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mesothelioma and asbestos
The mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. It is composed of two layers of cells One layer immediately surrounds the organ the other forms a sac around it. The mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid that is released between these layers, allowing moving organs such as the beating heart and the expanding and contracting lungs to glide easily against adjacent structures.
The mesothelium has different names, depending on its location in the body. The peritoneum is the mesothelial tissue that covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The pleura is the membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. The pericardium covers and protects the heart. The mesothelial tissue surrounding the male internal reproductive organs is called the tunica vaginalis testis. The tunica serosa uteri covers the internal reproductive organs in women.
Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer. About 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year. Mesothelioma occurs more often in men than in women and risk increases with age, but this disease can appear in either men or women at any age.
Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleura are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and abdominal pain and swelling due to a buildup of fluid in the abdomen. Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, trouble swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face.
1929 began the very first of the lawsuits that were brought against employers and asbestos manufacturers. The case was settled, however the lawyer agreed not to pursue any more cases. In 1960, an enlightening article was the first to point out asbestos as the main cause of Mesothelioma. The article actually referred to over 30 case studies of people who had suffered from Mesothelioma in South Africa. In Western Australia where the miners were tracked, mine waste containing asbestos was used to cover playgrounds and schoolyards. An important publication by the British Journal of Industrial Medicine in 1965 brought to light the fact that people who lived in asbestos mining towns, but didnt work in the mines, were contracting Mesothelioma. However, the mine in Western Australia continued to pump out these harmful chemicals, practically handing them out to children, mothers, grandparents, and other people.
Abdominal mesothelioma patients may be able to recover part or all of the costs of treating abdominal mesothelioma, due to its strong links to asbestos exposure.
Peritoneal mesothelioma, also known as abdominal mesothelioma, is one form of a rare asbestoslinked cancer, mesothelioma. The abdominal mesothelioma, as the name suggests, is a cancer of the tissues in the abdominal cavity. Abdominal mesothelioma generally affects men ages 5070, although women make up about onefifth of all abdominal mesothelioma cases.
Abdominal pains, abdominal weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea, and abdominal swelling are all abdominal mesothelioma symptoms. Patients exhibiting these symptoms are usually scheduled for further examinations to search for other abdominal mesothelioma signs. If an Xray or CT scan indicates signs that the patient indeed may have abdominal mesothelioma, a biopsy is conducted, allowing the physician to determine the malignancy level. Any abdominal mesothelioma treatment will be determined by the physician and patient, taking into account the stage of the abdominal mesothelioma, the location and sizes of any tumors, and the age and health of the patient. Abdominal mesothelioma has a very high mortality rate, and in many cases, diagnosis occurs when the abdominal mesothelioma has already progressed too far. In such cases, all actions focus on making the abdominal mesothelioma as comfortable as possible, often removing portions of the tumor to relieve pressure.
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