Mesothelioma and General Health

Mesothelioma develops in the mesothelial cells, ie the cells that form the protective membrane covering most of the internal organs of the body. This membrane, called the mesothelium, actually comprises two distinct parts. The inner layer (visceral) envelope organs such as the lungs, heart and stomach, and is itself surrounded by an outer layer (parietal) forming a kind bag. The mesothelium produces a fluid that fills the gap between the two layers and facilitates the movement of bodies. The mesothelium has different names depending on the location of the body where it is located.

The pleura is the mesothelial membrane that protects the lungs. Between the inner layer of the pleura covering the lungs and the outer layer lining the inner wall of the chest, there is a space called the pleural cavity, pleural fluid filled. This fluid allows the two parts of the pleura to slide against one another during respiration. (more…)

Treatment of malignant mesothelioma is no cure. In diagnosing the disease is already so extensive that recovery is no longer possible.

In the past, surgical treatment is attempted. These were very large operations with a high risk of death after surgery. At present, surgery is not seen as a real treatment option.

Malignant mesothelioma is not sensitive to radiotherapy. Furthermore, the area (half chest) very large. Sometimes radiotherapy to try to counter the pain and to prevent the tumor by the insertion, which is trying to get a diagnosis, outgrowing it. (more…)

There is hardly a health risk when asbestos fibers in single touch. But prolonged exposure to asbestos is very dangerous, regardless of the type of asbestos in question. Why use professionals who often have to deal with asbestos, such as inventariseerders or removers, always wear protective clothing, called Mon suits.
At home and at work

If you are in or around the house found that friable asbestos is not damaged or eroded, you better leave. As long as you do not break the asbestos, sand, drill or in any other way changed is that the safest approach. If you want to remove asbestos, you should always contact your municipality. Some professions can occasionally come into contact with asbestos. Great care is important. Again, not asbestos may be damaged. You should almost never the asbestos yourself.
Kill

Once is not carefully dealt with asbestos hazards. Therefore, according to recent survey in 2028 some 13,000 people deadly asbestos cancer. The peak, about 500 deaths per year, this will occur around 2017.

Diseases

Prolonged inhalation of asbestos can cause various diseases, that may take decades to be felt. These diseases are therefore especially among people who have to often deal with asbestos.

* Lung cancer. The longer one has inhaled asbestos fibers, the greater the risk of lung cancer. Often take a decade or longer, this cancer detected. Especially smoking increases the risk.
* Pleural and peritoneal cancer, or mesothelioma. This cancer is almost always caused by asbestos. Mesothelioma is less common and is often only 30 years or more after exposure to asbestos fibers detected.
* Black lung or asbestosis. The risk of asbestosis increases as the concentration of asbestos fibers was higher, and it has been longer exposed.
* Several other asbestos related diseases.

Victims of asbestos diseases for an advance payment on a possible recourse to the state. Information was received from the Institute of Asbestos Victims.

Malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer is a disease in which cells are cancerous (malignant) in the sac lining the chest (the pleura) or the lining of the abdomen (the peritoneum). Most people with malignant mesothelioma have worked in places where they breathed asbestos breathing.

You should see a doctor if you have shortness of breath, chest pain or pain or swelling in the abdomen. If you have symptoms, your doctor may send you to do an x-ray of the chest or abdomen.

The doctor may look inside the chest cavity with a special instrument called a thoracoscope. To do this, will make an opening through the chest wall and install the thoracoscope into the chest between two ribs. This test, called thoracoscopy, is usually performed in a hospital. Before the test, be given a local anesthetic (a drug that causes loss of feeling for a short time). You may feel some pressure, but usually no pain. (more…)

There are treatments for all patients with malignant mesothelioma. Uses three kinds of treatment:

* Surgery (taking out the cancer).
* Radiation therapy (using high doses of X-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells).
* Chemotherapy (using drugs to fight cancer).

