How To Protect Your Family Against Mesothelioma Cancer

Mesothelioma is uncommon form of cancer, usually attack the pleura (the lining of the lung and chest cavity) or the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen). Mesothelioma cancer caused by prolonged or persistent exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma is extremely dangerous.

First, until this article made there is no medical technique to cure this disease or even to significantly slow its effect. Usually 75% of patients die within 18 months of the first signs of the disease. A Lucky patient could survive for approximately 24 months.

Second, is the long latency period between exposure to asbestos, the cause of the disease. Latency runs 15 to 50 years, meaning that you may have been exposed to asbestos long before the first serious signs of the disease manifest themselves. Recent Studies showed the average reported latency is approximately 35-40 years.

Now the big question is how to protect your family? Considering asbestos used in many building in United States and according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as many as 733,000 schools and public buildings still contain asbestos.

Until now we are able to point to a single root source, asbestos exposure, you should take necessary precautions to avoid contraction of the disease from affecting your family. For example you could contact your children local school district now to ensure your children did not exposed to asbestos.

In 1986 Congress passed the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, which required public and private nonprofit schools to inspect their buildings for asbestos-containing materials. However, recent inspection showed that numerous schools still have not taken the necessary steps to eliminate the potential for asbestos exposure.

You should ask your child’s school district to have a copy of documentation that proper steps have been taken to remove asbestos from building. For more information about the school contractor research via the internet and Better Business Bureau to ensure that the contractor has a good track record. More information about mesothelioma can be found at http://mesothelioma-cancer-center.blogspot.com, one of top blogs about mesothelioma.

About The Author:

One of Leon Reinhart's close friend died because of mesothelioma. Since then he has write several article about mesothelioma cancer, mesothelioma treatment, and mesothelioma lawyer which you could find on his blog at http://mesothelioma-cancer-center.blogspot.com. His blog are considered one of top blogs about Mesothelioma Cancer.

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Lung Cancer Stages

Cancers are staged depending on how far they have spread. Staging a cancer correctly is essential to select the most appropriate treatment option. A number of diagnostic tests, such as CT scans, MRIs, bronchoscopy, blood tests, bone scans, and biopsies are used to find out how far the cancer has spread.

Non-small cell lung cancers, which account for about 80 percent of lung cancers, are staged using the Roman numerals 0 through IV. If a cancer is too small to be detected, it is called an occult or hidden cancer and not assigned any numeral. Stage 0 cancer, or carcinoma in situ, is limited to the lung and only involves a few layers of cells. Stage I cancer is still limited to the lung, with an area of normal tissue surrounding it. Stage I cancers are further divided into Stage IA and Stage IB, depending on the size of the tumor. In stage II cancer, the cancer may have spread to nearby lymph nodes, the chest wall, the diaphragm, or to the tissues lining the lung (pleura) and the heart (pericardium). In stage III cancer, lymph nodes in the central chest or on the other side of the body from the original tumor are involved. Stage III cancer is further divided into stage IIIA and stage IIIB. In stage IV cancer, the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver, bones or brain, or to a lobe of the other lung. Cancers that are stages 0 through IIIA may be treated with surgery. Treatment of stage III and stage IV cancers requires chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Small cell lung cancer has two stages. Limited-stage cancer is limited to only one lung, the tissues between the lungs, and nearby lymph nodes. In extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. The brain is commonly involved in extensive-stage cancer.

Lung Cancer provides detailed information on Asbestos Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer Stages, Lung Cancer Survival Rate and more. Lung Cancer is affiliated with Asbestos Exposure.

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Lung Cancer Symptoms

In approximately 25% of people with lung cancer, there are no symptoms and the cancer is detected during screening or a routine physical examination. However, in three-quarters of lung cancer patients there are warning symptoms and signs that can alert the patient or their physician.

Most commonly, lung cancer patients experience respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, hoarseness and a persistent cough. These symptoms are very common among smokers, and are also present in a number of other conditions such as asthma, emphysema and chest infections. A new cough should always be evaluated, as it may be a symptom of lung cancer. Lung cancer may spread to the chest wall, causing chest, shoulder and back pain. If cancer cells erode lung blood vessels, the patient may cough up blood. There may also be other generalized effects that occur with most cancers, such as fever, fatigue, appetite loss and weight loss.

