Showing posts with label asbestos-related diseases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asbestos-related diseases. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Relationship Between Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma



Lung cancer is the most common cause of death due to cancer in both men and women throughout the world. Lung cancer is a result from an abnormality of cells in the body. Lung cancer is sometimes called "bronchogenic cancer," or it may be described by its particular histologic type, that is the type of tissue that is diseased.

Lung cancer is predominantly a disease of the elderly; almost 70% of people diagnosed with lung cancer are over 65 years of age, while less than 3% of lung cancers occur in people under 45 years of age.

Everybody knows that cigarette smoking is the most closely related link to developing lung cancer. As a matter of fact, the earlier one begins smoking and the higher the number of cigarettes one smokes, the higher the chances of getting lung cancer. Exposure to asbestos, radiation, and pollution are also some of the other causes of lung cancer.

Asbestos exposure is one of the cause of lung cancer and mesotheliomaAsbestos is a bunch of naturally occurring minerals that are resistant to fire and chemical substances. They are fibrous mineral forms of impure magnesium silicate and located in fire-proofing materials, electrical insulation, cement, shingles, acoustic and decorative ceiling plaster, and additional construction materials. When repairing, removing, or disturbing asbestos-containing supplies, tiny asbestos dust will be dispersed into the open air. Asbestos separates into fine silica fibers that become trapped in the tissues of the lungs. 
Mesothelioma is inextricably linked to asbestos exposure. There are no reported cases of mesothelioma in people who were not exposed to asbestos either in the workplace or through their environment. 

Monday, January 17, 2011

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survival Rate

 
 
 
Peritoneal Mesothelioma is a cancer of the abdomen lining induced due to extended exposure to asbestos. Thousands of lawsuits are managed every year dealing with the issue of peritoneal mesothelioma & its effects. signs of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath & pain in the chest due to an accumulation of liquid in the pleural space are often signs of pleural mesothelioma. Other signs of peritoneal mesothelioma include loss of appetite, nausea, & abdominal swelling. liquid often piles up in the abdominal cavity causing the swelling & infliction. The signs can be  serious over time, as the swelling will exert great force on surrounding organs & lead to great pain.

If diagnosed at an early phase, than there's chances of survival, depending on on how advanced the cancer is at the time of the diagnosis. Treatment with radiation or chemotherapy & early diagnosis can be of great help. In fact, these treatments can help a patient to survive for a  long time. It is often true that if the cancer is found early & treated aggressively,  almost half of the patients whose cancer is found early reach the two-year mark & about 20% survive two years. For peritoneal mesothelioma, patients are often informed that they won’t be able to live for over one year. But peritoneal mesothelioma specialists, working in leading cancer centers throughout the world, often document better statistics than this, based on the clinical trials that they are carrying out.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Asbestos Exposure : The working's man killer




As what have been written about Mesothelioma on the previous post, the most harmful cause is Asbestos. Asbestos is a natural fiber that has been used extensively in myriad industries for the last century.

Asbestos can be found in various sizes and shapes around the world.

It has three most common types : white asbestos (chrysotile), brown asbestos (armosite) and blue asbestos (corcidolite). All three of these silica have been associated with lung diseases - both non-cancerous as well as cancerous.



Asbestos is much used in the construction of many buildings and places of business. Asbestos is prized for its heat and flame resistance, soundproofing, and insulating properties, it also poses significant threats to human health. Unknowing workers worked in these structures each day not know that there was danger lurking in the walls and ceiling. The building and construction industry uses Asbestos for strengthening cement and plastics as well as for heat insulation, fireproofing, and sound absorption. The shipbuilding industry has used asbestos to insulate boilers, steam- pipes, hot water pipes, and nuclear reactors in ships.

Those who worked at any one of these jobsites were likely exposed to a number of asbestos-containing products and are now at risk of developing mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses. When people are exposed to asbestos then three different types of lung diseases can develop: 1) asbestosis; 2) lung cancer; and 3) disease of the pleura - the lining of the lung.
Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_1899921_23.html?ktrack=kcplink