Mesothelioma
Tragically the word mesothelioma 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. A ruthless enemy which will kill more people than the war. Men, women and children will fall victim to its prey, innocents who have at some time in their lives inhaled asbestos dust.
Most of us have been in contact with products containing asbestos in our life times. We sat in asbestos class rooms, stood beside our fathers as they cut asbestos fencing, pulled up old linoleum with asbestos clogged to the back of it. Visited the local tip where broken sheets of it lay open to the wind.
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.
Without warning, a healthy individual suddenly becomes short of breath, x-rays reveal fluid on the lungs and the night mare begins. Questions are asked and you answer, Yes, I was exposed to asbestos dust but I was only in the town for a few short months and that was over 40 years ago. How can this be? This is the most perplexing thing about mesothelioma. 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. Recently mesothelioma was cured in a mouse and attempts to give it back to the mouse were unsuccessful. This too is exciting stuff and holds a glimmer of hope for us all.
I have witnessed first hand the devastation of mesothelioma. 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.
Lorraine Kember is the Author of Lean on Me: Cancer Through a Carer's Eyes,a powerfully moving and inspirational true story about her husband's courageous battle with mesothelioma and her emotional journey as she cares for him. This touching book includes helpful information on topics such as: cancer pain management, symptom control, and coping with grief. Diary excerpts and poems Lorraine penned along the way are interspersed throughout this book and further depict the depth of their love for each other, the sense of helplessness she experienced on his diagnosis, and her growing strength as she comes to realize that there is much she can do to improve the quality of his life. This book has been highly recommended by the Cancer Council, as well as numerous other organizations and doctors. To read more about this book or order it online, please visit her website
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.
Related Articles:
How to Treat Mesothelioma from Asbestos Exposure
There are many forms of treatment for Mesothelioma. Their effectiveness is on a cases by case basis. Here are five possible treatments that have been used:
According to the National Cancer Institute, mesothelioma is a malignant cancer of the pleura, the peritoneum, and the pericardium (the sacs lining the chest, abdominal cavity and the heart). Malignant mesothelioma has been linked to asbestos exposure, and those exposed to more asbestos or for a longer duration are likely to have more intense cases of mesothelioma. People stopped using asbestos in insulation materials in the 1970s, so with the 20 to 50 year latency period between exposure and acquisition of mesothelioma, many are just now discovering that they have the cancer.
Your Mesothelioma case is important to you. You have been robbed of years of your life because of someone's negligence. The question is what are you going to do about it? Mesothelioma is a serious disease. Mesothelioma is caused from exposure to asbestos materials. Often times, Mesothelioma takes decades for this disease to come to the surface. When it is noticed, Mesothelioma is often in its last stages, beyond medical treatment. What does this mean to you, the injured? What does it mean for your family as well? Mesothelioma is also reason to look into litigation.
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