Battling Cancer

What should you know about asbestos?

The risk of getting an asbestos related disease correlates to the dose and duration of exposure. Those working in a job with exposure naturally are at greater risk; however particles on clothing brought home puts others at risk. Risk also exists for exposure due to damaged materials in buildings that utilized asbestos.

Asbestos fibers remain trapped in your lungs for life. The more you inhale the greater your risk of getting an asbestos related disease. The risk never disappears. Other factors such as cigarette smoking, and personal genetics will determine ‘if’ and ‘when’ symptoms will appear. The shortest latency period from exposure to asbestos to appearance of disease is 5 to 10 years, but could be as long as 40 years. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.

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When I was going to college, the university that I attended was undergoing of a full-scale renovation.  Many of the original buildings on campus were crumbling, and although there were new construction and renovation initiatives in place, many students had to attend classes in buildings at the same time that they were being stripped of asbestos.  To bring light to the hazardous situations, professors and students alike wore buttons satirizing the university’s recruiting motto, “Success — Expect it” with ”Asbestos — Expect it.”

The main concern for these students, staff, and faculty members was inhaling the dangerous particulate matter was that was so often indicated in cases of mesothelioma.  Mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the lining of mesothelial cells in the chest and abdomen.  Many mesotheliomal cases are found in individuals working in occupational fields where they come in contact with harmful particulate matter in the air, particularly asbestos.  Earlier posts on Battling Cancer discussed both symptoms and difficulties of diagnosis of mesothelioma.

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By Alan Jason Smith

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer affecting the cells of mesothelial lining in the chest and abdomen. Mesothelioma is rare, though it appears to be on the rise. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed each year in the United States alone. Symptoms for both types of mesothelioma are not specific only to this disease, and often go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for a significant amount of time. Difficulty breathing, abdominal and chest pain, and fever can all be attributed to other causes, so this cancer has time to advance fairly fair before diagnosis usually occurs. Due to the difficulty in diagnosis of mesothelioma, survival time after diagnosis is estimated at about a year.

There are two main types of mesothelioma. The first type, pleural mesothelioma, spreads within the chest cavity, and sometimes involves the lungs. This type or cancer can metastasize into any of the body’s organs, including the brain.

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By Declan Kerin

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a most lethal cancer. It has unusual characteristics. The more I look at it the more I am convinced it does not behave like a true solid tissue cancer.

• Serosal membranes very rarely become malignant except with Mesothelioma.
• It is not asbestos fiber dose dependent.
• It is not cigarette smoking dose related.
• Probably occurs only in cases where there was prior evidence of a pleurisy (benign) usually with evidence of pleural thickening.
• Latency is different (usually longer) than any other known malignancy.
• 275 day median survival is more in keeping with an uncontrollable infection (all be it a malignant one) than a solid tumor growth pattern.
• Simian 40 virus DNA parts have been found in mesothelioma specimens.
• Rarely if ever found as a distant metastasis (e.g. brain or liver spread).

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By Ray Smith

Since the late 1800’s, Asbestos has been widely used for commercial purposes and the usage dramatically increased during World War II. Thousands of Americans who work I in the ship yard; commercial plants etc were exposed to Asbestos dust. This was the beginning of Mesothelioma. The people who had a widespread exposure to Asbestos were at an increased risk of developing Mesothelioma. This was the beginning of the cursed disease.

Mesothelioma is the medical name for cancer of the pleura (the lining of the lung and chest cavity) or cancer of the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen). Mesothelioma can be caused even due to an exposure to Asbestos for 1-2 months but it is most commonly found in those who had prolonged or persistent exposure.

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By William Johnston

Pericardial mesothelioma is a very rare form of mesothelioma and accounts for approximately 5% of all mesothelioma cases. This form of mesothelioma affects the lining that surrounds the heart and is a deadly cancer if not treated agressively in its early stages.

