How Is Mesothelioma Treated?
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles. However, they may have been been exposed to asbestos dust and fibre in other ways. This could include working with asbestos or by home renovation using asbestos cement products or even by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos. The resulting disease is rare form of cancer in which malignant (cancerous) cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective sac that covers most of the body's internal organs.
Mesothelioma occurs more often in men than in women and risk increases with age, but this disease can appear in either men or women at any age. About 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year. Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer.
There are various procedures used for the treatment of mesothelioma. The type of treatment depends on the location of the cancer, the stage of the disease, and the patient's age and general health.
A common treatment of the disease is by means of surgery by the removal of part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura, a lung may be removed in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.
Another method is Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy. This involves the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy affects the cancer cells only in the treated area. The radiation may come from a machine or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found .
Anticancer drugs can be used to kill cancer cells throughout the body. This is known as chemotherapy and involves the administration of the drugs by injection into a vein (intravenous, or IV). Currently, doctors are also studying the effectiveness of putting chemotherapy directly into the chest or abdomen.
Because mesothelioma is very hard to control, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) is sponsoring clinical trials that are designed to find new treatments and better ways to use current treatments.
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Related Asbestos News and Articles From adzines
Mesothelioma: What is it? Mesothelioma is a malignant cancerous disease of the cells lining the patient's body cavities such as chest, abdominal region or the area surrounding the heart. It is thought to be associated with exposure to asbestos, and this asbestos association has been documented in 70-80% of all mesothelioma cases. Asbestos cancer or mesothelioma is very difficult to assess and diagnose consistently. The time between exposure and the onset of the disease, and the rate of progression of malignant mesothelioma, make diagnosis very difficult.
Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma cancer. 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.
Since the late 1800's Asbestos has been mined and used commercially. The use of Asbestos dramatically increased during World War II and since the early 1940's millions of Americans have been exposed to asbestos dust working within industries where initally the risks were not known. There has been widespread exposure to Asbestos by workers within shipyards, mines and mills, producers of asbestos products, workers in the heating and construction industries, and other tradespeople and an increase risk of deveolping mesothelioma has been the result. .
Cancer is a disease in which certain body cells don't function right, divide very fast and produce too much tissue that forms a tumor. A leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women is probably lung cancer. This is the number one cause of cancer deaths surpassing breast cancer as the leading cause of deaths in women. Cancers that begin in the lungs are divided into two major types, the non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer depending on how the cells look under a microscope.
Mesothelioma attorneys It is very important to work with specialized mesothelioma attorneys. They specialize in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits based on exposure of asbestos and other related asbestos lawsuit cases.
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What You Need To Know About Lung Cancer
Cancer is a disease in which certain body cells don't function right, divide very fast and produce too much tissue that forms a tumor. A leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women is probably lung cancer. This is the number one cause of cancer deaths surpassing breast cancer as the leading cause of deaths in women. Cancers that begin in the lungs are divided into two major types, the non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer depending on how the cells look under a microscope.
The Facts About Lung Cancer - Better To Be Aware
Keep yourself abreast of facts about lung cancer, as the statistics of affliction are staggering and in most cases, lung cancer can even be prevented. Cancer, the dreaded disease, is a malady marked by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, which rapidly destroy healthy tissue. Although changes in the lung begin almost immediately upon exposure to carcinogens, lung cancer takes years to develop.
Mesothelioma the medical name for cancer of the pleura (the lining of the lung and chest cavity) or cancer of the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen). It is usually caused by prolonged or persistent exposure to asbestos.
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