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Asbestos and Mesothelioma
Asbestos is a dangerous and potentially deadly substance that was once widely used in a range of items, from ceiling and wall tiles to insulation and auto brakes. In the past, most people outside of the industry were totally unaware of the dangers...
Asbestos Symptoms: Late Indicators
Asbestos symptoms refer to the changes in the body that indicate some type of serious diseases caused by exposure to asbestos particles.
Awareness about asbestos symptoms is important because danger of asbestos exposure...
Choosing a Mesothelioma Doctor
Mesothelioma Cancer is considered, within the medical profession, to be a serious illness. Mesothelioma Doctors are now available to those who are sufferers of Mesothelioma Cancer. Mesothelioma Doctors are well educated in the cause of...
Protect Against Mesothelioma by Avoiding Asbestos
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that attacks the body's mesothelial cells around the organs. The mesothelium provides a protective membranous lining for the internal organs and allows moving organs (i.e. the heart and the lungs) to glide easily...
What is mesothelioma
"Mesothelioma" is the term used to describe a cancerous tumor that involves the mesothelial cells of an organ. Mesothelial cells are cells that form a protective lining over the lungs, heart and abdominal organs. The most common type of...
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What is Malignant Mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is a disease in which malignant cancer cells are found in the mesothelium. The mesothelium is a protective sac that covers most of the bodies major organs.
The mesothelium is made up of two layers of cells:
One layer immediately surrounds the organ;
The other layer forms a sac around it.
The mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid that is released between these layers. The purpose of this lubricating fluid is to allow moving organs, such as the heart and lungs to glide against adjacent structures.
Malignant mesothelioma is a disease in which cancerous cells in the mesothelium grow to an abnormal size and divide uncontrollably. During this process these malignant mesothelioma cells will invade and contaminate nearby organs and tissues.
Cases of malignant mesothelioma have increased over the last 20 years, but despite this, mesothelioma is still a comparatively rare form of cancer with about 2000 new cases a year being diagnosed in the United States.
Malignant mesothelioma occurs much more in men than in women and you're much more likely to contract it when you're old than young.
Working with asbestos is the primary cause of mesothelioma - only 20%
to 30% of reported cases occur in people who have no known history of exposure to asbestos.
There is some evidence that family members and close acquaintances of those who've worked with asbestos are themselves at greater risk than the population at large of developing malignant mesothelioma.
The symptoms of mesothelioma may not develop until 30 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Symptoms include shortness of breath and chest pain, weight loss, abdominal pain and swelling of the abdomen, bowel obstruction leading to constipation, problematic blood-clotting, anemia and fever. If the malignant mesothelioma has spread beyond the mesothelium, pain may be experienced in these other body parts and there may be swelling e.g. in the neck or face leading to trouble swallowing.
It must be stressed that all of the above symptoms can have causes other than malignant mesothelioma. It is important that a properly-qualified medical doctor be consulted, because only a doctor can provide a diagnosis.
About the Author
Alan Allport is Webmaster of http://www.asbestos-cancer.best-gen.com a site that specialises in giving the very best information on asbestos cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma
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