Early symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma can include abdominal pain or swelling, and diarrhea or constipation. Unfortunately, some patients don't experience any symptoms until tumors have spread. This scenario makes treating the disease hard and surviving it even harder.

Common peritoneal mesothelioma symptoms include:

Abdominal pain or swelling
Diarrhea or constipation
Changes in bowel habits (including diarrhea or constipation)
A feeling of fullness
Night sweats or fever
Unexplained weight loss
Nausea or vomiting
Fatigue
Anemia

You may not experience cancer symptoms for 20 to 50 years after your first exposure to asbestos. Once asbestos fibers reach the peritoneum and irritate the cells, the peritoneal lining starts to thicken. As the cancer develops, the buildup of excess fluid in the abdomen, known as ascites, may occur next. Over time, tumors form and place pressure on the organs.

Sometimes doctors need to perform a laparoscopic surgical biopsy, which is more invasive. In both cases, pathologists look to see if lab results show cancerous cells in your peritoneal fluid or tissue. This delay, combined with the speedy progression of tumors, usually results in a late-stage diagnosis for most patients.

Doctors who treat peritoneal mesothelioma generally deliver a projected life expectancy of less than one year. However, one promising and innovative treatment called HIPEC, which combines surgery and heated chemotherapy, can extend survival by several years.

Peritoneal cancer survival rates are better among those with an early diagnosis (stage I and stage II) than a late stage (stage III and stage IV) which makes early detection a key in improving a patient's prognosis. Stage I or stage II diagnoses typically give oncologists more options for treatment and gives patients more time for those treatments to work.

Although the stage of the cancer is the most important factor for determining the peritoneal cancer survival rate early, other things about the cancer can be meaningful. The location of tumors, their cell type, a patient's age and overall health all come into play. Someone who can withstand aggressive treatments like surgery often have an improved long-term prognosis.

25 percent of peritoneal mesothelioma patients survive three years after diagnosis.

There are many stories of patients surviving several years after diagnosis. The best way for you to improve your prognosis is by seeking the best available treatment options.

Dr. Conway discusses the best treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma and the potential side effects associated with it.

Although an increasing number of cancer specialists have emerged as treatment leaders for peritoneal diseases in recent years, the total number of specialists remains small. If there are no peritoneal specialists nearby, you may want to look for one in a neighboring state.

Treatment options for peritoneal mesothelioma include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and combination therapy. Doctors believe combining traditional treatments often works better than any single treatment. A combination of one or more treatments is called multimodal therapy. Research shows that a multimodal treatment approach usually offers the best improvement in terms of survival.

The most promising therapy for peritoneal mesothelioma may be heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), a multimodal treatment that combines surgery and heated chemotherapy. While doctors only give HIPEC on a case-by-case basis, it has shown excellent results for select patients in terms of extended survival and improved quality of life. In studies on small groups of patients treated with HIPEC, some people lived five years or longer.

To qualify for HIPEC, a patient's cancer must be limited enough for doctors to completely remove with surgery, and must not have spread beyond the abdomen. In addition, qualifying patients must spend more than half of their waking hours up and about and be capable of self-care, which includes basic health maintenance, personal hygiene and the ability to follow doctor recommendations. In studies on small groups of patients treated with HIPEC, some people lived five years or longer.

Omental mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that grows in the omentum, a sheet of fatty tissue in the abdomen that hangs in front of the intestines like an apron. The omentum protects our organs, stores nutrients and prevents the spread of infection. The peritoneum covers the omentum, and both contain mesothelial cells that can turn cancerous and form tumors.

Peritoneal mesothelioma usually causes omental mesothelioma because the cancer spreads from the peritoneum to the omentum. It's also possible for cancer to develop in the omentum and spread to the peritoneum, but fewer than five cases like this have been reported in medical literature.

Symptoms of both cancers are similar, although someone with omental cancer may experience lower back pain and no other symptoms. Because this kind of cancer is so rare, it is difficult to diagnose and treat. In some cases, surgery and chemotherapy have proved successful.

It's unclear if the prognosis for patients with omental mesothelioma is better, worse or the same as for patients with peritoneal cancer. While there is not much data available on patient outcomes, some evidence suggests a reason for optimism.

In 2009, a patient diagnosed with omental mesothelioma was treated successfully with chemotherapy. When the study was published 14 months after diagnosis, the patient was still alive. In another case reported in 2004, surgeons removed a malignant tumor from the omentum and watched the patient recover and remain in good health for nearly three years.