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What is Mesothelioma? - The Basics
What is Mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that effects the lining of
the chest, abdomen or heart. Most people who have or have had
mesothelioma have been exposed to asbestos about 35-40 years
before contracting the disease. Asbestos have been known to come
from certain insulators, cements, roofs and household cleaners,
among other things. An exposure to asbestos for as little as 2
or 3 months can result in mesothelioma, however most asbestos
have been removed from products since the 1980's. The symptoms
of this disease are not specific, which can result in a delay in
diagnoses. Some early symptoms of
mesothelioma are pneumonia, shortness of breath, chest pain,
and cough.
This cancer can be fatal and spread to other areas of your body
through your blood. Cat scans, X-rays and MRI's are used to
diagnose this cancer. If you are aware of being exposed to
asbestos in the past, please contact your doctor immediately, as
the sooner you are diagnosed, the more successful treatment
will
be. If you are not sure that you were exposed to asbestos, but
have worked in construction or with house held cleaners before
the 1980's, you should ask your doctor to get tested just to be
safe. Mesothelioma
is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy
and radiation therapy. If you are diagnosed with the disease
while it is in a late stage, the expected survival rate is only
8-12 months, however patients who are diagnosed early have been
known to have a much better survival rate, about 40% living for
five years.
This is a very serious disease, and people with any suspicion
of being exposed to asbestos before should immediately contact
their doctors, in order to catch the disease while it is still
in it's early stages.
About the author:
Joanne Mackenzie writes about various topics. This article is
free to re-print as long as nothing is changed, all links
remained intacked, the bio remains in full and the
rel="nofollow" tag is not added to any of the links. Thank-you
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