| |

LA Woman’s Story is a Sobering Reminder to Watch for Signs of Pleural Mesothelioma

ByAlex Strauss

signs of pleural mesotheliomaThe plight of an LA actress who found out she had lung cancer because of a COVID test is a sobering reminder to be aware of the early signs of pleural mesothelioma.

The woman’s story was recently featured on the Today Show website. Fifty-nine year old Annabelle Gurwitch is a non-smoker with no known lung cancer risk factors. She and her 23-year-old child decided to get COVID tests after her child came home from college. 

Although the COVID test was negative, Gurwitch writes that doctors were concerned about her persistent cough. Ongoing cough can be a one of the early signs of pleural mesothelioma, too. An X-ray revealed that Gurwitch was suffering from Stage 4 lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer death in America. 

Cough and Other Signs of Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma is a lung-related cancer. It affects the membrane around the lungs called the pleura. Most people who receive a pleural mesothelioma diagnosis lived or worked around asbestos. Asbestos is a toxic mineral that can trigger DNA changes at the cellular level. 

Cough that won’t go away can be an early mesothelioma symptom. As a tumor grows on the pleura, it gets harder for patients to take a deep breath.  The cough is a reflexive response. 

Other possible of signs of pleural mesothelioma:

  • Weight loss
  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue
  • Shortness of breath (dyspnea) 
  • Chest pain
  • Chest tightness
  • Wheezing
  • Respiratory complications

Pleural mesothelioma can trigger fluid collection in the space around the lungs. This fluid is called pleural effusions. The fluid may constrict the lungs, causing several of the most common signs of pleural mesothelioma. 

Who Should be Worried About Mesothelioma?

Unlike other lung cancers, malignant pleural mesothelioma is extremely rare. Only about 2,500 Americans receive a mesothelioma diagnosis every year. The disease is almost unheard of in people who have not had contact with asbestos. Even then, only a small fraction of asbestos-exposed people develop mesothelioma. It is almost always fatal.

Unfortunately, it is possible to be exposed to asbestos without knowing it. People who are unaware of their exposure are more likely to ignore or dismiss the warning signs of pleural mesothelioma, just as Annabelle Gurwitch dismissed her cough. 

Homeowners who do DIY projects on an older home, spouses or children of asbestos workers who touched their dusty clothes, or workers who were simply never warned can all be at risk for mesothelioma. 

Although there is no way to prevent mesothelioma after asbestos exposure, knowing the signs of pleural mesothelioma can lead to earlier diagnosis. Early and aggressive intervention may improve the odds of  long-term mesothelioma survival. 

Source:

Gurwitch, A and Pawlowski, A, et al, “She went in for a COVID-19 test and found out she had lung cancer”, April 26, 2021, Today Show website, https://www.today.com/health/covid-19-test-leads-lung-cancer-diagnosis-annabelle-gurwitch-t216306

Similar Posts

  • |

    Teacher’s Diagnosis Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Schools

    ByAlex Strauss

    A recent mesothelioma diagnosis in the UK once again dramatically highlights the fact that even a small amount of asbestos can be deadly. Sixty-three-year-old school teacher Marion Potts of Brockenhurst died of mesothelioma in a Southampton hospital in June. According to an article in The Mirror, the Coroner recorded a verdict of “death from an industrial disease” after hearing evidence last week that Potts actually saw asbestos dust being released when she pinned work on the classroom walls. Most recently, Potts was head of the English department at Romsey School in Hampshire until her retirement two years ago. Mesothelioma is a growing threat among school teachers, administrators, maintenance workers, and even students in British schools. A government report released last…

  • |

    Mesothelioma Blood Test May Be Possible

    ByAlex Strauss

    An international team of researchers is studying the proteins found on the surface of cancer cells in an effort to improve mesothelioma diagnosis. The team, made up of scientists from the US, Switzerland, Italy and Chile, has just published their findings on a new kind of test to identify protein-derived mesothelioma biomarkers in blood serum. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the membranes around organs. Because the most common mesothelioma biomarker, mesothelin, is also overproduced by other kinds of cancer cells, it has only limited diagnostic value. A test to identify a set of proteins produced specifically by mesothelioma cells could greatly improve diagnostic accuracy. Led by Ferdinando Cerciello and Bernd Wollscheid of the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology in…

  • | |

    Micro-RNAs May Offer New Way to Fight Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Scientists at one of the world’s top mesothelioma research centers, the Asbestos Diseases Research institute in Sydney, Australia, say that restoring the expression of certain micro RNAs in the cells of mesothelioma patients may offer a new way to fight the disease. A microRNA is a small RNA molecule which is involved in the regulation of gene expression. According to a new report in the Annals of Oncology, the Australian scientists found reduced expression of the micro RNA-15 family (miR-15/16) in the cells of mice with mesothelioma. “When malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines were compared with the normal mesothelial cell line MeT-5A, the downregulation of miR-15/16 was 2- to 10-fold,” they report. This finding is consistent with previous cancer research…

  • |

    Mesothelioma Claims Another American Actor

    ByAlex Strauss

    Another American actor has died of malignant mesothelioma. Veteran character actor Ed Lauter, who worked with such prominent names as Clint Eastwood, George C. Scott, Burt Reynolds and Tom Cruise, died this week in Los Angeles. According to the Associated Press, one of Lauter’s most notable roles was that of a prison guard in the 1974 Burt Reynolds film “The Longest Yard”. He also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Family Plot”, “Born on the Fourth of July” with Tom Cruise, and most recently played a butler in the 2011 Oscar-winning film “The Artist”. Lauter’s television appearances included “The Office”, “ER”, “Murder She Wrote” and “The Rockford Files”. Although little is being said about the origin of Lauter’s mesothelioma, an aggressive…

  • | |

    Needle Biopsy “Simple, Safe & Accurate” for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    Mesothelioma researchers in China say a biopsy method that involves a single skin puncture can produce good diagnostic results for mesothelioma patients with little pain or risk. The study focused on percutaneous (through the skin) biopsy in patients who had unexplained fluid buildup or swelling in their abdomens. Abdominal distension and fluid buildup (called ascites) can be signs of peritoneal mesothelioma, a rare but aggressive cancer of the abdominal lining caused by exposure to asbestos. Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for less than 30% of all mesothelioma cases. Because the symptoms may be vague and often develop many decades after asbestos exposure, peritoneal mesothelioma can be especially challenging to diagnose.  Misdiagnosis and under-diagnosis are not uncommon. In the newest study on percutaneous…

  • |

    Last Man Sentenced in Asbestos Dumping Scheme

    ByAlex Strauss

    The U.S. Justice Department has announced that a New Jersey man will spend 15 months in prison for his part in a scheme to illegally dump thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris – putting others at risk for mesothelioma. He was the last person to be sentenced in the conspiracy. Asbestos is the cause of mesothelioma, a difficult to treat and aggressive cancer.  At the height of its popularity from the 1940s to the early 1970s, asbestos was common in building products ranging from floor and ceiling tiles to joint compound, concrete and shingles. It is still present in tens of thousands of older homes and buildings today. In an effort to protect workers and the public from mesothelioma…