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If you think you may have mesothelioma, you will need to see your GP. Your GP will ask you questions about your symptoms, the kind of work you have done, and your lifestyle. She or he will check your medical history to see what illnesses you have had in the past. He or she may want to examine your chest or abdomen.
S/he may then send you for a chest x-ray to get more information, or – depending on your symptoms – s/he may send you straight to see a specialist doctor at a nearby hospital. There are cancer referral guidelines to help GPs decide who needs to see a specialist, and how quickly.
At hospital you will be asked to give a detailed history of all your jobs.
Here are some of the tests you may have:
Chest x-ray
This lets your doctor see whether there is a shadow on the lung. If there is, the doctor will want to arrange some more tests to find out what it is.
Computerised tomography (CT or CAT scan)
This is a type of x-ray that creates pictures of the inside of the body. You lie on a couch while it passes through a large hollow ring. Doctors use the scan to see whether the cancer has spread.
Fluid drainage
Many people with mesothelioma have fluid collecting around their affected lung (or in their abdomen with peritoneal mesothelioma). If there is evidence of this, your doctor may want to take a sample to look for abnormal cells, using a microscope.
Thoracoscopy
This is done by using a thin flexible tube with a light and camera at the end. The tube (endoscope) can be passed through the skin of the chest, where it is called thoracoscopy. The procedure is done under a general anaesthetic by a surgeon. You will usually be able to go home the same day.
Lung biopsy
Sometimes a bronchoscope can't reach the suspected cancer. To get a sample of cells the doctor may need to put a very fine needle through the skin and into the lung. S/he can then draw up some cells into a syringe. You have a local anaesthetic first.
Laparoscopy
Laparoscopy is sometimes used to diagnose peritoneal mesothelioma. A laparoscopy is an examination of the inside of the abdomen (the pelvis or belly) using a fibre-optic light, and a telescope attached to a microchip camera, which are passed through a thin rigid tube (a laparoscope).
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan
MRI scans are usually not helpful in the diagnosis of mesothelioma, but there are some occasions when the information they provide is of value. This test uses powerful magnetic waves to make a picture of the soft tissue, organs and bones in your chest or abdomen.
Bronchoscopy
The doctor puts a thin, flexible instrument (a bronchoscope) through the nose or mouth and down into the lungs. S/he can then look for anything unusual, and take small samples of tissue (biopsies) to be examined under a microscope.
Mediastinoscopy
For the test, the doctor makes a small cut at the base of your neck, and passes a small viewing tube (mediastinoscope) through the cut, into the chest. A sample of tissue may be taken for examination under a microscope.
For more information about some of these tests, go to our cancer tests section.
