Mesothelioma, A Cancer Usually Caused By Asbestos

Thomas-Goldman | Mar 4, 2010 |

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Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer usually caused by exposure to asbestos. Legal claims for this disease can often be considerable sometimes amounting to more than tens of millions of dollars in total.

The link between direct asbestos exposure (such as when mining it) and mesothelioma was established in the year 1960 which led to many court cases against companies who should have made themselves aware of such medical data and taken relevant care of their employees. A few years later it was also medically proven that even indirect exposure to asbestos, such as from someone washing clothing used by an asbestos worker, can cause mesothelioma. This medical finding further increased the amount of legal actions on this subject. Over half a million asbestos claims have been filed so far and many more are expected in the years to come.

Smoking is not a direct cause of Mesothelioma but a combination of smoking and asbestos exposure has been proven to increase the risk of Mesothelioma occurring in the lungs.

Mesothelioma symptoms can include breathing difficulties and coughing due to fluid in the lungs, chest pain and more generalized symptoms such as weight loss, fever head pain, neck pain and abdominal pain. These symptoms can occur several decades after the asbestos exposure, sometimes not being present until 50 years later than the causative exposure.

Diagnosis of Mesothelioma might be supported by chest X-ray and/or CT scan or MRI, and the verified by detailed examination a sample of affected tissue (this is known as a "biopsy"). Diagnosis is often very difficult for this disease because the same symptoms can be caused by many other less serious conditions.

Most patients die within eighteen months of knowing they have this disease not because the disease is so rapidly progressing but because diagnosis is often only definitive at a late stage of the disease.

Workers in the ship building and repairing industries have the highest mortality rate from Mesothelioma because asbestos is so widely used on ships but many other professions can be affected, including carpentry, pipe-fitting and fire fighting, boiler construction and repair as well as management and even school teaching.

This disease at present has no cure, although treatments such as chemo-therapy, immunotherapy, surgery, and radiation treatment can usually prolong the life of someone who has been diagnosed with the disease. Clinical trials are also usually available to patients who want to try new treatments. Some mesothelioma patients use alternative treatments to prolong their life and/or to decrease the effects of the mesothelioma symptoms.