Mesothelioma, a rare but deadly form of cancer caused only by exposure to asbestos, comes in a number of forms. While most mesothelioma victims develop the disease in their lungs or abdominal regions, a small number are afflicted with testicular mesothelioma.
If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with testicular mesothelioma or any other form of this disease, immediately contact our law firm at to discuss your legal remedies and options.
What are the Symptoms of Testicular Mesothelioma?
Because of the rarity of this condition, the recognizable symptoms in the handful of victims who have been identified with this form of mesothelioma include lumps on the testicles and swelling of the scrotum.
How Did I Get Testicular Mesothelioma?
You may have contracted this condition from your exposure to asbestos, a naturally occurring substance that was once used in a large number of industries and trades including construction, pipefitting, shipbuilding, custodial, mechanics, boiler making, steel, insulation, auto, electrical and others.
Researchers are not entirely sure how asbestos exposure causes testicular mesothelioma. Asbestos enters the body when you inhale its fibers that tend to lodge in the cellular membrane linings of your lungs and intestines. These fibers can also become embedded in other organs and cause inflammation and infection that leads to mesothelioma.
In patients with testicular mesothelioma, there is a thickening of the tunica vaginalis, a membrane composed of mesothelial cells.
How is Testicular Mesothelioma Diagnosed?
Your medical history is vital in assisting your doctor in properly diagnosing your condition. If you have a lump on your testicles or swelling of your scrotum, your doctor may order an ultrasound to determine the location of the bulge and if it is fluid or a solid mass. A solid mass is an indicator of mesothelioma.
Other conditions can account for your condition including inguinal hernias or non-cancerous tumors. Your doctor could perform an aspiration, or a drawing out of the fluid to test it for cancer cells, but this is not a reliable indicator. The only true method of diagnosis is removal of the testicle and testing it post-surgically to look for cancerous cells.
The surgery, fortunately, is not traumatic and most patients can easily bear it despite having other serious medical conditions.
What is the Survival Rate for Patients?
In many cases, once testicular mesothelioma has been diagnosed, it is usually too late for the victim to undergo procedures that can extend life expectancy for more than a year or two. In the few cases where the disease has been diagnosed at all, early detection and a quick response have resulted in some patients living beyond the typical two-year survival rate for most mesothelioma patients. Otherwise, treatments are strictly designed to ease the discomfort of patients.
Tumors found in the testicles are usually secondary to those found in the peritoneum or lining of the abdominal cavity, meaning the disease has progressed to a later stage. Even with removal of the testicles and any cancerous tumors, the aggressive nature of the disease means that it will likely recur within a few years.
Compensation for Testicular Mesothelioma
Fortunately, in one of the few cases where a trial was held involving a claim of testicular mesothelioma, the result was favorable for the claimant. Because of the rarity of the disease and that asbestos exposure is the primary if not the only cause, liability can be established once the responsible manufacturer and/or installer of the asbestos is determined. In many mesothelioma cases, there are multiple defendants.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with testicular mesothelioma and worked in a a trade or industry where asbestos was present, immediately contact our asbestos law firm at for a free assessment of your claim. All states have a statute of limitations, which can bar filing of your claim for compensation if you wait too long.
