Information for
victims of the lung cancer mesothelioma

 

We provide general mesothelioma data, stages of the cancer, treatment options, treatment by stage, more asbestos related problems, as well as links and information about legal help if needed from an asbestos attorney/mesothelioma lawyer.

What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the cells that make up the lining around the outside of the lungs and inside of the ribs (pleura), or around the abdominal organs (peritoneum).

Mesothelioma

The law limits the amount of time after a patient incurs an injury to file suit.

The amount of time varies based on the theory of liability and the state in which the patient files the suit.

If you or someone you love is suffering from mesothelioma – or has died as a result of it –  contact us.

We can help you understand your rights and options, and ensure that you have the opportunity to seek compensation for your injuries.

   

 

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.

Mesothelioma Lawsuit is the best way to find information about Mesothelioma resources.

This web page takes the legwork out of finding great Mesothelioma resources. We have compiled great links to Mesothelioma information and pages dedicated to Asbestos Article here. . .

To your right you will find links to various
Mesothelioma related pages. There you will find great information about Asbestos Article.

We've taken the time to check out each and every featured Mesothelioma website to make sure they are quality sites, with quality information.

Here you will find some of the best resources on Asbestos Article ever compiled and some incredible resources for Mesothelioma.

In our "Featured Mesothelioma Article" section, you'll find an article related to Mesothelioma.  We will be providing you with updated and new featured articles on a regular basis.

Additional Mesothelioma links

Abb Asbestos Lawsuit
Albuquerque Mesothelioma Lawyer
Ardex Over Asbestos Tile
Asbestos Asbestos Product
Asbestos Attorney California Southern
Asbestos Attorney Lawyer
Asbestos Building Survey
Asbestos Consultant Lake Mill
Asbestos Indiana Law
Asbestos Law Ny Removal Shingle
Asbestos Lawyer Big Bear
Asbestos Mesothelioma Pericardial
Asbestos Michigan Removal
Asbestos New Removal York
Asbestos Picture
Asbestos Shingles
Asbestosis Litigation
Chrysotile Asbestos
Epa Asbestos
Mesothelioma Asbestos Lung Cancer
Mesothelioma Diagnosis Support
Mesothelioma Information
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Asbestos
New Jersey Mesothelioma Lawyer
New York Mesothelioma Lawyer
Painting Asbestos Siding
Pennsylvania Mesothelioma Lawyer - Internet Error
Pleural Mesothelioma Misdiagnosed
Texas Asbestos Law Firm
West Virginia Mesothelioma Attorney

Mesothelioma: Questions and Answers - Part 7a

How is Mesothelioma treated?

Treatment for Mesothelioma depends on the location of the cancer, the stage of the disease, and the patient's age and general health. Standard treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Sometimes, these treatments are combined.

Surgery is a common treatment for Mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura (pleural Mesothelioma), a lung may be removed in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.

Radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, involves the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy affects the cancer cells only in the treated area. The radiation may come from a machine (external radiation) or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).

 

Mesothelioma

What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium) is a disease in which cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and divide without control or order. They can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Cancer cells can also metastasize (spread) from their original site to other parts of the body. Most cases of mesothelioma begin in the pleura or peritoneum. 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.

Mesothelioma - Lung Cancer Link - Part 1

Yet the production process was supposed to ensure that if any SV40 was present, it would be neutralized. When Carbone tested the Soviet neutralization method, which relied on magnesium chloride, he found it was only 95 per cent effective. Because of this, he believes the Soviet vaccine could have remained contaminated until the early 1980s. In 1981, the Soviet Union switched to a polio vaccine seed provided by the World Health Organization that was free from any SV40 contamination.

Carbone, the first to publish evidence of a link between SV40 and the deadly lung cancer Mesothelioma (New Scientist print edition, 21 May 1994), will not discuss his results further until they have been published. Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration who attended the conference also declined to comment, as the FDA is a defendant in lawsuits alleging that the SV40-contaminated polio vaccine used in the US has caused cancer cases.

Here are some Additional
Mesothelioma Resources

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This article or section deals primarily with North America ... edited an article about the diseases of asbestos workers written by ... article: Asbestos and ...
Asbestos Archive is the world's largest provider of online fully searchable historic newspaper articles about Asbestos,Asbestos related lawsuits and Mesothelioma
Asbestos Archive is the world's largest provider of online fully searchable historic newspaper articles about Asbestos,Asbestos related lawsuits and Mesothelioma
9 helpful article. 10 Asbestos Mineralogy, Chemical Reactions, and Smokers ... 39 Litigation section of article. 40 Lead. 41 Asbestos(amiante) Gaskets. 42 Bad ...
Learn about asbestos related lung disorders including asbestosis, lung cancer, ... Read 24 more Asbestos-Related Disorders related articles ...
 