The cause of pericardial mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos dust and fibres. As little as a couple of months of exposure to asbestos fibres can lead to pericardial mesothelioma between 30-50 years later. Due to this long latency period of the disease, it is very difficult to diagnose before the cancer has developed and matured fully. Those suffering from mesothelioma are elderly men aged 60-70 because this was the generation that worked with asbestos with little protection from its dust and fibres. The symptoms of the cancer have just started to show for these men due to the long time that the effects of mesothelioma take to come out. Many of these men are now lodging multi-million dollar lawsuits against the companies who exposed them to asbestos without sufficient protection. Asbestos fibres reach the lining of the heart by being inhaled and then getting lodged in the lungs. From the lungs they can either move into the lymphatic system and get transported to the lining of the heart or they can just pass slowly to the lining of the heart over time. Over a long period of time being exposed to asbestos, these fibres build up and once enough have accumilated in the lining heart, pericardial mesothelioma is a possibility.

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By William Johnston

Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of mesothelioma by far and accounts for 75% of all mesothelioma cases. Pleural mesothelioma affects the respiratory areas of the body such as the lungs. More specifically, the cancer attacks the lining of the lungs and ribs called the pleura hence the name pleural mesothelioma.

The main cause of pleural mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. Only a couple of months of being exposed to the deadly dust and fibres of asbestos without protection can lead to pleural mesothelioma thirty to fifty years later. Elderly men of ages sixty to seventy are those most at risk to asbestos because this was the generation which worked with asbestos with little protection from the dust and fibres. Due to the long latency period of pleural mesothelioma (30-50 years), these men are only just discovering they have the deadly cancer. Currently, many of these men are lodging million dollar lawsuits against the companies who exposed them to asbestos. Asbestos fibres get into the lining of the lungs by inhalation and become lodged inside the lungs.

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By Matt West

Mesothelioma is touted as deadly because most of the cases are diagnosed when in advanced stage and doctors have little solace to offer by then. Still doctors try to do their best to relieve the patients from severe pain of mesothelioma using advanced treatments.

Surgery

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By William Johnston

Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare form of mesothelioma that accounts for approximately 20% of all mesothelioma cases. Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the tissue lining the abdomen which is called the peritoneum hence the name of this form of the cancer. The peritoneum protects the contents of the abdomen and is therefore very important.

Currently, only one cause of peritoneal mesothelioma is known and this is exposure to asbestos dust and fibres. Only a couple of months of exposure to asbestos without sufficient protection can lead to peritoneal mesothelioma thirty to fifty years later. Those suffering from peritoneal mesothelioma are mostly elderly men who worked amongst asbestos decades ago when workers were not protected from asbestos dust. Many of these men are currently lodging multi-million dollar lawsuits against the companies who exposed them to asbestos. Asbestos fibres can get into the peritoneum in two different ways. The most common way they reach the peritoneum is by them getting trapped in the trachea (windpipe) and bronchi (inside the lungs) by mucus and end up being swallowed. From here they can pass through the intestine wall into the peritoneum. The second way in which asbestos fibres can reach the peritoneum is by them lodging inside the lungs. They then move into the lymphatic system and get transported to the peritoneum. Constant exposure to asbestos leads to a great number of fibres being built up in the peritoneum.

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By Ben O’Rourke

Diagnosis

Confirming if Mesothelioma is present is done through a biopsy, performed by an oncologist or even a doctor specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer pathologies, removes a small sample of tissue from a patient and examines it using a microscope. Difficulty breathing, abdominal and chest pain, and fever can all be attributed to other causes, so this cancer can have the time to advance fairly well before diagnosis of the disease.

Because of the difficulty in diagnosing mesothelioma, the survival time after diagnosis is estimated at about one year. The time that occurs between exposure and the start of the disease, and the rate at which it progresses, makes diagnosis extremely difficult. Early diagnosis is thus crucial in treating this particular form of cancer.

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