Skip to main content

Mesothelioma Asbestos

What is Mesothelioma Asbestos?

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is a naturally-occurring fiber, that, when released into the air, can be inhaled or swallowed. Asbestos has no smell or taste, and asbestos fibers are so tiny that they are not visible to the naked eye. Asbestos fibers can "stick" in the lung, abdomen and other body tissues and over time, lead to the development of asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.

The generic name "asbestos" belongs to a group of minerals called "asbestiform" minerals. Asbestos is a fibrous material which is mined from serpentine rock. Basically, rock was mined and crushed. When the rock was crushed, fibrous stands of asbestos were extracted from the rock. The strands where put in bags and shipped to manufacturing facilities were the asbestos was used as an ingredient in insulation and other materials. The three most commonly used forms of asbestos in product manufacturing were chrysotile, amosite and crocidolite.

Mesothelioma Treatment!

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a new mesothelioma treatment based on the theory that single celled organisms die when exposed to certain frequency of light. Photosensitive drugs are administered intravenously. In a couple of days, the drug concentrates on the diseased cell and kills it. Skin sensitivity, nausea and vomiting can be some of the side effects.

Immunotherapy(biological therapy) is another new way to treat mesothelioma. Immunotherapy will try to rejuvenate the immune system and there by improving the natural immune system which is the most effective way to fight any disease. The therapy also repairs the immune systems that are faulty. Biological response modifiers (BRMs) are the substances used in immunotherapy. BRMs naturally develop in the body but it can now be prepared in laboratory and is found to give the same effect as the natural ones.

Treatments with the combinations of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, are being researched studied. Heated intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy and use of pemetrexed drug, brand named Alimta, are some of the new developments in the treatment of mesothelioma.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why You Need A Lawsuit Asbestos Lawyer

The number of asbestos lawsuits filed and the number of asbestos lawsuit lawyers who will take up an asbestos lawsuit case are a sad reflection of a long-time construction mistake that may lead to the ill health of over 250,000 Americans by the year 2020. If you think you may have been exposed to asbestos without proper protective filter masks, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit with the help of an asbestos lawyer. A natural, fibrous form of a number of minerals, asbestos was used since ancient times in fabrics because of its durability and fireproofing ability. For over seventy years, asbestos was used in the insulation of and as fireproofing material in numerous buildings. Over 30 millions tons of asbestos in America alone made its way into the walls of commercial buildings, home, schools, shipyards, and industrial sites. Construction workers labored with asbestos without protection. In the 1970s, however, the medical community, faced with an overwhelming number of construction ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are Mesothelioma Cancers? An Overview Of Mesothelioma Cancers

 What are Mesothelioma Cancers? Mesothelioma cancers are the cancers that spread in the mesothelium tissues. Mesothelium in general is the name of tissue that forms lining of different body organs such as heart, lungs, abdomen and reproductive organs. The lining around abdominal organs is known as peritoneal membrane. Lining around lungs is called pleural membrane while the lining around heart is called pericardium. These linings perform two functions. They protect the internal organs by producing a lubricating fluid and to allow the smooth movement of the internal organs. Mesothelioma cancers are the cancers affecting these membranes. The names of the cancers depend on the tissue or linings they affect. Peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma are the names of cancers of linings of abdomen, lungs and heart, respectively. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common of all mesothelioma cancers and is found in 70 % of the mesothelioma patients. Pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mesothelioma EPIDEMIOLOGY

While an association of malignant, mesotheliomas with radiation or zeolite exposure, severe pulmonary disease, recurrent diverticulosis, and even one case of lipoid aspiration pneumonia has been reported, asbestos remains the most frequent etiologic cause with contact documented in perhaps half of all patients with malignant pleural and peritoneal primaries. While only one of the first 13 cases of malignant testicular mesothelioma reported in the literature involved an asbestos-exposed individual, 3 of the 4 most recently described cases had been heavily exposed. To date, asbestos does not appear to be implicated in the etiology of benign mesotheliomas of any site or of malignant pericardial primaries. The association of asbestos contact and an excess risk of bronchogenic cancer had been established in 1955 by Doll, although case reports first appeared as early as 1935. The role of asbestos in the etiology of mesothelioma was first convincingly documented by Wagner et al. in 1960. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more