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
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Additional
Mesothelioma links
Alaska Asbestos Lawyer Mesothelioma
Asbestos And Identification
Asbestos Attorney Indian Well
Asbestos Attorney Lawyer
Asbestos Attorney Maryland Mesothelioma
Asbestos Attorney Palm Twentynine
Asbestos Attorney Victorville
Asbestos Cancer Lung Pic
Asbestos Carolina Law North Regarding Removal
Asbestos Disease Fact
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Asbestos Exposure Testing
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Asbestos Lawyer Dallas
Asbestos Lawyer La Quinta
Asbestos Lung
Asbestos Removal Residential
Asbestos Worker International
Asbestosis
Asbestosis Lung Picture
Attorney Austin Mesothelioma Pericardial
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Lawyer Ojai Asbestos
Louisiana Mesothelioma Lawyer
Mesothelioma Attorney Maryland
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Montana Mesothelioma Attorney
What is
asbestos?
Why is asbestos still a problem?
Asbestos is still a problem
because a great deal of it has been used in the United States and elsewhere,
because many asbestos-containing products remain in buildings, ships, industrial
facilities and other environments where the fibers can become airborne, and
because of the serious human health hazards of inhaling asbestos fibers. Many
Americans believe that use of asbestos in products was banned years ago. The
fact is that asbestos-containing products are still being imported and sold in
this country, continuing to endanger people who may come in contact with such
products. A majority of these products are imported from Canada and Mexico, two
countries where asbestos is still used; further, not all imported
asbestos-containing products are clearly labeled with proper content
information. (Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2003,
and "Asbestos Strategies")
In an August 2003 report, the EPA's Office of Inspector General reiterates that
asbestos is still a product very much around us: a survey in the mid-1980s found
that, on average, 20% of all buildings in the United States contain asbestos.
Further, this latest report confirms that asbestos containing material is still
allowed in pipeline wrap, asbestos-cement corrugated sheet, asbestos-cement flat
sheet, roofing felt, millboard, vinyl-asbestos floor tile, asbestos-cement
shingle, and roof coatings. (Rept. #2003-P-00012).
A 2004 report by the Environmental Working Group provides a timely evalution of
the asbestos-related disease epidemic in America - a "public health tragedy
caused by asbestos." This report documents the history of asbestos use and
provides analysis and statistics to inform the political debate currently being
waged to resolve the problem.
Peritoneal mesothelioma
Many of the organs in the abdomen
are enveloped by a thin membrane of mesothelial cells, known as the peritoneum.
Peritoneal mesothelioma is a tumor of this membrane. Its only known cause in the
U.S. is previous exposure to asbestos, but it can be many years after exposure
before the disease appears. Peritoneal mesotheliomas account for about one-fifth
of all mesotheliomas.
Like pleural mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma can be either benign or
malignant. This discussion is only about malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is sometimes diagnosed by coincidence, before any symptoms have
appeared. For example, the tumor is sometimes seen on a routine abdominal x-ray
for a check-up or before surgery.
When the symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma appear, they typically include
abdominal pains, weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea, and abdominal
swelling. Fluid often accumulates in the peritoneal space, a condition known as
ascites. Over time the wasting symptoms can become more and more severe.
The growing tumor can exert increasing pressure on the organs in the abdomen,
leading to bowel obstruction and distention. If the tumor presses upward, it can
impair breathing capacity. If the tumor pushes against areas with many nerve
fibers, and the bowel distends, the amount of pain can increase.
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.
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