Mesothelioma Symptoms

Mesothelioma often goes undiagnosed or is misdiagnosed early because patients may attribute symptoms such as shortness of breath, fever, coughing and chest pain to other ailments, such as the flu. Similarly, without knowledge of a patient’s history of asbestos exposure, a physician may not associate these symptoms with the possibility of mesothelioma.

Other common mesothelioma symptoms include:

• Coughing up blood
• Abdominal or back pain
• Chronic fatigue
• Lumps under the skin in the affected area (generally the chest or abdomen)
• Difficulty swallowing
• Loss of appetite
• Sudden weight loss
• Night sweats

If you suffer from these symptoms and you worked with or around asbestos, or if you experience these symptoms and you are the family member of someone who had regular contact with asbestos, it’s important to undergo a medical evaluation and alert your doctor about your exposure to asbestos.