What does asbestos have to do with mesothelioma?
The only known cause of mesothelioma in the United States is previous
exposure to asbestos fibers. Asbestos manufacturers knew about the hazards of
asbestos seventy years ago - but they kept this knowledge to themselves. The
first warnings given to workers exposed to asbestos were in the mid-1960s, and
they were terribly inadequate. Even today, workers are not always told they are
working around asbestos and are at risk for asbestos disease.
What can someone with mesothelioma do?
- Seek out the best and most up-to-date information.
- Seek out the best medical care.
- Early screening for mesothelioma diagnosis.
- Stay in close contact with your doctor.
- Consider whether or not you want to bring a lawsuit because of this
asbestos-related injury.
- Remember that resources are available to you through community and
medical support groups, asbestos victims' organizations, your place of
worship, as well as your family and friends.
How common is mesothelioma?
Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years,
mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer. About 2,000 new cases of
mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year. Mesothelioma occurs
more often in men than in women and risk increases with age, but this disease
can appear in either men or women at any age.
What are the risk factors for mesothelioma?
Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. A history of
asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70 percent to 80 percent of all
cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any
known exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos is the name of a group of minerals that occur naturally as masses of
strong, flexible fibers that can be separated into thin threads and woven.
Asbestos has been widely used in many industrial products, including cement,
brake linings, roof shingles, flooring products, textiles, and insulation. If
tiny asbestos particles float in the air, especially during the manufacturing
process, they may be inhaled or swallowed, and can cause serious health
problems. In addition to mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos increases the risk
of lung cancer, asbestosis (a noncancerous, chronic lung ailment), and other
cancers, such as those of the larynx and kidney.
Smoking does not appear to increase the risk of mesothelioma. However, the
combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly increases a person's
risk of developing cancer of the air passageways in the lung.
Who is at increased risk for developing mesothelioma?
Asbestos has been mined and used commercially since the late 1800s. Its use
greatly increased during World War II. Since the early 1940s, millions of
American workers have been exposed to asbestos dust. Initially, the risks
associated with asbestos exposure were not known. However, an increased risk of
developing mesothelioma was later found among shipyard workers, people who work
in asbestos mines and mills, producers of asbestos products, workers in the
heating and construction industries, and other tradespeople. Today, the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets limits for acceptable
levels of asbestos exposure in the workplace. People who work with asbestos wear
personal protective equipment to lower their risk of exposure.
The risk of asbestos-related disease increases with heavier exposure to
asbestos and longer exposure time. However, some individuals with only brief
exposures have developed mesothelioma. On the other hand, not all workers who
are heavily exposed develop asbestos-related diseases.
There is some evidence that family members and others living with asbestos
workers have an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, and possibly other
asbestos-related diseases. This risk may be the result of exposure to asbestos
dust brought home on the clothing and hair of asbestos workers. To reduce the
chance of exposing family members to asbestos fibers, asbestos workers are
usually required to shower and change their clothing before leaving the
workplace.
People considering clinical trials may be interested in the NCI booklet
Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Cancer Patients Need To Know. This booklet
describes how research studies are carried out and explains their possible
benefits and risks. The booklet is available by calling the CIS, or from the NCI
Publications Locator Web site at
http://cancer.gov/publications on the Internet.
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Pleural Mesothelioma
Early Signs of
Mesothelioma Aid Diagnosis
Recognizing early symptoms of
malignant mesothelioma may aid in diagnosis. Symptoms include difficulty in
breathing (dyspnea) and/or chest pains, fever, nausea or anemia; other signals
are hoarseness, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), or coughing up blood (hemoptysis).
For many suffering from pleural mesothelioma, there may be pain in the chest or
lower back. Those people with peritoneal mesothelioma may experience an
expanding waist size or abdominal pain resulting from the growth of cancer cells
in the abdomen. Since many of these symptoms are also caused by less serious
illnesses, it can be difficult to recognize asbestos-related diseases in the
early stages. Due to this difficulty of early diagnosis of asbestos cancer and
mesothelioma, the best way to determine your health risk is to consult a doctor
for an initial examination, which may include a pulmonary function test (PFT)
and x-rays.
Mesothelioma -
Cancer of the Lung Lining - Part 1
Mesothelioma is a very rare form
of lung cancer that arises in the Mesothelioma. The Mesothelioma is made up of
parietal and visceral membranes, thin layers of tissue, which surround organs
and body cavities, such as the lungs or abdomen. The visceral membrane
immediately surrounds the organ, and the parietal membrane is a sac covering the
visceral membrane. The visceral and parietal membranes that make up the
Mesothelioma. This fluid helps organs move easily among surrounding structures.
In the case of the lung, it helps reduce friction between the lung and chest
wall during normal breathing as the lung expands.
Pleural
mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is sometimes
diagnosed by coincidence, before there are any symptoms. For instance, tumors
have been discovered through routine chest x-rays. However, when symptoms occur,
they may include shortness of breath, weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite,
chest pains, lower back pains, persistent coughing, difficulty in swallowing,
alone or in combination. An initial medical examination often shows a pleural
effusion, which means an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space - the area
between the lungs and the chest wall.
The first step in detecting pleural mesothelioma is, typically, a chest x-ray or
CT scan. This is often followed by a bronchoscopy, using a viewing scope to look
inside the lungs.
The actual diagnosis usually requires obtaining a piece of tissue through a
biopsy. This could be a needle biopsy, an open biopsy, or through a tube with a
camera (thoracoscopy or chest scope.) If an abnormality is seen through the
camera then a tissue sample can be taken at the same time, using the same tube.
This is a hospital procedure that requires anesthesia, but is not usually
painful. The tissue sample is tested by a pathologist.
Fluid build-up from the pleural effusion can generally be seen on a chest x-ray
and heard during a physical examination, but a firm diagnosis of mesothelioma
can only be made through a biopsy and pathological testing. This is important
because there are also benign pleural effusions and other tumors that have a
similar appearance to mesothelioma. Diagnosing mesothelioma can be quite
difficult; it requires special lab stains, and much experience in understanding
them.
The spread of the tumor over the pleura causes pleural thickening. This can
reduce the flexibility of the pleura and encase the lungs in an increasingly
restrictive girdle. With the lungs restricted, they get smaller and less
functional, and breathing becomes more difficult. At first a person with
mesothelioma may be breathless only when he or she exercises, but as lung
function drops, he or she can become short of breath even while resting.
The tumor spreads by direct invasion of surrounding tissue. As it spreads inward
it can compress the lungs. As the tumor spreads outward it can invade the chest
wall and ribs, and this can be extremely painful.
Here are some
Additional
Mesothelioma Resources
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... malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis (also called pneumoconiosis) ... edited an article about the diseases of asbestos workers written by ... |
Asbestosis and lung cancer require prolonged exposure to asbestos. ... Main article: Asbestos and the law ... Asbestos Exposure - National Cancer Institute, USA ... |
Asbestosis. Article Last Updated: Nov 9, 2007. AUTHOR AND ... W. Asbestosis: a marker for the increased risk of lung cancer among workers exposed to asbestos. ... |
... consistently reliable marker is asbestosis, especially in asbestos workers who are also smokers. ... The article by Mollo and coworkers[1] examines the ... |
Learn about asbestos related lung disorders including asbestosis, lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, scarring of the lungs, fluid around the lungs, and lung ... |
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