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Mesothelioma Disease
What is Mesothelioma? A lot of people are not aware of thisdisease and thus, die due to the delay in diagnosis. Millions ofpeople die every year because of cancer; it is among the mostpervasive illnesses every one of us is exposed to. Generallyspeaking, a cancer is a group of diseases characterized byalarming rapid growth of abnormal cells in the body. The diseasecan affect almost any part of the body and among the mostcommonly affected are the lungs. Cancer-causing substances areeverywhere, especially in the air that we breathe so the lungsare vulnerable to several fatal diseases. One rare cancer thataffects the lungs is Mesothelioma. Mesothelioma has been popularized only because of itsassociation with asbestos, a fibrous mineral form of magnesiumsilicate used in fireproofing, chemical filters, electricalinsulation and others. Most of the patients diagnosed withMesothelioma have been frequently exposed to asbestos. They arethose who work in construction sites, shipyards, insulatormakers and similar places. They usually inhale the impure fibersfrom the asbestos that float through the air. It can be noted that there are about 30-50 per cent ofMesothelioma patients who did not have any exposure to asbestos,which leads to the assumption that asbestos may not be the solecause of Mesothelioma. There are some Mesothelioma patients,too, that had only little exposure to asbestos but hadcontracted the disease. Activities such as washing clothes of aperson who has been exposed to asbestos can still put a personat high risk of Mesothelioma cancer. This disease takes years todevelop so a person exposed to asbestos might be diagnosed withMesothelioma only after 20-50 years of the exposure. Like other forms of cancers, Mesothelioma is named after thepart which is affected by the disease. In the case ofMesothelioma, the malignant cells are found in the mesothelium,a
protective sac that covers different internal organs. Thisprotective sac produces fluid that lubricates the organs,allowing them to move. They allow the beating of the heart andexpanding and contracting of the lungs, for example.Specifically, Mesothelioma affects the lining of the lung andchest cavity. There are some cases, too, that the lining of theabdomen (peritoneum) is the one affected. These two types ofMesothelioma cancer are known as Pleural Mesothelioma (affectingthe lungs) and Peritoneal Mesothelioma (affecting the abdomen). Symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma include panting, persistence ofcough, loss of weight, fever and chest pain. On the other hand,Peritoneal Mesothelioma may cause swelling and pain of theabdomen and also weight loss. During the early stages ofMesothelioma, the symptoms are non-specific; thus, the diseaseis not immediately identified. Also, the symptoms are oftenmistaken as signs of pneumonia. There are instances too that thepatient doesn't show any sign of this deadly cancer. If a patient manifests any of the said symptoms, he mustimmediately seek a physician's help. Usually, an xray isrequired to clearly see the abnormalities in the lungs (in thecase of Pleural Mesothelioma). Indications of a Mesotheliomacancer include a build-up of fluid between the pleura coveringof the chest wall and the diaphragm. In normal conditions, themesothelial cells produce only small amount of fluid enough tolubricate the space between the chest wall and the lung. The chance of a patient's recovery from Mesothelioma depends onthe extent or stage of the disease and location of the disease.Furthermore, the person's age and the way he responds totreatment and medication can tell whether he can survive thecancer or not. Generally the patient's option for treatmentinclude: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and anticancerdrugs. |
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May, 2012
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