Tragically the mesothelioma asbestos lung cancer is becoming more and more well known, the mere mention of it striking fear into all of us for we know that it is associated with death. Asbestos is the reaper, mesothelioma its hand maiden. Asbestos, the wonder product of the fifties is now recognized as an enemy of the twentieth century.
The next most common form of mesothelioma is peritoneal mesothelioma and this is where cancerous cells grow on the peritoneum which is the lining of the abdomen. Pericardial mesothelioma, the least common major form of mesothelioma, makes up roughly 5% of all mesothelioma cases. This is where malignant cancer cells grow on the lining of the heart.All three of these forms of mesothelioma are caused by asbestos.
Records show that there are a higher number of people afflicted with asbestosis and mesothelioma who have directly worked in asbestos mines, ship yards and companies making products from asbestos; however there are a large number of people afflicted, who have never worked in these industries. Their contact with asbestos, due to the dust brought home on their husband’s clothes or from the asbestos tailings placed around mine houses and town perimeters. But the tragedy does not end there, children innocently playing in their own back yards played amongst the asbestos tailings as children elsewhere play in the sand. They had no way of knowing that their sand was asbestos blue. A good bath at the end of the day may have removed the dust from the skin but the dust in the lungs remained and would lay dormant for many years before claiming its deadly legacy.
It is also known that family members of workers exposed to asbestos can contract this disease through exposure to the workers clothing. Smoking greatly increases the risk of contracting mesothelioma. Some of the earliest symptoms of mesothelioma can often be mistaken for less serious illness and are commonly overlooked. Some patients do not show any signs of sickness in the early stages of development of the disease. Most commonly the symptoms include dyspnea, pleuritic pain, lasting cough, fatigue, and weight loss.
This disease is more common in men. Most cases of mesothelioma occur 30-45 years after initial exposure to asbestos. Once it develops, this cancer will continue to grow until it is treated. It is very important that the disease is diagnosed and treated as early as possible.
Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. A history of asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70 percent to 80 percent of all cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos.
There are a few treatments for all types of mesothelioma but none of these have a high success rate. The effectiveness of the treatment depends on how early and how aggressively the cancer is treated. If the cancerous cells are treated when they have fully matured and developed then it is unlikely that treatment methods will be successful.
Why is there such a long period of time between inhalation of asbestos dust and onset of the disease? What triggers a strong healthy body to suddenly succumb to it? What can we do to prevent this from happening? Blood tests are now available to determine whether mesothelioma is present in the body, before a person is aware of any symptoms. This is an amazing breakthrough and perhaps the first step towards curing the disease before it becomes terminal.
My husband was a strong and virile man who rarely had a sick day in his life. Suddenly at the age of 52 he became short of breath and was subsequently diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. He had lived in the asbestos mining town of Wittenoom in Western Australia for a few short months at the age of seven. The asbestos dust he inhaled then, took forty five years to become lethal. I still find this hard to believe. Despite his prognosis of three to nine months, Brian survived for two years. He was 54 years old when he died.
To get more info on Asbestos visit Peritoneal Mesothelioma
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