Mesothelioma Awareness

Malignant Diffuse Pleural Mesothelioma

Majority of mesothelioma (cancerous tumor affecting mesothelial cells of organs) cases come under the classification 'pleural mesothelioma'. This is a cancer that originates in the pleura, the delicate membrane covering the lungs. Out of these, seventy five percent are diffuse malignant pleural mesethelioma. The balance is localized or benign.

Diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma is, in most cases, caused by unprotected exposure to asbestos. The symptoms include shortness of breath and/or chest pain, loss of weight, cough, fatigue, swelling on the face, neck and arms, reduced appetite, and coughing up blood. There would be collection of fluid in the thoracic cavity. It may take from twenty to forty years or more after contact with asbestos for the symptoms to emerge. Because of the time lag, diagnosing is often difficult. Moreover, many doctors are not familiar with the disease.

Diagnostic procedure consists mostly of imaging with Computed Tomography (CT scan), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Position Emission Tomography (PET), and laboratory tests and analysis. Thoractomy, which means making an incision through the chest wall to look into the pleura (the membrane lining the lungs and the thoracic cavity) and pleural biopsy provide conclusive evidence.

Diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma tumor is very aggressive and spreads fast. There are several methods to gauge the stage of the cancer. The most common is known as TNM. T is for the size of the tumor, N for the number of lymph nodules involved, and M for metastasis (spread of the cancer). There are basically four different stages. Correct grading helps the doctors to decide on the course of treatment. If the affliction is detected at an early stage, the chances of longer survival are better.

But generally the prognosis (response to treatment) is not good in diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma cases. Surgery during Stage I may help. If detected during the later phases of the cancer the survival rate is four months to twelve months. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy do not seem to improve the survival rate. The reality is that currently there is no effective curative treatment. Research is on to find new management methods and more effectual medicines.

Can a Mesothelioma Attorney Help You?

Mesothelioma is a hard disease to diagnose early because the symptoms don't start to manifest until some 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. By the time symptoms start to appear, the disease is usually in its later stages and little can be done to treat or slow the progression of the disease. Following is information on the different types of Mesothelioma, its symptoms and advice if you would like to take further action with a mesothelioma attorney.

Three Types of Mesethelioma

There are three different types of mesothelioma pleural, peritoneal and pericardial. Pleural is the most common type of mesothelioma. It is a rare cancer that develops in the mesothelial cells that make up the mesothelium. The mesothelium is the membrane that lines many of the body's organs. This type of cancer develops in the lining of the lungs the pleura or pleura membrane. Symptoms include: Coughing up blood, nagging dry or raspy cough, shortness of breath, pain in the chest or rib area including painful breathing, fatigue, weight loss. Peritoneal mesothelioma develops in the abdomen in the mesothelial cells that form a membrane layer called the peritoneum. As with other types of mesothelioma, this cancer can many, many years to develop. Symptoms include: abdominal pain or swelling, night sweats or fever, fatigue, anemia, unexplained weight loss Pericardial Mesothelioma is extremely rare. This disease develops in the pericardium, a membrane made up of mesothelial cells that surrounds the heart. Symptoms include: chest pain, murmurs, cough, difficulty breathing, fatigue, night sweats, heart palpitations or irregular heartbeat.

Diagnosing Mesothelioma

This is a very difficult disease to diagnose because the symptoms can be easily mistaken for other more common diseases like the flu, heart disease, pneumonia, bronchitis, etc. You must work closely with your doctor to connect the symptoms with this disease. If you worked in an industry where you were at high risk for asbestos exposure and you developed an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to compensation.

What Has to Be Known About Lung Cancer?

Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed types of cancer affecting close to 2 million people every year worldwide, and killing approximately 75% of those who have are affected. Although studies have proven that there has been a decrease in incidence of lung cancer cases since the mid 1980's, present epidemiology is still alarming.

According to the surgeon general lists of the United States, 21 deadly diseases are caused by smoking, including lung cancer. Even though most smokers know what would be the effect of smoking, they are still addicted and continue using the tobacco products or the primarily industrially manufactured, the cigarettes. Approximately half a million smoking-related deaths, including both direct and secondhand smokers, have been reported every year, and out of that half a million, about 437,000 of those are direct smokers.

With 2 million people diagnosed to have lung cancer every year including 150,000 Americans, people may ask how likely one could acquire the disease? Basically, this disease could be acquired through exposure to carcinogens. It could be environmental or occupational. Smoking remains to be the number one risk factor for developing this cancer. Almost 80% of the lung cancer cases are projected to tobacco smoking and exposure to secondhand. Other possible causes of cancer are exposures to asbestos, halogen ether and chromium.

Genetic susceptibility is another factor that predisposes a person to acquire this lethal disease. Studies have shown that patients have an oncogene specific for developing this type of cancer, although further studies are still ongoing in order to solidify this theory.

What is really peculiar about lung cancer is that it may develop unnoticed until it reaches the later stages of the disease. A person could feel a wide variety of symptoms ranging from cough, back pain, weight loss, anorexia, generalized weakness and even fever. If anyone has these signs and symptoms, it is recommended to seek professional help.

