Mesothelioma cancer is caused by exposure to asbestos, and exposure to asbestos normally occurs from industrial environments, shipyards, old houses, auto shops, schools and other public buildings. Mesothelioma cancer normally occurs after a long period of exposure of asbestos which is highly toxic. Although it is also known that mesothelioma cancer can occur after a short period and even a first time exposure of asbestos. Asbestos occurs when a person breathes in or swallow the microscopic asbestos fibers from these places or environments mentioned above. These fibers are hard to fight when within the human body, and once inside the human body the fibers will cause biological changes which will result in genetic damage, inflammation, and scarring.
The lining of your lungs which is called the pleura is the most common area these fibers builds asbestos, but the lining of the abdominal cavity is also where the fibers can become trapped in and starts to build. When biological damage occurs due to the fibers, after a short period of asbestos is when mesothelioma will develop. Almost 80 percent of patients symptoms is peritoneal mesothelioma whic is the most common type of mesothelioma out there. Almost 20 percent of patients symptoms is peritoneal mesothelioma. And almost 1 percent of patients symptoms is a uncommon type called testicular mesothelioma. Most people don't have symptoms, or they don't know or reconize the symptoms until later down the line of having the cancer because the beginning stage of mesothelioma symptoms can be unnoticed.
Being tired often and having a little pain around the tumor can be symptoms in the beginning stages. During the late stages of mesothelioma, the symptoms becomes more reconizeable which lets the patient know something isn't right and they should see a doctor. Other late symptoms can be weight loss, fluid buildup and bowel obstruction, shortness of breath, and pain near the tumor. To relieve the symptoms you can get therapy or some other treatment known as talc pleurodesis which can result in the symptoms not coming back. Imaging scans or biopsies is the most accurate diagnosis for mesothelioma, but different patients have diagnosis.
Doctors have different ways to diagnose a patient with mesothelioma. To check for abnormalities, doctors will give most patients a chest x-ray and if there is abnormal growth the doctor will give the patient a more detailed imaging scan like a pet scan, a CT scan, or a MRI. And if signs of mesothelioma is detected then the doctor will give the patient a biopsy which is when tissue from the patient will be collected to confirm that mesothelioma cells exist within the patient. Although doctors can do blood tests for signs of mesothelioma, the blood test is not enough to confirm that mesothelioma exists. But right now today, doctors are trying to find out how can they detect early signs of mesothelioma through these blood tests of asbestos workers.
Pleural Mesothelioma can be treated with five different staging systems that doctors use. The IMIG staging system was created in 1995 by the International Mesothelioma Interest Group because older systems did not classify tumors with tumor node metastasis descriptors. The IMIG staging system is the most common used staging system used for mesothelioma. There are different types of mesothelioma trement options which can be surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. But most doctors would combine some of these different types of treatments together which can be called multimodal therapy treatment. Research has proven that combining different types of therary treatment together has helped patients survival rates.
A common treatment that is known to treat the symptoms of all stages is called Palliative treatment. Immunotherapy is an experimental therapy but it's showing progress in becoming a great treatment system to use in the future. Mesothelioma doctors specialize in a variety of fields in their treatment centers as far as radiologists, sergeons, medical and radiation oncologists, pathologists and palliative care specialists all on one big mesothelioma treatment team. It's best to consider a mesothelioma specialist if you're trying to get treated because a specialist can be a key factor in your treatment. Some of the best mesothelioma treatment centers will attract patients that even in a different country because these centers have years of experience, good doctors, and the best technology and machines available.
There isn't much mesothelioma research available because funding for these researches is very low, although there are some treatment centers that will try experiencing new drugs and treatment systems. And by doing so, this will open the door for scientists to develop new drugs for treatment. At different cancer centers all over the world there are new drugs and treatment systems that is being introduced. The worse stage of mesothelioma is the prognosis for mesothelioma stage. Some mesothelioma patients live longer than expected depending on many different prognostic factors.
If you have malignant mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos, you can file a claim with a asbestos trust fund or file a lawsuit against the company where the exposure to asbestos occured. If you win the lawsuit or get a settlement the money can help you pay for medical expenses, and for your pain and suffering. If the company is liable for the exposure of asbestos which could've been prevented then you will win the lawsuit or settlement. The company will be found liable if they have products that contains asbestos and the company failed to warn employees of the potential exposure of asbestos. You should contact a mesothelioma lawyer which would help you understand the legal options you could take.
There are different kinds of drugs that's very popular and used by so many peope that helps lower cholesterol which could be a way to treat mesothelioma in the future. Research from Japan shows that statins can have a positive synergistic effect when it is combined with gamma-tocotrienol, which is an engineered form of vitamin E that can be used as a cancer-fighting compound. Other researches shows that statins can help control different kinds of tumor growth and block cellular functions which can turn into cancer.
Exposure to asbestos will affect the thin membrane surrounding your lungs, your abdominal cavity, or your heart and would result in the cancer called mesothelioma. In the United States there are over 3,000 patients diagnose with mesothelioma a year in which almost all of them are due to exposure of asbestos on the job. Over the years a lot of companies are reducing the use of asbestos, but the number of people diagnose with mesothelioma each year still stays about the same. Most people don't know they have symptoms and it can take about 20 to 50 years before the symptoms gets very bad after exposure to asbestos and you can see a doctor to get diagnosis. Although there is no cure for the disease, there are different treatment options and different therapies for mesothelioma.
