Mesothelioma
The National Cancer Institute states that: "Malignant
mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, is a disease in which
cancer (malignant) cells are found in the sac lining the chest
(the pleura), the lining of the abdominal cavity (the
peritoneum) or the lining around the heart (the pericardium)."
Sadly, mesothelioma is an environmentally cause diseased. That
is most cases have occurred in people who have been exposed to
asbestos one their jobs. They have breathed the asbestos fibers
into their lungs. Other cases of mesothelioma have occurred in
people exposed to asbestos I a household environment. Exposure
to asbestos can be deadly, as we have discovered. As little as
one or two months of exposure can result in mesothelioma 30 or
40 years later. The National Cancer Institute has noted that
"People exposed in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s are now being
diagnosed with mesothelioma because of the long latency period
of asbestos disease".
There are common early symptoms of mesothelioma, but usually
they are too general for a common person to make a proper
evaluation. Sometimes a person thinks they have pneumonia. Other
symptoms may include shortness of breath, chest pain, and/or
persistent cough. However, and this is important, some patients
show no symptoms at all. It is always good to have regular
medical check-ups including a chest x-ray.
However, diagnosis of mesothelioma requires taking a sample of
fluid or tissue for expert examination to determine if the
cancer is present diagnosis is very important, as the treatment
is dependent upon an accurate diagnosis. Talk to your doctor or
contact a cancer health care clinic for a list of expert
pathologists to make the diagnosis. Like most cancers, the
prognosis for this disease often depends on how early it is
diagnosed and how aggressively it is treated.
People diagnosed with this disease are often told the expected
survival rate is only eight to twelve months. However,
specialists in treating malignant mesothelioma at the leading
cancer centers often have better statistics. On expert in this
particular cancer is Dr. David Sugarbaker at Brigham and Women's
Center in Boston. His patients have achieved a five-year
survival rate in almost 40% for selected patients. Nevertheless,
here again, time is of the essence for even a partially
successful treatment.
There are three traditional kinds of treatment for patients with
malignant mesothelioma: surgery for taking out the cancer,
chemotherapy in using drugs to kill the cancer, and radiation
therapy using high-dose x-rays to kill cancer cells.
There are many fine websites to help you and your family through
the stages of dealing with the disease of mesothelioma.