Doctors and scientists have developed different ways of treating this cancer. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a definite cure up to this date. Management such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are currently being practiced worldwide to help patients have a good quality of life in the face of carrying this burden. Aside from medical and surgical approach, there are also organizations that offer financial, psychological and emotional support to victims of lung cancer.

Lung cancer is certainly a dreadful disease that continues to be a worldwide burden, but with the development of new medical and surgical treatments as well as support from different cancer organizations, the fight against cancer is getting stronger.

Cancer Society of America Is a charitable non-profit organization that receives gift donations in order to help cancer patients, and support cancer research groups to find cancer cures. Please click below link to make your gift donation to bring help and hope to millions of people who suffer and fight cancer

Natural Cancer Prevention Tips

Back in the year 1900, only about one person in twenty in the U.S. became a victim of cancer. This victim rate has steadily climbed over the years and today about one person in every three could be afflicted with this horrid disease! Cancer's annual cost in the United States is over 263 billion dollars. It is the second leading cause of death and is responsible for one in four deaths.

Cancer is defined as a class of diseases characterized by out-of-control cell growth. The Mayo Clinic says that it is caused by changes, or mutations, to the DNA within the cells. Different types of cancers are classified by the type of cell that is initially affected.

Since it is so much easier to prevent a disease than it is to get over it once you get it, let's take a look at things that should reduce your chances of being a victim. Most known causes of cancer can be avoided. If you are making an effort to avoid things that cause cancer, you are eating an anti-cancer diet, and are living a healthy type of lifestyle, the odds are in your favor that you will not get cancer!

THINGS THAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED: tobacco, excessive consumption of alcohol, asbestos, arsenic, radiation, overexposure to the sun, car exhaust fumes, sugar, especially fructose, processed foods, genetically engineered foods, pesticides, herbicides, household chemical cleaners.

EAT AN ANTI-CANCER DIET: blueberries, garlic, broccoli, green tea, pomegranate, tomatoes, avocados, coconut oil and turmeric. Also, be sure to get adequate magnesium in your diet. Magnesium can be found in almonds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, figs, lemons, apples, dark leafy greens, celery, alfalfa sprouts, and brown rice. Drink plenty of water, especially purified water. Drinking caffeinated coffee, but not decaf, has been found to reduce the chances of getting some cancers. It is also desirable to eat many of your foods raw, plus include both fruits and vegetables daily.

OTHER KNOWN ANTI-CANCER STRATEGIES. Get regular exercise and adequate sleep. Eat organic foods when possible. Be sure you are getting enough Vitamin D, either from your foods, sunshine, or a vitamin supplement. Manage your stress level. Too much stress destroys the nutrients your body needs and weakens the immune system.

Most nutritionists recommend that we take a good multivitamin-mineral supplement, too, since it can be difficult to get all you need from foods alone. It is known that cancer thrives in an acidic environment and it cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Many of the foods listed in this article will help you to become more alkaline and less acidic. That is a good thing to help reduce your odds of getting cancer and for being healthier.

How Cancer Develops in the Body

Today, many Health Organisations advocate that smokers are liable to die prematurely, owing to the fact that there are lifestyles that can cause certain diseases which include cancer. Thus, it is vital to realize the extent to which cancer can be developed in the body in respect of your lifestyle.

Cancers come in various forms, but the two most common ones are lung cancer and mesothelioma. Each of the two forms of cancer has been rated as one of the deadliest diseases in today's society. This is because both lung cancer and mesothelioma are generally believed to be almost incurable. Of a truth, mesothelioma is the most deadly of all forms of cancers.

More so, both kinds of cancer are generally associated with smoking. It has been found out that chain-smoking is the major cause of lung cancer. In the United State alone, around 80% of mesothelioma cases that are diagnosed arise from smoking habits. Therefore, cigar, tobacco and cigarette smoking are quite dangerous to your health. Such habits greatly enhance the possibility of the development of cancer in the body.

Because smoking involves the inhalation of chemical substances that are toxic to the respiratory organ and their tracts, an environment that favours the development of cancer, either lung cancer or mesothelioma, arises and grows over a long period of time.

It should be understood that smoking directly causes lung cancer. In the same vein, it has been argued that smoking does not cause mesothelioma, but it provides a toxic environment for its development. That is, smoking rapidly promotes mesothelioma growth.

If the smoking of cigar, cigarette and tobacco is stopped at a stage prior to the formation of lung cancer, the chances of having the disease will be minimized, and body metabolisms will help to restore affected tissues to normal forms.

Another striking point is that if you are living with a smoker, you are more than likely going to develop lung cancer. This is as a result of passive smoking. It is also amazing that someone who is a passive smoker has a higher risk of developing cancer compared to the smoker!

In addition, here are some other causes of cancer:

1. Lack or low amount of fruits and vegetables in one's diets (This increases cancer risk).
2. Living with a mesothelioma patient.
3. The presence of arsenic in drinking water.
4. Exposure to radioactive elements.
5. Smoking of marijuana cigarettes.
6. Asbestos exposure (Asbestos can cause mesothelioma as well as cancer of the lungs' lining).

