build up to cause cancerWhat is the prognosis for pericardial mesothelioma?This is highly dependent on how early and how aggressively the cancer is treated If pericardial mesothelioma is treated when it has fully developed and matured then the chances of a patient's survival is very small The prognosis could be only a couple of monthsIs there any promising research into cures for pericardial mesothelioma?Research into cures of pericardial mesothelioma and all other forms of mesothelioma is being done in numerous research labs all over the USA Many pharmaceutical companies are also working hard to research new drugs for chemotherapy So far, research has been mostly unsuccessful For more information on pericardial mesothelioma such as the risks, causes, symptoms and treatments go to:[http://wwwpericardialmesotheliomacouk][http://wwwpericardial-mesotheliomacouk][http://wwwasbestos-resourcecouk] Article Source: http://EzineArticlescom/?expert=William_Johnston ?>