Mesothelioma is the name for a range of cancers of mesothelial tissue, a fibrous protective layer which surrounds and protects vital organs within the human body.
The most prevalent form of mesothelioma is malignant pleural mesothelioma, or MPM, which occurs in 75 percent of cases and targets the lining around the lungs. Here, over a course of decades, inhaled and non-biodegradable asbestos particles set up an irritation which eventually, though not always, triggers MPM.
MPM is not the only manifestation of asbestos? inherent lethality. Malignant tumors can also develop around the abdominal organs (peritoneal mesothelioma, in about 20 percent of cases), around the heart (pericardial mesothelioma, in about five percent of cases), and around both male and female sexual organs (loosely defined as tunica vaginalis, and occurring in less than one percent of cases).
Mesothelioma can be contracted at any time of life, but does not produce symptoms serious enough to require a doctor?s consideration until about 30 to 50 years after acquisition. In fact, most doctors discover the presence of MPM while scanning for other illnesses or physical deficits.
Sleeper Cell
This very long latency period is what makes mesothelioma so problematical. By the time patients are concerned enough to go see their family doctor, the disease is well advanced. As a result, most techniques used on it ? radiation; chemotherapy; surgery to remove the mass; to remove one lung; or to drain the affected lung ? are essentially palliative, or designed to make the patient more comfortable rather than provide a ?cure? of what is essentially in incurable form of cancer.
Initial symptoms of MPM include shortness of breath and chest pain. As the tumor grows and expands into peripheral tissue and organs, and more fluid accumulates, shortness of breath will increase, sometimes drastically. Patients will also lose weight, since it is very hard to breathe and eat. Appetite also diminishes, as it does with most malignant cancers. The voice may change due to the above-mentioned incursions, the patient may experience night sweats, and diaphragmatic expansion is reduced, sometimes fatally. Other symptoms can include pain under the rib cage or chest which feels like a muscle cramp, and a constant cough which may be mild or severe.
Other form of malignant mesothelioma mentioned above share some of MPM?s symptoms but also produce symptoms of their own. In the case of peritoneal mesothelioma, a tumor growing in the abdomen may cause nausea, anemia, abdominal pain on a scale of 1 to 10, and diarrhea or constipation ? symptoms which mimic other bowel diseases and defects, including ulcerative colonitis and Crohn?s Disease (a cluster grouped under Irritable Bowel Disease, or IBD).
Pericardial mesothelioma distinguishes itself with irregularities in heartbeat and breathing patterns. All forms of cancerous mesothelioma share general body-wide pain, difficulty swallowing food and inflammation or swelling of the neck or face.
Most malignant mesothelioma sufferers are, or were, in a job that required daily exposure to asbestos. Spouses, children and even friends of the sufferer may acquire mesothelioma secondhand, from being exposed to fibers brought home on work clothes, or traveling in vehicles which have been equally infused with asbestos particles.
Some trades routinely exposed to asbestos include:
- Manufacturers of asbestos products (automotive products, marine products, building materials
- Oil refineries
- Power plants
- Railroads
- Ship builders, shipyards
- Steel mills (worker?s fireproof clothing)
- Tile
Fortunately, many of the sources of asbestos have been eliminated thanks to laws framed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, at the behest of Congress.
Workers at risk include:
Auto Mechanics
Boiler makers
Building Inspectors
Construction workers
Demolition workers
Drywall hangers
Electricians
Furnace Workers
Insulators
Iron workers
Laborers
Longshoremen
Maintenance workers
Plumbers
??? Roofers
Sand blasters
Sheet metal workers
Steam fitters
U.S. Navy veterans
History
Asbestos, first discovered by the ancient Greeks, came into common usage during the late 1800s and continued to be used through most of the 20th century thanks to its superb insulative qualities and its extraordinary ability to maintain physical integrity in spite of caustics and other toxic chemicals.
In 1989, all new uses for asbestos were banned. This says nothing about existing uses, or the fact that the 1989 law was overturned in Louisiana by an appellate court. Today, the law prohibits asbestos in flooring felt, rollboard and certain kinds of paper.
Asbestos continues to be used in American manufacture, albeit at less than one percent of a product?s volume or mass. Thus it is possible to find asbestos in everything from floor tile adhesives to hot water/steam taps or valves. In the home, it might still be found in asbestos roofing shingles, old hairdryers, vehicle brakes, corrugated paper, toasters and millboard.
It?s almost ironic that the United States spent years trying to outlaw asbestos, only to lose its world-class manufacturing base to China, India and other developing nations who have fewer compunctions about using asbestos.
Asbestos is a ?legacy? disease; that is, subsequent generations always pick up the tab. That tab is estimated to be up to $200 billion in the U.S. in the next 40 years. It may be a far cry from the national debt ? a mind-numbing $16+ trillion ? but the cost in human lives, loss of productivity and family solidarity are incalculable.
Finally, while there is no proof that smoking leads to MPM, there is conclusive evidence to show that smokers who have also been exposed to asbestos have a higher risk of developing MPM.
?
Belluck & Fox LLP is a Mesothelioma and personal injury law firm located in New York. ?For more information, please visit us at www.mesotheliomahelp.net
Andrew Miller is an experienced Social Media expert and Author. He has worked in marketing for over a decade and finds his passion in bringing concepts to life for the world to enjoy. He is also an avid legal blogger and currently working on a book with his wife about social entrepreneurship. He is a true Socialpreneur and finds that his goal in life is to be an agent for positive social change through both his writing and business endeavors.
No related posts.
Source: http://www.usblawg.com/employment-labor-law/what-is-mesothelioma/
bus driver uppercut Argo joe biden Alex Karras BCS Rankings 2012 the walking dead the walking dead
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.