Overview:

Mesothelioma is a rare (and fatal) form of cancer that affects your lungs or abdominal regions.

Cause

Exposure to Asbestos appears to be the major link in 80% of Mesothelioma cases.

Types

There are two major forms of Mesothelioma.

Pleural Mesothelioma which affects your lungs 70-80% of Mesothelioma cases are Pleural Mesothelioma.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma which affects your abdominal regions 10-20% of the cases are Peritoneal Mesothelioma.

Symptoms

You may have Pleural Mesothelioma if you experience:

• Pain in your lower back or your chest
  
• Shortness of breath
  
• Persistent cough
  
• Trouble swallowing
  
• Sweating or fevers
  
• Hoarse/Husky voice
  

• Pain in your abdomen
  
• Poor appetite
  
• Diarrhea
  
• Swelling in your abdomen
  
• Constipation
  

Stages

There are four stages of Mesothelioma, each stage gets progressively worse:

Stage 1 - Localized Mesothelioma, this is located near the lung if you have Pleural Mesothelioma, and located in your abdomen if you have Periotoneal Mesothelioma.

Stage 2 - Advanced Mesothelioma, the cancer has spread to your lymph nodes.

Stage 3 - Advanced Mesothelioma, the cancer continues to spread and tumor growths can be found in the surrounding region.

Stage 4 - Advanced Mesothelioma, the cancer has now spread to other tissues and organs and is now located in several parts of your body.

Internet Resources

The Directory Mozilla project has a selection of mesothelioma sites.
Here is another directory of mesothelioma sites