What is Mesothelioma?

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Many people have never heard about mesothelioma.  Indeed, when they hear about this disease for the first time, the first question they typically ask is this:  "what is mesothelioma?"  Technically, mesothelioma is a benign or malignant tumor that affects the lining of the chest, abdomen, or heart.  For the most part, mesothelioma is caused by previous exposure to asbestos.  The non-cancerous type of mesothelioma is known as benign multicystic mesothelioma.  Because most mesothelioma tumors are cancerous, malignant mesothelioma is often simply called mesothelioma.

Cancerous or malignant mesothelioma is an uncommon form of cancer usually associated with previous exposure to asbestos.  In this disease, malignant (cancerous) cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs.  The most common site of this disease is the pleura (the outer lining of the lungs and the chest cavity), but it may also occur in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) or in the pericardium (the membrane surrounding the heart).

Some Demographic Information About Mesothelioma

The following represents some demographic information about mesothelioma:

• It is rare in people under the age of 55.
  
  
• Its incidence increases with age.
  
  
• Three-fourths of the people with mesothelioma are over 65 years old.
  
  
• It affects men 5 times more often than women.
  
  
• It is less common in African Americans than in white Americans.
  
  
• The average survival time is about 1 to 2 years.
  
  
• The 5-year relative survival rate is only around 9%, but this rate is slowly improving (the 5-year survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who live at least 5 years after they were first diagnosed with mesothelioma).
  
  
• There are an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma each year in the United States.
  
  
• The incidence of mesothelioma in the United States increased from 1970 to 1990 and then stabilized.
  
  
• The rate of mesothelioma in the United States may have started to decrease.
  
  
• In European countries, the incidence of mesothelioma is still increasing.

Mesothelioma Causes

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or by home renovation using asbestos cement products. 

People usually come into contact with asbestos through construction jobs or the clothes of family members working on construction sights.  Asbestos is an insulation material used in pipes, boilers, cements, plasters, joint compounds, fireproofing spray, firebrick, furnaces, roofs, floors, ceiling tiles, transite siding, brakes and clutches.

Thus, the construction workers most exposed to asbestos include insulation installers, boilermakers, plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, plasterers, shipyard workers, those in the Navy, electricians, mechanics, bricklayers, millwrights, carpenters, steel workers, and maintenance workers.  Sites with the largest concentration of asbestos include shipyards, power plants, refineries, paper mills, manufacturing plants, foundries, and construction sites.

About 2,000 cases of Mesothelioma have been noted yearly in United States.  While still considered a rare disease, the reported incidents, however, have escalated in the past two decades.

Mesothelioma Symptoms

Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until between twenty and fifty years after exposure, which explains why so many new cases of this form of cancer are currently being reported.  Many people who haven't been in contact with asbestos for decades, are now showing symptoms of this dreadful disease.

As with many forms of cancer, mesothelioma can spread rapidly. Symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, loss of weight, and chest pains.  If it is diagnosed early enough, the tumor can be surgically removed, and with chemotherapy and radiation treatment, a full recovery is sometimes possible.

Mesothelioma Diagnosis

Diagnosing mesothelioma is often difficult, because the symptoms are similar to those of a number of other conditions.  Diagnosis begins with a review of the patient's medical history, including any history of asbestos exposure.  A complete physical examination may be performed, including x-rays of the chest or abdomen and lung function tests.  A CT (or CAT) scan or an MRI may also be useful.  A biopsy, however, is needed to confirm a diagnosis of mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma Stages

The TNM system is the staging system most commonly used in cancer staging.  The TNM system describes the extent of the primary tumor (T), the absence or presence of cancer in nearby lymph nodes (N), and the absence or presence of distant metastases (M).  In the TNM classification system, stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 is the most advanced stage.

• Stage 1.  Mesothelioma affects one layer of the pleura only. It may have grown into the covering of the heart (pericardium) and the diaphragm.
  
  
• Stage 2.  Mesothelioma has spread to both layers of the pleura on one side of the body only.
  
  
• Stage 3.  Mesothelioma has spread to the chest wall, food pipe (oesophagus), or lymph nodes on the same side of the chest.
  
  
• Stage 4.  Mesothelioma has spread via the bloodstream to other organs in the body such as the liver, brain or bone or to lymph nodes on the other side of the chest.  

Mesothelioma Treatment

Treatment for mesothelioma depends on the location of the cancer, the stage of the disease, and the patient's age and general health.  Standard treatment options include surgery (aims to remove the cancerous mesothelioma cells), radiation therapy (also aims to eliminate the mesothelioma cells), immune augmentative therapy (aims to restore the body's natural immune system to a level in which it can be effective in helping to fight the effects of mesothelioma cancer), and chemotherapy (aims to kill cancer cells throughout the body).  Sometimes, these treatments are combined.

However, in more advanced cases, cure is usually not possible. In such cases, chemotherapy and radiation treatment can be used alongside other pain relief treatments, to ease the symptoms.  Where cure is not possible, the average survival time is between four and eighteen months, depending on the stage of the tumor and the general health of the patient.

Mesothelioma Lawsuits and Legal Compensation

The victims of mesothelioma can file lawsuits for seeking compensation against the companies responsible for asbestos exposure.  They can seek compensation for medical expenses, loss of income, lost earning capacity, pain and sufferings.  The family members and relatives of the people who die because of mesothelioma cancers can also file lawsuits for compensation to recover the loss of consortium care.  A dozen of companies who made an exit from the business decades ago are still fighting the huge compensation bills pending against them for causing a major biological disorder.  The courts have ordered huge amounts as compensation in most of the mesothelioma lawsuits.

Mesothelioma Research

Research is being undertaken in numerous research labs all across the United States although so far no breakthroughs have been made.  Many pharmaceutical companies are also endeavouring to find new drugs for chemotherapy.  Researchers have recently predicted that a long awaited new treatment method for mesothelioma is on the way to being discovered.

What is Mesothelioma:  Conclusion

Many people, when they first hear about mesothelioma ask the logical question: "what is mesothelioma?"  Mesothelioma is an uncommon form of cancer that is typically linked with previous exposure to asbestos. In this disease, cancerous cells develop in the mesothelium, a protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs. 

The most common site of this disease is the pleura (the outer lining of the lungs and the chest cavity), but it can also occur in the pericardium (the membrane surrounding the heart) or in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity).

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