Surgery is a common treatment for malignant mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue lying around. Depending on how far the cancer has spread, you can also remove a lung in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes it also removes some of the muscle beneath the lungs that helps breathing (the diaphragm).

Radiation therapy using high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy) or from putting materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) and applied to the area where cancer cells are found through thin plastic tubes (internal radiation therapy). Malignant Mesothelioma Treatment (more…)

Researchers at the University of Hawaii have identified a protein that induced by asbestos or asbestos action on cells, is responsible for an inflammatory reaction that promotes tumor growth. Experts say this discovery may be applied in the prevention and treatment of mesothelioma.

HMGB1 Protein

The study, published in the journal PNAS, clarifying the mechanism by which asbestos causes mesothelioma, pleural cancer, resistant to current therapies.

More than 20 million people in the U.S., and many more worldwide, have been exposed to asbestos and are at risk of developing mesothelioma. (more…)

Mesothelioma treatments can be divided into two categories: curative, and palliative treatments. The curative treatment is an attempt to eliminate all cancer cells and cure the disease. Palliative treatments are designed to relieve the pain and the patient is more comfortable.

Mesothelioma treatments include conventional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and experimental procedures, including immunotherapy and gene therapy.

Generally, a patient with mesothelioma receiving various types of conventional treatments. For example, they may undergo surgery to remove the bulk of cancerous tissue, and then may receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancer cells.

Experimental treatments are generally available only to patients who agree to enter clinical trials. In these cases, patients must have specific criteria to be eligible.

Mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose due to the fact that it can lie dormant in the body for up to five decades and is often undiagnosed until its later stages.

The most common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma is, shortness of breath, chest pain and persistent cough. However, some patients show no symptoms. A common sign is pleural effusion (water on the lungs).

Some symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss, abdominal pain and swelling and intestinal obstruction. If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, some other common symptoms can include difficulty swallowing, swelling of face or neck, blood clotting problems, anemia and fever.

Also the diagnosis may be difficult due to the nonspecific nature of the symptoms of mesothelioma, symptoms that often seem far less serious diseases.

The diagnostic process usually begins with a compilation of a complete medical history and work history, including any exposure to asbestos. We performed a medical examination and if you suspect a problem call several diagnostic tests. These typically include medical imaging tests such as X rays, CT and MRI, and biopsy procedures that test samples of fluid and tissues by the presence of cancer cells. Diagnostic tests are also used to determine how far the cancer has spread, and if progress has been made elsewhere in the body.

There are five types of mesothelioma. Four of them are malignant cancers, and a condition is benign.

Pleural Mesothelioma: This type of mesothelioma develops in the tissue of the lungs, known as the pleura. It is the most common form of malignant mesothelioma, about 70 percent of cases are pleural in origin.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma: This form of mesothelioma develops in the tissue of the abdominal cavity, known as the peritoneal membrane. Approximately 25% of mesotheliomas are of this type.

Pericardial mesothelioma: This form of mesothelioma develops in the heart tissue, known as the pericardium. About 5 percent of all mesothelioma cases are pericardial.

Testicular Mesothelioma: This is the rarest type of malignant mesothelioma, to date, there have been fewer than 100 cases recorded. Testicular mesothelioma develops in the tunica vaginalis of the testes.

Benign Mesothelioma: The benign form of mesothelioma is commonly develops in the pleura. This is the only form of mesothelioma which healing and recovery is a likely outcome, although it may be a precursor of asbestos-related problems in the future.

People are mainly exposed to asbestos via inhalation of fibers in the air they breathe. This may occur during mining and processing of asbestosinstalling asbestos insulation and for the production of products containing asbestos or . It can also occur when materials containing asbestos older begin to deteriorate. In either situation, the asbestos fibers tend to create a dust composed of tiny particles that can float in the air. In addition, asbestos can enter the body through ingestion, what happens when people consume contaminated food or liquids (such as water flowing through asbestos cement pipes). It can also occur when people cough who have inhaled asbestos and then swallow their saliva. (more…)