Mesothelioma: Your Health In Jeopardy

by: Kirsten Hawkins

Are you at risk of Mesothelioma?

If you are above 40 and have ever been exposed to asbestos continuously for more than 2 months in last 15-40 years, then you are at risk of Mesothelioma. It is a rare but deadly cancer of membrane cells, which covers some vital parts of our body like lungs, abdominal cavity and heart, called mesothelium. Like in other cancers, in mesothelioma the membrane cells divide ruthlessly causing abnormal growth, which ultimately damage the lining of vital organ such as lungs and abdomen.

Causes of Mesothelioma

Asbestos a mineral, used in different processes including building, shipyard and manufacturing in the days of World War II and for a few more decades, is the main cause of Mesothelioma. Researches have proved that those who have worked in asbestos related industries are mostly at risk of Mesothelioma. The minute asbestos particles go into human body through nose or mouth during inhalation, talking or any other reason. They reach lungs or abdomen and damage the lining, causing Mesothelioma. Due to its long latency period, mesothelioma can attack you even 15 – 40 years after the inhalation of asbestos particles. Even the family members of person working in asbestos related industries could be vulnerable to mesothelioma.

Treatments for Mesothelioma

Because Mesothelioma is a newly found disease, many doctors may not be able to diagnose it. However, if you have a known history of asbestos exposure you should ask your doctor to look for the symptoms of this disease. The good news is that there is a treatment for mesothelioma in the early stages. Some treatment options for mesothelioma cancers are surgical removal of the effected tissues; chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, the prognosis of later stage mesothelioma patients is bleak and the average survival time after diagnosis is 12-24 months.

Mesothelioma Compensations

The owners of Asbestos related industries were quite aware of the health hazards of asbestos. However, they persisted with its use without issuing any warnings or taking steps for avoiding the health hazards. This is the reason why US courts have awarded huge sums as compensations to the Mesothelioma patients/families by the companies/persons responsible for causing asbestos exposure.

Latest Cancer News:

Woman has twins from cancer survivor's 13-year-old sperm (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

A Taiwan woman has given birth to healthy twins using the 13-year-old frozen sperm of a former testicular cancer patient, local media said on Saturday, setting a record for the island. Liver Cancer Treatment Helps Determined Denverite (CBS4 Denver)

Jolanta Stettler came to this country as a pioneer from Poland, 14 years ago. Today, she is once again a pioneer -- this time in the foreign and dangerous country of cancer. Repairing DNA Damage: Researchers Discover Critical Process In Cancer Treatment (Medical News Today)

From the sun's UVA rays to tobacco smoke, our environment is chock-full of DNA-damaging agents that can lead to cancer. Thanks to our body's DNA repair mechanisms, however, the effects of many carcinogens can be reversed thereby preventing the formation of tumours. Negative messages keep blacks from cancer tests (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Cancer news stories and public service announcements that call attention to the fact that African Americans are often diagnosed with cancer at later stages and have lower survival rates than whites may discourage African Americans from getting screened for cancer, new research shows. Sugar and Breast Cancer (BellaOnline)

Does eating sugar cause breast cancer? In a word, no. Of course not. If you have a Snickers bar, it will not give you cancer.If we dig a little deeper, however, there are some interesting schools of thought around sugar and the role it plays in our cancer diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer caregivers hope to raise awareness (The Wayne Independent)

Family members of loved ones who died of pancreatic cancer, approached the Wayne County Commissioners, this past week, hopeful to raise awareness of the disease and thereby help others. Family: Author Michael Crichton dies of cancer at age 66 (The Pantagraph)

NEW YORK -- Michael Crichton, the million-selling author who made scientific research terrifying and irresistible in such thrillers as "Jurassic Park," "Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said. Seminar on breast cancer awareness (Gulf Times)

AL AHLI Hospital recently conducted a one-day breast cancer awareness seminar, a spokesperson has said. Migraine's silver lining -- drop in breast cancer risk: study (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Migraine sufferers who likely have no kind words about the condition may take comfort in news that women who get the extra-strength headaches have a 30-percent lower breast cancer risk, according to a new US study. Lightning?s Jessica Havel starts Shut Out Cancer program (Grand Rapids Herald-Review)

Grand Rapids-Greenway Lightning senior goaltender Jessica Havel has found away to turn the love of hockey and a family hardship into a positive as she has started Shut Out Cancer, a new program that will benefit the University of Minnesota appendix cancer research, Grand Rapids Hospice and American Cancer Society.
Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (> required at line 14, column 29) in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/canceradvice.org/magpierss/rss_fetch.inc on line 238

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/canceradvice.org/inc/articlefooter1.php on line 29