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Misdiagnosing Mesothelioma

Why does it happen?

Mesothelioma is a relatively rare disease and a stealthy one. Many doctors are unfamiliar with it. Its symptoms may take decades after asbestos exposure to appear, and they are easily confused with other conditions. This combination of circumstances means there is a significant risk of misdiagnosing mesothelioma and disastrously delaying treatment until the late phases of the disease. The reasons mesothelioma symptoms are confusing and easy to miss include:

  • Inexperienced doctors. Mesothelioma occurs so rarely―in fewer than 3,000 Americans per year―that many doctors are not familiar with it. Quite a few doctors have never seen a single case, and certainly not at an early stage of the disease. Especially when patients do not report their asbestos exposure, doctors are unlikely to suspect mesothelioma.
  • Long latency period. Many years, even decades, elapse between the time of asbestos exposure and the development of mesothelioma symptoms. In the intervening years, patients forget their exposure and never think about its possible connection to their symptoms. So they do not mention it when a doctor puts together their medical history.
  • Confused with diseases with mesothelioma-like symptoms. Many diseases show mesothelioma-like symptoms. This is why early evidence of mesothelioma is often attributed to other causes. Mesothelioma symptoms often include trouble breathing, persistent cough, chest pain, abdominal swelling, and weight loss for unknown reason. All of these symptoms are also associated with other medical conditions, including:
  • Asbestosis
  • Bowel disease or obstruction
  • Emphysema
  • Heart failure
  • Lung adenocarcinoma
  • Lung cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Pneumonia
  • Pleural adenocarcenoma
  • Respiratory infection
  • Smokers’ cough
  • Tuberculosis

Misdiagnosing mesothelioma affects prognosis

Unfortunately, when the connection is not made between a patient’s history and mesothelioma symptoms, the real source of the symptoms is not determined until the patient is in the late phases of mesothelioma. By the late phases of mesothelioma, the disease has spread and patients are often too weak for the most aggressive treatments.  At that point, there is little that can be done for the victim and survival is usually short.