Mesothelioma - Information
According to The National Cancer Institute malignant mesothelioma types are a rare form of cancer in which malignant cells are found in the sac lining the chest called the pleura, in the lining of the abdominal cavity called the peritoneum or in the lining around the heart, called the pericardium.
The lining of the chest, the abdominal cavity and the heart is called the mesothelium which is where the name “mesothelioma” comes from.
Malignant mesothelioma is also known as “asbestos cancer” because approximately 75% of all mesothelioma patients have a known exposure to asbestos. Because tumors of the mesothelium are rarely benign or non-cancerous, malignant or cancerous mesothelioma is usually referred to by the shorter name of "mesothelioma".
Even with all of the recent history of mesothelioma and its proliferation throughout the news media and the spawning of numerous legal issues, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer; even though new cases have certainly increased in the past 20 years. Every year in the United States approximately 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed. Mesothelioma occurs more often in men than in women and the risk of occurrence increases with age, but this disease can certainly appear at any age and can appear in either men or women.
Because so many of the symptoms of mesothelioma are very similar to those of other conditions, including lung cancer, it can be quite challenging to diagnosis mesothelioma. Also, once malignant mesothelioma takes hold it can be a very aggressive disease and so early diagnosis and treatment of is critical.
Although a small number of people who of have contracted mesothelioma have never been found to have been exposed to asbestos, approximately 75% of mesothelioma cases have actually been linked to some level of asbestos exposure. Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for eventually being diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Most incidence of mesothelioma stems from people who have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways, such as by washing the clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos, or by home renovation using asbestos cement products. One of the biggest challenges with this rare disease is that this cancer may not even begin to demonstrate symptoms until 20, 30, 40 or even 50 or years after the first exposure to asbestos.
Although malignant mesothelioma is rare, it is a serious, deadly disease. But with the ever emerging new treatments for cancer, there is hope for patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma.
More Resources
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Articles
Incidence Of Malignant Mesothelioma
It is thought that the number exposed between 1940 and 1980 exceeds 25 million. Asbestos Exposure
After asbestos fibers are breathed in, they can easily enter and become trapped in the airways and lung tissue and the body has difficulty removing the fibers.
Diagnosing Pleural Mesothelioma
Diagnosing pleural mesothelioma is a challenge. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common of all mesothelioma cancers. Pleural Mesothelioma
Pleural mesothelioma is the most common of all mesotheliomas and diagnosing this rare cancer can be a challenge.
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