Cancer Treatment Information and Resources

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer, but the deadliest one of all. It strikes about 3000 hard working people in the United States each year, mostly men over 40 years of age. It is caused by direct asbestos exposure, or from asbestos dust brought home on the worker's clothing.

During the twentieth century, around 30 million tons of asbestos were used in industrial sites, homes, schools, shipyards and commercial buildings in the United States. Many asbestos-containing products remain in buildings, ships, industrial facilities and other environments where the fibers can become airborne.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the cells that make up the lining of the lungs, the inside of the ribs, and around the abdominal organs. In the past it was thought that cigarette smoking caused mesothelioma. However, with medical research it has been proven that it is caused by asbestos exposures.

Here's what the asbestos does. When a person breathes in asbestos fibers, the fibers then travel to the ends of the small air passages reaching the lining of the lungs and damaging the mesothelial cells (the lining of the lung cells). If swallowed, these fibers can reach the lining of the abdominal cavity where they play a part in causing a cancer called peritoneal mesothelioma. The chance of ever getting mesothelioma rises with the intensity and duration of your exposure to asbestos.

And you may not get mesothelioma right away. Mesothelioma can even develop 20 to 50 years after the initial exposure. The average life span of an inflicted person from the time of diagnosis with mesothelioma until death is less the 6 months. So, who's at risk?

People who work or used to work in asbestos environment, and spouses or children being exposed to asbestos fibers from work clothing brought home. Also, if you live in a house that was built in the mid 70's or before, you have to know that most insulation materials, including pipe insulation; boiler insulation; fireproofing spray; firebrick and gunnite (used for internal insulation of furnaces and boilers); also many construction materials, such as roof, floor and ceiling tiles contained asbestos. You too might be exposed to asbestos. You need to have your house checked for any asbestos presence.

If you have ever been exposed to asbestos directly or indirectly, early symptoms of mesothelioma can include shortness of breath and/or pain in the lower back or at the side of your chest. Less often, you can experience trouble swallowing, cough, fever, sweating, fatigue, and weight loss. So, these early symptoms sometimes may delay your diagnosis as these symptoms are also related to other illnesses. It will be up to you to mention to your doctor the possibility of asbestos exposure, because your doctor may not suspect it right away. Your doctor then, has to use x-rays, CT scans or a breathing test to detect the presence of asbestos. He or she can further perform a biopsy (taking samples of your lung tissue) to confirm it.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you were most likely exposed to asbestos. Many asbestos manufacturers and even distributors knew for decades that asbestos was hazardous, yet they did not warn people of those hazards. As a result, you have a right of recovery against those manufacturers, which on the other hand can help pay the costs of treatment and provide compensation for your pain and suffering.

The first thing you need to do after being diagnosed with mesothelioma is contact a lawyer immediately to see if you have a case. Think about the source of your exposure, regardless of how long ago that might have been. Try to find the responsible parties. Whether that was your spouse's work, your work, your parents' work, the house you lived in, or anything at all that might have exposed you to asbestos.

Also, you need to ask your lawyer about your statute of limitations. Even if your family member has died from mesothelioma, you may still be eligible to file a claim. Even if you've never worked at a place that directly dealt with asbestos but you have gotten it through asbestos fibers brought home on clothes worn by a spouse or parent who worked in an asbestos environment, you may still be eligible to file a claim.

If diagnosed with mesothelioma, your doctor can only do so much to save your life. It will be mostly you religiously following the health directions given to you by your doctor and educating yourself about mesothelioma. Your doctor can help you save your life, but you can also help him or her help you by knowing how to deal with it.

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Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that generally attacks the thin membranes, the mesothelium, that line the lungs, the abdomen, the chest, and sometimes the heart. Mesothelioma, even though it's a fairly rare form of cancer, still affects over 200 people each year in the U.S. alone. Most of the cases of mesothelioma can be directly linked to repeated exposure to asbestos.

Mesothelioma affects mostly men of ages around 50 to 70 years. This is due to the lengthly time it takes this form of cancer to form, as well as the common gender of people working in manufacturing twenty or more years ago. Symptoms are wide ranging, and can include:

Continual Cough
Shortness of Breath
Respiratory problems
Pneumonia

Other symptoms can include:

Abdominal problems including swelling and pain
Marked weight loss

In some mesothelioma patients, the mesothelioma symptoms are quite muted, making it hard for mesothelioma doctors to diagnose.

Mesothelioma (or the cancer of the mesothelium) is a disease in which cells become abnormal and replicate without control. During Mesothelioma, these cells will invade and damage tissues and organs. Mesothelioma cancer cells can spread throughout the body causing death.

Fortunately, there are many mesothelioma treatment options available. These include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy and the mesothelioma treatment depends on the patient's age, general health and stage of the cancer. There has been much mesothelioma research conducted throughout the past few years to find new treatment methods.

Through mesothelioma research, The National Cancer Institute has sponsored mesothelioma tests and clinical trials that are designed to find new treatment methods. Because of the increase in number of mesothelioma cases in the United States, both governments have increased funding for mesothelioma research. Mesothelioma research and clinical trials have been successful in developing new techniques to fight this cancer and the outlook for more advanced mesothelioma treatments is promising.

Various Treatments for Malignant Mesothelioma

The most common treatment for malignant mesothelioma is surgery. The tissues and linings affected by mesothelioma are removed by the doctor, This may even include a lung or even diaphragm.

The second most common mesothelioma treatment is radiation therapy. This uses high energy x-rays that kill the cancer cells. Radiation therapy can be outside or inside the body.

Third most common form of treatment for mesothelioma is chemotherapy. Through pills or drugs through needles, chemotherapy drugs are used to kill cancer cells.

One new method of treatment is showing promise. This treatment method is called intraoperative photodynamic therapy. In this treatment, light and drugs are used to kill cancer cells during surgery for early stages of mesothelioma in the chest. Time will tell if this treatment is successful in the majority of patients. To emphasize, though, this treatment is has only been successful so far on early stages of mesothelioma.

The bad news is that although there are numerous treatments and drugs for mesothelioma, doctors are losing the battle against this horrific disease. Most mesothelioma treatments involve old techniques combined with different drug cocktails. These treatments have many side effects including organ damage, nausea, increase in heart failure etc. The rush to find a more effective mesothelioma treatment or even cure is ongoing at numerous clinical labs across the nation. Let's hope that the mesothelioma treatments will one day erradicate mesothelioma cancer and asbestosis.

With an abundance of information on the Internet, Mesothelioma Cancer and Asbestos has consolidated the most important issues surrounding Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma doctors and symptoms, Mesothelioma treatment, Mesothelioma research and tests.

Many websites contain useful resources on Mesothelioma lawyers and attorneys, as well as causes by asbestos exposure, asbestos removal, asbestos attorneys and lawsuits, and asbestos cancer. Patients stricken by Mesothelioma and their families require support and current information. Mesothelioma Online Resources hopes to educate and give hope to survivors and victims.

More and more research is being conducted to battle mesothelioma every year. And researchers continue to make strides and increase cure rates. Regardless, mesothelioma is such a difficult disease and the cure rate is fairly low. There are not as many treatments and drug regimes that work well with mesothelioma, and because it takes so many years to appear, it's difficult to detect early. Because of this, the death rate of mesothelioma is very high. Because funding has increased for research in battling mesothelioma, the outlook for a mesothelioma cure is quite possible. Until a cure or at least better treaments are found, mesothelioma support groups can provide the ongoing support for those suffering from mesothelioma and their families.