Biopsy

A biopsy is a diagnostic test in which your doctor removes cells or tissue from your body for examination by a pathologist, a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing diseases using microscopes. Your doctor will probably order a biopsy to confirm a diagnosis of mesothelioma or other cancer.

If your doctor suspects mesothelioma, he or she will remove a sample of tissue from your chest or abdomen for testing at a pathology lab. This biopsy tissue will then be sent to your pathologist, who will issue a pathology report with a final diagnosis.

The biopsy may be done in different ways, depending on where the cancer is located. If the cancer appears to be a pleural mesothelioma, your doctor may order a core needle biopsy (CNB) or a fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. He or she will use a CT machine or other imaging test such as an endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) to locate the abnormal tissue, and then insert a biopsy needle through the chest wall into the suspect lung tissue.

Hospice

Family members may reach the point where they need additional help to care for their loved one suffering from mesothelioma. Families may want to consider hospice care. Hospice provides care to patients who are in the terminal stages of an illness. In order to qualify for hospice care, your condition must be considered incurable and terminal and your doctor must certify that your life expectancy is six months or less.

Hospice teams include medical professionals, counselors, therapists, social workers, spiritual advisors, home health aides and trained volunteers. The goal of hospice is to care for those who are in the last stages of life. It endeavors to enhance the quality of life and make the last stages of life as comfortable as possible. It provides emotional, psychological, and spiritual care and support for you and your family.

Focus on Pain Management and Family Support

In hospice, the focus of care has changed. It is no longer concerned with aggressive measures to cure a disease. Instead, it focuses on relieving pain, anxiety, and other symptoms, so those who are dying may do so with dignity and in the comfort of their own homes with their loved ones caring for them. Often this is referred to as palliative care.

Latency

Latency refers to the length of time between the first exposure to a toxic or carcinogenic substance such as asbestos, and the onset of the disease caused by the toxin. Most asbestos-related diseases have a long latency period of at least 10 to 40 years.

For example, it typically takes 20 to 40 years to develop malignant mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos. Likewise, it usually takes 20 to 30 years after the first exposure to develop pleural plaques, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer. In some cases, the latency period may be as short as 10 years after exposure. In other cases, it may take 50 years or more.

Mesothelium

The mesothelium is a thin, two-layer membrane that surrounds the entire surface of the lungs and heart as well as the organs in the abdomen. The mesothelial lining of the lungs is called the pleura, the lining of the heart is called the pericardium, and the lining of the abdomen is called the peritoneum.

The mesothelium protects your internal organs, and produces a lubricating fluid that allows your lungs and heart to glide easily against your chest wall. Without this protective lining, your lungs and heart would be unable to expand and contract freely. Thus, while few people have ever heard of the mesothelium, your body cannot function normally without it.