What is Mesothelioma?

What is Mesothelioma?

According to Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center Mesothelioma is a malignant mesothelioma, also known as mesothelioma cancer. This is a fatal cancer that affects the lining of the lung and the lining of the abdominal cavity and the lining of the heart. The most common form of mesothelioma is pleural mesothelioma. The main cause of mesothelioma is the exposure to asbestos, although other factors such as smoking may result in additional complications.

The treatment options are critical when a mesothelioma diagnosis occurs. This type of cancer is in most cases diagnosed when cancer is in an advanced stage. There are new drug treatments used called Alimta. This drug is the only one used and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is one of the most important drugs used to fight this type of lung cancer. But the there is not much hope for cure and the drug only helps to provide the patients a better quality of life with less pain. You can read more clicking this link

What really makes me sad is the fact despite of the known danger of asbestos and products that contain asbestos why there are only a few countries who started to prohibit the process of this material many years back and only one like Brazil started on 4th of June 2008 to prohibit the use of any product which utilizes asbestos but only in Sao Paulo State and not in the whole country. In many other countries nobody talks about the danger of products that contain asbestos.

What is Asbestos and why is it used besides the danger?

Asbestos is according to Wikipedia a group of minerals with long, thin fibrous crystals.
The word "asbestos" is derived from the Greek language and means inextinguishable. The Greeks termed asbestos the "miracle mineral" because of its soft and pliant properties, as well as its ability to withstand heat. Asbestos was very popular in the late 19th century due to its resistance to heat, electricity and chemical damage and its sound absorption and tensile strength. It was also used in brake shoes and gaskets for its heat resistance.

Asbestos has a long history and was used by the ancient Greeks who in that time recognized the hazards of the material. They noted that the material damaged lungs of slaves who wove it into cloth. But asbestos became more widespread during the industrial revolution; in the 1860s it was used as insulation in the U.S. and Canada.

According statistics thousands of people have died and still will die because of working with asbestos. This "miracle material" is now known to be highly toxic. The inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious illnesses including mesothelioma and asbestosis. Starting from the mid 1980s many uses of asbestos have been banned in many countries.

What Is The Danger Of Asbestos?

I'm working for the plastic industry and we used to take asbestos gloves because the heat didn't transmit as fast as any other materials when cleaning hot parts of the machine. A few years later you couldn't find any security gloves made of asbestos. First, I really didn't imagine why this was happening. Some people told me the asbestos is dangerous because it can produce cancer. And as I still found shops here in Latin-America I didn't really put a lot of attention to it. Al my friends from Europe they had textile gloves in their tool boxes which really didn't keep the heat off and you had to use sometimes a few pairs of them to really protect your hands. Whereas I still used the asbestos gloves I could find in Mexican stores.

I really couldn't imagine in that time that asbestos has a harmful effect for the health. Today when navigating on the net I came across a website from Weitz & Luxenberg and read a copy of their source book, "Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Asbestos Litigation And Your Rights."

In that article I found frequently asked questions about the history of asbestos and its uses. I further found an overview of asbestos illnesses and some of the treatments available for mesothelioma (An uncommon malignant tumour of the mesothelium, usually of the lungs after exposure to asbestos). Even though according the report there is no known cure for mesothelioma and treatment for this disease has not advanced far since the 1980s.

I was really surprised to read the danger of this material although it has been used since the 1920s through the 1970s. I remember in all the construction sites it has been used for isolation for inside the roofs and lots of more. Most of all it was once touted as the "magic mineral," and since the late 70s suddenly they found out that this material is known to be a carcinogen that causes no immediate symptoms but has a long-term risk of chest and abdominal cancers and lung diseases.

The Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. Asbestos Litigation unit is according this report a leading Plaintiffs' law firm that has represented people affected by mesothelioma for over 20 years.

Even so the danger is well known by now, there are still companies producing asbestos and asbestos-containing products and market them to the public although they know too well of the dangers to a person's health. Due to the good insulation of asbestos it is still used in many countries and products. But as consumer you should be aware of the danger it causes and the viability of changing the product for another one. You still see products like water deposits on many roofs in Latin-American houses.

Composition of Asbestos

Asbestos is a mineral composed of silicon, oxygen, hydrogen and other metal ions. Asbestos fibers insulate very well because they are strong, flexible and nonflammable (a reason why they were used mainly in the construction industry, ship-building industry and energy plants). There are three common varieties of asbestos fibers. These are chrysolite, amosite (Amosite is known as the second most hazardous asbestos fiber) and crocidolite (also known as blue asbestos). Asbestos is a tiny fiber that is smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair.

In order to adhere to surfaces, it needs to be attached to something. When asbestos fibers are mixed with other materials, it is called 'asbestos containing material'. This material is still used in a variety of products like sealants, cement pipe, wall insulation, pipe insulation and ceiling panels. You can read more about that material at History of Asbest.

Asbestos because of the unique combination of properties makes it extremely useful material that has been used in many countries and cultures for more than 3,000 years -- despite the ignored serious health problems asbestos causes when its fibers are inhaled into the lungs.

If you have been exposed to this deadly material for a long time or you know friends or relatives you should show them this article and contact this company for legal advice.

By Anton Winkler