Saturday, July 3, 2010

What is Mesothelioma Cancer?

In order to get a better understanding of mesothelioma cancer it is important to
know of the connection with asbestos. In this article, we will try to explore this a
little further and also explain some of the different types, causes and symptoms of
this illness.

Mesothelioma can be described as a severe malignant growth that will affect our upper body. If you are familiar with asbestos, then it is also important to note that if contact is made with these fibers by ingesting or inhalation this could help to worsen this illness.
How to identify the symptoms

This health condition is very hard to diagnose in its early stages as regrettably
these symptoms in many cases are wrongly recognized for ailments that are not so
severe. To complicate matters, many times it will take several years before the
symptoms appear and this is usually if it makes contact with the asbestos fibers.

So, if you have a medical history that is showing that you were being exposed to
these fibers for an extended period, then you are definitely prone to be affected by
this cancer. Studies have also shown that mesothelioma can be dormant for as
much as forty years; this means that even if you were exposed to the fibers in many
years ago it¶s possible that the symptoms will now start to show. An important
thing to note is that males have a history of being affected much more than
females, because asbestos is generally present in industrial companies.

Some symptoms occasionally include respiratory conditions, pneumonia and
persistent coughs. As a result, it will be easy for you to mistake them for common
ailments and will take longer to get the required treatment. Keep in mind that you
might not show any symptoms whatsoever. A biopsy examination can be used to
identify and verify these symptoms.
Different types

Pleural mesothelioma is said to be most widespread and usually start to show signs
within your chest as soon as the dangerous fibers are inhaled. Afterwards this
could start to spread to some other parts in your body.
Peritoneal mesothelioma will start to affect your stomach lining once any of the
fibers is ingested.
Pericardial mesothelioma can affect the areas surrounding your heart, but you are
less likely to be affected with this type, since it¶s said to be very rare.
Causes

Asbestos often is the main cause and this is because individuals who are exposed
to insulation components in industries such as ship building, automotive,
construction and many other manufacturing industries are at greater risk for the
fibers to affect their body.

The use of asbestos fiber had been extremely common from the latter part of the
40's, but still it might take an individual who was exposed another ten to forty
years to show any symptoms. Based on studies it was believed that the majority of
these cases were estimated to show highest numbers in the latter stages of 2009.
Presently there are actually three commonly used varieties of asbestos and this is
blue, brown and white. Blue and brown is believed to have the strongest
connection with mesothelioma.

So, as you can see asbestos fibers can be extremely dangerous and is the
underlying cause for severe health problems such as mesothelioma cancer.
Unfortunately, it is pretty hard to identify because this is comprised of really tiny
fibers, which can easily attached to the outer lining of your lung and then severely

damage those cells. In fact, there is not much that you can do to avoid these fibers since they can also attach to your clothing and become just as dangerous to anyone that you come in contact with.

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