Finally, every effort should be made to stop a smoking lifestyle whether you have been diagnosed to have lung cancer/mesothelioma or not. Also, you should be conscious of other ways by which cancer can be developed and avoid them as much as possible.

How To File a Mesothelioma Lawsuit

As few of us know, Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that is known to be caused due to continuous exposure to asbestos. If a person gets this cancer due to continuous exposure to asbestos in his workplace, he can file Mesothelioma lawsuit against the employer for obtaining compensation from him and some of the information about this lawsuit are given in the content given below:

Attorney: When the right mesothelioma lawyer is selected for this purpose, a good compensation amount can be obtained. Most of the attorneys charge a flat 25% on the amount of settlement received by the person from this employer. Since this professional is going to file the suit on behalf of the affected person, he should be careful in selecting the right attorney with good experience in this field.

Legal Process: The paper works pertaining to the mesothelioma lawsuit will be taken care by the attorney. However, if the affected person does not want to sign a waiver for the lawyers, he will have to get his medical records properly. The case can be made stronger in favor of the affected person, if he can get written statement from his fellow workers about the conditions prevailing in the work environment. Even though, attorney will be taking care of all these, if the affected person can work on these areas, he can get the compensation quickly.

Legal data: Legal data is nothing, but the medical records from health care provider and written statement from the fellow workers that can make the lawsuit more favorable for the affected person. It is better to collect all these documents before even approaching an attorney in this regard.

Time of diagnosis: The actual date when the medical professional diagnosed that the person has mesothelioma must be known to the affected person. This will enable him to establish when he got exposure to asbestos. This is due to the fact that for some people symptoms show up only at advanced stages of this disease.

Fee to Attorney: Most of the Mesothelioma Lawyers do not charge any upfront fee and the affected person will have to pay certain percentage of the benefits acquired by him if the case turns to be in his favor and he gets some compensation from the employer.

Settlement: Generally, most of the employers offer settlements to the affected employees on their own and it is better not to abide for the first settlement offered by the employer. Rather, it would be better to consult the attorney regarding the suitable compensation before actually accepting any sort of compensation from the employer, who is ready to offer some money.

How Dangerous Is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral. Because of its desirable physical characteristics, it is widely used industrially. It is used for insulations for the walls, ceilings, pipes and boilers. It is also used in floor tiles and fireproofing buildings as well as in brake linings and clutch pads. There are still a lot of uses of asbestos and the things above are just a few of them. Mining for asbestos began around 4,000 years ago grew to its peak around 1970's and the largest asbestos mine is found in Asbestos, Quebec. Eventually the people noticed that a lot of early deaths happened especially to the people living near the mines.

What makes the mineral "asbestos" dangerous? Asbestos is a fibrous mineral. These fibers are very small, smaller than hair. It is not even visible to the naked eye. It does not pose any threat if it is left intact and undisturbed. The danger comes when these fibers are disturbed, inhaled and would get inside the lungs and digestive tract, if swallowed. Asbestos is hazardous if it is friable. Friable means asbestos is easily crumbled by hand thus, will release fibers into the air to be exhaled or swallowed. Since it is used for industrial purposes, it does not pose any threat to anybody living near the building with asbestos as long as these products are not damaged or are not leaking. If so, these minute fibers will float around and can be inhaled by anybody.

So what happens if you have inhaled asbestos? What diseases will you possibly experience? You might get sick with many serious illnesses like asbestosis, malignant lung cancer and mesothelioma. Asbestosis is a chronic respiratory disease where scars are formed in your lungs due to the asbestos being inhaled. You will experience shortness of breath and crackling sounds in the lungs upon inhalation. Lung Cancer is the leading cause of death due to asbestos exposure. The common symptoms of lung cancer are shortness of breath, continuous pain in the chest, hoarseness of voice, coughing, change in breathing, and anemia. We also have a very rare illness caused by asbestos exposure named as Mesothelioma where cancer occurs in the thin membranes of different organs like the lungs, chest, abdomen and heart. So what are your risks of having these diseases? It all depends on two things, the duration as well as the amount of your exposure of the mineral. You are more inclined to get any of these diseases if you were exposed for a long time as well as in a very large quantity of asbestos. The second thing that increases your risk factor is smoking which can increase your risk of having lung cancer 10 times than those who do not smoke. If you are exposed to asbestos and smoke at the same time, then you are 50 to 90 times more likely to have a lung cancer than those who are not exposed to asbestos and do not smoke at all.

Due to these dangers asbestos poses to health, the mining of the mineral has substantially decreased to about less than half of what it was in the 1970's. It is prohibited to work in areas with high levels of asbestos. If working in these areas cannot be avoided, the employees are advised not to disturb the asbestos containing materials. They are also not allowed to drill, saw or break any of these things. Asbestos exposure monitoring is done before, during and after the project to ensure the safety of the employees.

And to further minimize the use of asbestos, some substitutes were invented. Some countries make use of fiberglass, mineral wool and glass wool for insulation. Another fiber is polybenzimidazole or PBI fiber which has a very high melting point and is used by fire departments.
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