Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the peritoneum, which is
the lining of the abdomen. It is the second most common type of
mesothelioma and with pleural mesothelioma makes up the vast
majority of all diagnoses. Incidence rates for the peritoneal
cancer vary, but it’s thought to occur in ten to twenty percent
of malignant mesothelioma diagnoses. There is some evidence to
suggest that the number of diagnoses in the United States are on
the rise. While all forms of the cancer affect men more than
women, if a woman is diagnosed with mesothelioma, it is more
likely to be peritoneal than it is pleural. Neither of these
types of mesothelioma have effective cures, and the prognosis is
often grim: the average survival time varies from 4 – 18 months
after diagnosis. The peritoneum is a serous membrane that lines
the body’s abdominal cavity and secretes a fluid to provide for
increased movement and reduced friction among the organs in the
midsection. Like the pleura, there are two parts to the
peritoneum: the visce