What Is Mesothelioma - The Whole Truth?

What Is Mesothelioma - A Definition: 
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer. This cancer is nearly always caused from asbestos exposure. In essence, mesothelioma is the development of malignant cells in the mesothelium.

What is the Mesothelium?

The mesothelium is a protective lining that covers most of your internal organs. The most common place for it is the Pleura. This is the outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall.

With that said, cancer can occur in the...

* Peritoneum - the abdominal cavity lining
* The Heart
* The Tunica Vaginalis - the serous covering of the testis
* The Pericardium - where the heart is surrounded buy a sac

How Does Mesetholioma Occur?
There are a few ways that people become exposed to asbestos, such as handling the clothes of someone who works with asbestos. However, it's mostly developed through working with asbestos.

Other types of asbestos induced cancer is greatly increased in smokers, even though there is no direct association between smoking and mesothelioma.

What Are The Symptoms of Mesothelioma?

* Shortness of breath
* Fluid surrounding the lung
* Blood in the fluid when coughed up
* Chest wall pain
* Weight loss
* Fatigue
* Wheezing

To confirm if someone has asbestos they would have to get a chest x-ray, followed by a CT Scan. Then a biopsy (this is a tissue sample) followed by a microscopic examination.

What Is The Treatment For Mesothelioma?
The treatment for Mesothelioma is mostly decided at which stage the mesothelioma is at and can combine radiation and/or chemotherapy for Stage 1 or 2 Mesothelioma.

Surgery:
Surgery hasn't been very successful. But used in conjunction with the treatment mentioned above, the results can be a little better. The most common surgery is a pleurectomy/decortication... where the inside lining of the chest is removed, along with the lining for the pericardium (double-walled sac that contains the heart and the roots of the great vessels) and the hemi-diaphragm.

Radiation For Mesothelioma:
Radiotherapy is mostly applied to the areas of chest drain insertion. This helps prevent the growth of the tumor in the chest wall. For patients who do undertake surgery, radiation is performed on the hemi-thorax, at the same time as getting chemotherapy.

Legal issues:
Since 1929, when the first lawsuits came about, lots of other lawsuits followed. These were against the manufacturers of asbestos and employers. These lawsuits were for negligence (failure to put safety measure in place after the effects of asbestos became known). Liability resulted in billions being paid out to people affected. And these lawsuits still continue.