About Mesothelioma
What You Will Need for Your First Appointment
Prior to your first visit, it would be very helpful to have the following tests completed and reports faxed to our office (617.264.5252). Films should be brought to the office at the time of the first visit. These would include:
- Chest CT scan
- Chest MRI scan, specifically to look for invasion through the diaphragm and invasion through the pericardium. Include sagittal cuts to R/O contralateral involvement, chest wall or diaphragm involvement, growth in the pulmonary artery and aorta and R/O cardiac involvement
- A cardiac echo to assess cardiac function, as well as invasion through the pericardium and to R/O Pericardial effusion. Please include Pulmonary Artery pressures.
- Blood Chemistry that includes a Metabolic Panel and Hepatic Function. This test must be no more than one-week old at the time of the consultation visit.
- Hematology should include a CBC with platelet count and differential, which should be no more than one-week old.
- One or two representative blocks of the tumor tissue used to determine diagnosis. If this is not possible, please provide 12 unstained sections on positively charged slides suitable for immunohistochemistry. This would greatly reduce the time required for pathologic confirmation of the diagnosis.
- It would be helpful to have an English translation of all reports.
- We would also request that any physician notes, including notes from any previous operation and a written list of medications, be faxed to our office. You will receive a packet from the Thoracic Surgery office, detailing the tests above that must be completed and instructions on how to obtain the reports if the tests were done previously.