Most often, mesothelioma afflicts individuals that are in their 60s or 70s. So in those cases, the people are generally retired, It’s not always the case, and it may start with shortness of breath. It may be some pain in the rib area and fluid buildup is often a symptom of mesothelioma, which makes it hard to breathe. It can only be diagnosed through a pathological diagnosis, so the doctors have to go in and find what is suspicious, either with a needle or otherwise, and take a piece of it and send it over to the pathologists where they look at it under a microscope. That’s the only way that mesothelioma can be credibly diagnosed.