One of the most aggressive cancers of the last century is also the one least known about in the public eye. Mesothelioma disease information was the least talked about, especially when it came to public news about dangers of asbestos. Strides towards ending this cancer were accomplished when the substance that causes it, asbestos, was removed, by law, from many of the same places that workers were exposed to it, like factories and shipyards, and its use in construction became outlawed. It was not until a number of workers in the mines where it was cultivated came down with the cancer than more information was finally released to the public.
What Is Mesothelioma?
Now that the world has learned more Mesothelioma disease information, some basic facts have become known about this very aggressive form of cancer. It is chiefly caused by exposure to asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral mined throughout the Southwest, and the victims most likely to develop it were construction workers, miners, and industrial workers that created the insulation used in construction and other industries.
Mesothelioma disease information also revealed that this cancer is primarily found in the lining of the lungs, heart and abdomen. Pleural Mesothelioma, where the asbestos fibers have lodged themselves within the very liner that allows the lungs their free movement during breathing, is the most common. Pericardial Mesothelioma is more rare, when asbestos fibers have found their way into the pericardium, the membrane around the heart. Peritoneal Mesothelioma, is also rare, and occurs when the asbestos finds its way to the stomach lining.
Symptoms And Treatment
The symptoms associated with Pleural Mesothelioma, the most common form according to Mesothelioma disease information, begins with shortness of breath, an extraordinary buildup of fluid within the lungs, and chronic hoarseness. By the time this cancer is diagnosed, the victim is also experiencing chronic coughing, with blood, muscle weakness and chest pain. Final stages include sensory loss, paralysis and swelling in the face and arms. All too often companies claimed that their workers were affected by it because they also smoked, causing the fibers to be inhaled in that manner, and ineligible for compensation through attorneys and law firms.
The treatment options available for this common form, according to Mesothelioma disease information, will require several surgeries to complete. The first surgery often performed by doctors at clinics and treatment centers is a pleurectomy decortication, removing part of the lung lining in order to remove any tumors. If the tumors continue to appear, a second surgery, a extrapleural pneumonectomy, removing up to one lung, in order to get all of the tumors out of the body.
Laws And Litigation
According to Mesothelioma disease information, because the symptoms are so similar to a host of other diseases, the fact that it is cancer is often found too late for effective treatment. This has led to many lawsuits filed by lawyers against the companies responsible, and to many states creating laws to limit litigation and compensation as a result.
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