Today's News Related To Mesothelioma

  • Real Estate (Mondaq)
    posted on August 26, 2008 11:23:41 am
    In the High Court decision of Northern Sandblasting v Harris, the Court held that the Landlord in the particular case was under a general duty of care to its Tenant to provide safe premises at the commencement of the tenancy.
  • Bhopal Revisited (Columbia Journalism Review)
    posted on August 26, 2008 08:01:01 am
    The liability issue is complicated, but the Times still should have done more.
  • Litigation and Arbitration (Mondaq)
    posted on August 27, 2008 03:23:41 am
    At common law, the Crown could not be sued because of the feudal principle that the Crown could not be sued in its own court. 1 Complaints could, however, be brought against the Crown using a petition of right but this procedure was cumbersome and time-consuming. 2 The use of a petition of right in this context was not abolished by the federal and provincial governments in Canada until the ...
  • City to discuss scooter safety (North Adams Transcript)
    posted on August 26, 2008 10:19:10 am
    NORTH ADAMS -- A near-collision with a pedestrian using a motorized scooter has prompted City Councilor Richard Alcom-bright to call for guidelines about where and how the chairs should be operated.
  • Life without plastic: Attempting a one-stop shop at the supermarket (BBC News)
    posted on August 29, 2008 04:33:55 am
    It may seem from my posts about farmers' markets, local butchers and fruit stalls that I have shunned supermarkets this month. This is not the case.


  

   
 

Featured Mesothelioma Articles

Mesothelioma: Questions and Answers - Part 6b

If the cancer is in the chest, the doctor may perform a thoracoscopy. In this procedure, the doctor makes a small cut through the chest wall and puts a thin, lighted tube called a thoracoscope into the chest between two ribs. Thoracoscopy allows the doctor to look inside the chest and obtain tissue samples. If the cancer is in the abdomen, the doctor may perform a peritoneoscopy. To obtain tissue for examination, the doctor makes a small opening in the abdomen and inserts a special instrument called a peritoneoscope into the abdominal cavity. If these procedures do not yield enough tissue, more extensive diagnostic surgery may be necessary.

If the diagnosis is Mesothelioma, the doctor will want to learn the stage (or extent) of the disease. Staging involves more tests in a careful attempt to find out whether the cancer has spread and, if so, to which parts of the body. Knowing the stage of the disease helps the doctor plan treatment.

Mesothelioma is described as localized if the cancer is found only on the membrane surface where it originated. It is classified as advanced if it has spread beyond the original membrane surface to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, lungs, chest wall, or abdominal organs.

Mesothelioma Treatment

The treatment options for people with mesothelioma have improved significantly, especially for those whose cancer is diagnosed early and treated vigorously. Many people are treated with a combination of therapies, sometimes known as multimodal therapy.

Specific types of treatment include:

Chemotherapy and other drug-based therapies Radiation therapy Surgery and Intra-operative photodynamic therapy. There are also experimental treatments like gene therapy and immunotherapy, angiogenesis inhibitors, and clinical trials for various new treatments and combinations of treatments.

Treatments that reduce pain and improve lung function, are becoming more successful (although they cannot cure mesothelioma.) Pain control medications have become easier to administer. Debulking is a surgical process of removing a substantial part of the tumor and reducing the pleural thickening; this can provide significant relief. X-ray therapy has also been successfully used to control the tumor and the pain associated with it for a while.

Mesothelioma - Lung Cancer Link - Part 1

Yet the production process was supposed to ensure that if any SV40 was present, it would be neutralized. When Carbone tested the Soviet neutralization method, which relied on magnesium chloride, he found it was only 95 per cent effective. Because of this, he believes the Soviet vaccine could have remained contaminated until the early 1980s. In 1981, the Soviet Union switched to a polio vaccine seed provided by the World Health Organization that was free from any SV40 contamination.

Carbone, the first to publish evidence of a link between SV40 and the deadly lung cancer Mesothelioma (New Scientist print edition, 21 May 1994), will not discuss his results further until they have been published. Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration who attended the conference also declined to comment, as the FDA is a defendant in lawsuits alleging that the SV40-contaminated polio vaccine used in the US has caused cancer cases.