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Can mesothelioma be misdiagnosed?

Yes, sometimes mesothelioma can be misdiagnosed as a less serious disease or another type of cancer. The initial symptoms of mesothelioma can mislead doctors as they resemble other affections like bowel disease or pneumonia. Therefore, a misdiagnosis is quite common for patients with mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma can also be misdiagnosed as adenocarcinoma. This can happen if the pathologists who analyze the biopsy samples do not have enough experience in making the difference between mesothelioma and other types of cancer. However, there are cancer centers specialized in mesothelioma and which can confirm or deny the diagnosis.

 

Comments from doctors

  • As mesothelioma is a rare disease which has common symptoms it is often misdiagnosed.

  • Mesothelioma can be confused with a lung cancer type called adenocarcinoma.

We wanted a resource where people who are looking for better help can find it, because one of the issues that I have found is that the diagnosis takes a little bit, some people don’t know if they are diagnosed or not. This is something that it is important enough, that is why I wanted to put the information together.