Mesothelioma Explained

Mesothelioma is an extraordinarily rare form of cancer. The term is used to describe a cancerous tumour affecting the mesothelial cells of an organ and thus the name “Mesothelioma” is used. In most of the recorded cases, mesothelioma affects the lungs or abdominal organs. There are two main types of mesothelioma, namely pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. Both types of mesothelioma are vastly different and are explained in brief below.

Pleural Mesothelioma
The first and most common type of mesothelioma is pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma affects the lungs by disabling the pleura, a thin membrane found between the lungs and the chest cavity. The pleura lubricates the surface between the lung and the chest cavity to avoid the lung from rubbing against the chest walls. Pleural mesothelioma if often referred to as “lung” cancer regardless of the fact that it is a form mesothelioma.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma
The second type of mesothelioma is peritoneal mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the membrane that encloses the organs of the abdomen called the peritoneum. Peritoneal mesothelioma is highly uncommon but can be very invasive, meaning a shorter life expectancy for patients diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. Mesothelioma has also been found in the stomach and other abdominal organs but is far less occurring than both pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma.

Types of Mesothelioma

As with many other types of cancers, mesothelioma consists of two types - benign and malignant. The most widespread type of mesothelioma is malignant pleural mesothelioma. This type of mesothelioma is highly invasive and very aggressive, spreading at an incredible rate over the surface of abdomen, lungs and even the heart.

Patients diagnosed with this type of mesothelioma often have a life expectancy of between four months and two years, depending largely on the time that this type of mesothelioma was diagnosed, the patients general health and a wide spread variety of other factors. With proper care, some of the sufferers of this type of mesothelioma have survived for several years after noticing the symptoms of mesothelioma.

Causes of Pleural Mesothelioma

The cause of pleural mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. Pleural mesothelioma can be particularly associated with exposure to blue asbestos. The exposure to asbestos may be very brief, yet one will readily succumb to mesothelioma. Mesothelioma tumours can take up to 40 years before symptoms can be recognised. The symptoms of mesothelioma for both pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma are described later.

Symptoms of Mesothelioma

As mentioned previously, mesothelioma is the result of direct contact with asbestos and if you have been exposed to asbestos then it is paramount that you see your doctor if you show any of symptoms associated with mesothelioma.

Pleural mesothelioma affects the chest cavity and symptoms include coughing, sleeping difficulty, fevers, extreme pain in the chest or lower back, fluid in the chest cavity, loss of appetite and weight loss, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties, tiredness and trouble swallowing.

Peritoneal mesothelioma, the less common form of mesothelioma affecting the abdomen region, has far fewer symptoms that include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and weight loss. If for any reason you believe you have mesothelioma and have been exposed to asbestos, a through check of your medical records will enable a doctor to check if you do in actual fact have mesothelioma. A doctor may perform physical tests to check for mesothelioma.

Diagnosing Mesothelioma – Physical Tests

There are several ways to test for mesothelioma in a patient who has had previous exposure to asbestos and has shown symptoms of the mesothelioma cancer. Imaging tests can determine of a person has mesothelioma by using certain technology to examine the area in question. Technology used to detect mesothelioma can include one or a combination of a CAT, MRI or PET scan.

Other means of testing for mesothelioma is via fluid or tissue samples that are taken from the areas though to have the mesothelioma cancer and then searched for the mesothelioma cancer cells. A camera may be used to detect mesothelioma by inserting it into the suspect area through a small incision.

Diagnosed Mesothelioma Patients

Once diagnosed with mesothelioma, it is fundamental to understand what treatment can be used to help your mesothelioma and the legal rights you have after finding the source of your mesothelioma. Your doctor should provide with detailed information on your specific type of mesothelioma.

Being diagnosed with mesothelioma means that you have at some point in your life been exposed to asbestos as the direct result of someone’s negligence. Businesses knew that asbestos carried with it many implications including the possibility of such cancers as mesothelioma, yet they did not take warnings seriously enough. Your legal rights are explained in further detail at a later stage.

Mesothelioma Legal Rights

When diagnosed with mesothelioma it is very important that you take legal action against any entity that exposed you to the dreaded asbestos, the asbestos companies. Mesothelioma sufferers can undertake legal action against asbestos manufacturers and the amount of compensation varies according to the mesothelioma sufferer’s case but can be a six or seven figure amount.
If you are suffering from mesothelioma, this is not fault of yours, but of the asbestos manufacturers who covered up the fact that asbestos can cause mesothelioma and profited up to billions of dollars from the sales of asbestos. It is only fair that those who cause your mesothelioma be held responsible for the somewhat staggering mesothelioma treatment costs. Mesothelioma victims may have family that, without their support cannot make it through their daily lives.

Mesothelioma Legal Rights – Compensation Entitlements

The asbestos industry has known for centuries that’s asbestos caused such deadly health problems as mesothelioma. In the 1930’s, regardless of the warnings, the asbestos companies sold asbestos as insulation, profiting billions of dollars from this cheap and plentiful resource that proves to be quite expensive for mesothelioma victims. The asbestos was used in a variety of products and people became exposed to asbestos on a regular basis that could, in later life, cause mesothelioma.

Asbestos workers though were dying from exposure to asbestos and medical researchers had become well aware of the health hazards and by the late 1930’s it was well documented that asbestos was a highly toxic carcinogen that could cause cancer in humans such as mesothelioma. The asbestos companies tried covered up any information they could about the health hazards of asbestos but eventually, after years of asbestos sales, the government became aware of the threat and prohibited its use in the US.

These actions to continue selling asbestos form the basic structure of compensation entitlements.

Mesothelioma Lawyers

Choosing a mesothelioma lawyer is an important task that a mesothelioma victim and their family must choose wisely. The first step is to choose a mesothelioma lawyer that has a good record of winning mesothelioma compensation claims in a quick manner. A mesothelioma lawyer should have a lot of experience and always ask for the contact details of past clients to see hoe they felt about the mesothelioma lawyer. Mesothelioma lawyers can be found online or offline via telephone. If you are a mesothelioma victim seeking a mesothelioma lawyer online, then you will be asked to fill in a form about your mesothelioma case and if the mesothelioma lawyer decides to take your case, then he or she will contact you with the details provided.