Mesothelioma - Cancer that Strikes 40 Years Later
Mesothelioma is a 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. Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles.
In his article called
Knee Deep in Asbestos, freelance writer Phil Jones relates how when he was a teenager he worked for a brief time in an asbestos mine in the Yukon. One of the features of daily life
was the constant presence of asbestos dust in the air. As Jones writes,
There were employees that worked in the mill whose sole job was to sweep up the dust that fell on the floor. There was so much of it that this was a constant ongoing job. The asbestos dust in the mill actually fell almost like snow and covered the floor completely. Without sweepers there would probably have been several
inches of asbestos dust on the floor within an hour or so. In fact, I remember seeing sweepers go by pushing their wide brooms and the new dust settling onto the floor behind them as they walked.
This story illustrates a number of the more sinister aspects of the whole mesothelioma story.
First, over the course of many decades, countless workers were placed in work environments where they were exposed to high levels of asbestos fibre with little protection. Their exposure to asbestos fibres was constant and often took place over a very long period of time - in most cases, over many years.
Second, the owners and managers of these work places were often either unaware of the risk of mesothelioma, or they actively attempted to hide or cover up those risks.
Third, since the effects of exposure to asbestos fibre often do not become apparent for 30 or 40 years after prolonged exposure, there often appeared to be no immediate health risk in these work environments. This made it very difficult
for workers or their representatives to make a convincing case that worker health was being sacrificed on the altar of corporate profit.
For more information about mesothelioma, the causes of mesothelioma, the effects of mesothelioma, and the legal courses of action open to mesothelioma victims, visit Mesothelioma Advisors.
Rick Hendershot is a writer and founder of the Linknet Publishing Network. To learn how you can benefit from original articles, and posted around the web, see our program called the
Linknet Promote with Articles Program.
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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Like all other types of cancer, mesothelioma is incurable. Although doctors and scientists have made a great deal of progress for diagnosing and treating these malignancies, there is still no current way to completely get rid of it.
When I was 17 old I started working at an asbestos mine in the Yukon. I had the excitement of youth and looked on the thing as a big adventure.
L&S Announce Steps to Protect Against Asbestos & Mesothelioma
Lewis and Sholnick have announced the publication of some simple precautionary steps can be taken to avoid high risk situations in regards to asbestos and mesothelioma.
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