Asbestos and Mesothelioma Cancer

Asbestos is the biggest work place killer today. Those who have worked with asbestos or who are regularly in contact with someone who has are at risk from asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. All these are fatal respiratory diseases which are extremely difficult to cure. Research is being carried out in various research labs all over the USA and many pharmaceutical companies are also endeavouring to find new drugs and treatment methods.

One rare disease caused by asbestos which is becoming increasingly common is mesothelioma. Although unknown by many today, it is almost certain that awareness of this disease will be broadcasted worldwide because of its increasing occurrence in men aged between 55 and 70. Many of these men are now lodging multi million dollar lawsuits against the companies who subjected them to asbestos. Those most at risk from mesothelioma are those who have been in regular contact with asbestos dust and fibres without sufficient protection. Just a couple of months of exposure to asbestos can lead to mesothelioma 30 years later. The latency period (amount of time the disease takes to start taking effect) of mesothelioma is 30 - 50 years which is one of the reasons it is so difficult to cure because it is very difficult to tackle in its early stages. Another reason it is so difficult to cure is that its early symptoms are characteristic of many other more common diseases such as pneumonia.

Mesothelioma symptoms include:

- Chest pains

- Coughing that worsens over time

- Weight loss

- Shortness of breath

- Coughing up blood

- Nausea and vomiting

- Fatigue

- Wheezing

- Lung infection

- Swollen lymph nodes

- Loss of appetite

A patient will feel symptoms depending on which type of mesothelioma he or she has got.

Pleural Mesothelioma - A Quick Look

Pleural mesothelioma is one of several types of cancer linked to asbestos exposure. It is caused by asbestos fibers being ingested into the lungs and affects the pleural lining of the lungs. This is a deadly and devastating disease with no known cure. There are a number of symptoms of pleural mesothelioma, and like the other forms of mesothelioma, they can appear very non-specific and could be mistaken for a number of common diseases or illnesses. Shortness of breath, caused by pleural thickening which gradually contracts the breathing space, is often the first symptom exhibited by those with the disease. Cough, chest pain, difficulty swallowing, facial swelling, weight loss, fever, and rasping are some of the other symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. In many cases, however, individuals with the disease never experience symptoms at all until well after it has matured.

It typically takes several decades for the symptoms to develop, and once diagnosed, patients typically have a life expectancy of only a few months. Men between the ages of 50 and 70 are more commonly diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma than any other demographic, largely because asbestos was widely used in numerous industries from World War II until the 1970s, and due to the amount of time that it takes for the symptoms to occur, it is just now being discovered that they have the disease.

The treatments that are currently available for pleural mesothelioma patients are primarily palliative, aiming only to ease the patient's suffering. These treatments include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.