The examination will begin with anamnesa about the symptoms suffered, personal and family medical history. Anamnesa is a conversation performed by the doctor to the patient directly as a way to get data about the condition and medical problems that are being experienced by the patient. In addition to anamnesa, the doctor will perform a physical examination to check for lumps or other abnormal signs.

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Furthermore, the doctor may instruct the investigation to be performed as part of the disease diagnosis. Common checks are performed to diagnose mesothelioma, including X-rays to check if there is a chest disorder and a CT scan to check the chest and abdominal area.

Biopsies or other tests may also be performed to determine which illness causes the symptoms to appear. A biopsy is a laboratory examination of a small amount of tissue that can be taken from different parts of the body, depending on the location of the illness. The tissue is then examined in the laboratory to determine what cell types cause abnormalities, as well as to know the type of cancer they have. As for some types of biopsy that may be recommended for the diagnosis of mesothelioma, namely:

  • The biopsy uses a small fine needle to pull a sample of tissue or fluid from the chest or abdomen.
  • Laparoscopy - Biopsy by making small wedges in the abdominal area to take tissue. This procedure is aided by very small operation and camera devices.
  • Laparotomy - Biopsy by dissecting open the abdomen to take tissue to be checked for the presence of disease or other abnormalities.
  • Torakoskopi or VATS (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery) - Biopsy by making a small wedge between the ribs to insert a camera and a small operation device into the chest cavity and take a small sample of the tissue to be examined.
  • Torakotomy - Biopsy by dissecting an area between the ribs to examine the area, whether there are signs of illness and taking tissue samples if necessary.
Once the diagnosis is obtained, the doctor will conduct further tests on the patient's body, such as MRI imaging tests and PET mapping, to determine the stage of the disease and treatment steps that can be taken. There are four levels (stage) in pleural mesothelioma, while the stage of spread in mesothelioma other types of more rare is still not known with certainty. Four stages of pleural mesothelioma consist of:
  • Stage I - The condition of cancer is still local, ie only in one area on one chest layer.
  • Stage II - The cancer has spread beyond the chest to the area of ​​the lung or diaphragm.
  • Stage III - Cancer has spread to other areas of the chest or has attacked the nearest lymph nodes. Some of the locations of the lymph nodes in humans are in the neck, underarms, and around the groin,
  • Stage IV - Advanced stage cancer that has spread throughout the chest or other body areas, such as brain and liver.