As a lung cancer grows, it increasingly compromises the normal functioning of an affected lung. Secondary complications may occur, such as collection of fluid in the tissue lining the lungs (pleural effusion), lung collapse, airway obstruction, and repeated lung infections. Lung cancer may also spread or metastasize to other parts of the body such as the lymph nodes, bones, liver and brain. Bone pain and abnormal liver or brain function may result.

The absence of symptoms does not necessarily indicate early disease, and the presence of non-specific chest symptoms can often go unheeded. Both these factors contribute to the fact that only about 15 percent of lung cancer patients are diagnosed in the early stages of disease. The later lung cancer is diagnosed, the less effective treatment options are. Delays in diagnosing lung cancer patients result in an overall survival rate of only 15 percent at five years after diagnosis.

Lung Cancer provides detailed information on Asbestos Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer Stages, Lung Cancer Survival Rate and more. Lung Cancer is affiliated with Asbestos Exposure.

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Asbestos And Lung Cancer

Asbestos and lung cancer, yes it is true that asbestos is a major reason for the cause of this deadly disease. Before we analyze the interrelationship between asbestos and lung cancer it is necessary to understand what is asbestos and what are its health implications.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral in the form of bundled fibers. Asbestos fibers are heat and chemical resistant and are poor conductor of electricity. These qualities make it fit for commercial use. Industries use four types of Asbestos: Chrysolite or white asbestos, Crocidolite or blue asbestos, Anthophyllite or gray colored fibers and Amosite or brown colored fibers. These asbestos fibers break into tiny dust particles and thus easily inhaled or swallowed which can cause serious health disorders. Lung cancer caused from asbestos is one such example.

Health Hazards of Asbestos

Regular exposure to asbestos can result in several serious diseases such as lung cancer, mesothelioma cancers and asbestosis. Asbestosis is as lung disease that produces shortness of breath, coughing and permanent damage to lungs and Mesothelioma-a rare cancer of membrane covering the chest and abdomen, and cancers of larynx, oropharynx, gastrointestinal tract and kidney.

Regular exposure of asbestos results in occupational diseases such as lung cancer and mesothelioma. Since 1940, millions of American workers, working in shipbuilding companies, mining and milling of asbestos, manufacturing of asbestos textiles and other asbestos products, insulation in construction and building

trades, and brake repair were exposed to asbestos. Demolition workers, drywall removers and firefighters are also at risk of being exposed to asbestos that may cause lung cancer in them.

Due to stringent norms and improved work practices, todays workers face negligible risks of lung cancer from asbestos. Although heavier and longer exposure time is held responsible for the risk but investigators found that brief exposures could also lead to infection. Not only the workers but also their families are at risk of asbestos diseases and lung cancer. Para occupational exposure occurs because asbestos fibers are brought into the house by means of shoes, clothing, skin and hair of workers. To avoid this exposure workers are required to take shower and change their clothing before leaving their workplace.

The difficult portion of asbestos related diseases and asbestos related lung cancer is that they can lie dormant in the body for 10-40 years before manifesting. This makes it difficult to diagnose the disease in its early stages. When the diseases are manifested and diagnosed, it is too late and chances of survival of victims are very bleak.

About the Author: Kirsten Hawkins is a asbestos and mesothelioma specialist from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.asbestosblog.org/ for information on asbestos reform, mesothelioma lawsuit news, and more.

Source: www.isnare.com
Asbestos lung cancer.

Common Causes of Lung Cancer By David Chandler

Asbestos lung cancer

There are a various risk factors that are linked to lung cancer. The most common known causes are as follows:

Cigarette Smoking

Cigarette smoking is probably the most closely related link to developing lung cancer. A person who smokes two packs or more of cigarettes per day has a one in seven chance of developing lung cancer. Those that smoke one pack of cigarettes per day have a twenty-five times greater chance of developing lung cancer than a non-smoker. In addition, those people that smoke a pipe or cigar have a five times greater chance of developing lung cancer than a non-smoker.

The risk of developing lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked over your lifetime. Cigarette smoking damages the cells in your lungs. The moment you stop smoking, your lungs begin healing themselves, replacing damaged cells with healthy, normal cells. Your risk of developing lung cancer begins decreasing almost immediately when you quit smoking. Every year that you do not smoke, your chances of developing lung cancer drop further. By the fifteenth year, your chances of developing lung cancer are about the same as those of a person who has never smoked.

Secondhand Smoke

Also known as passive smoking, people exposed to secondhand smoke on a regular basis will have a higher risk of developing lung cancer, even if they do not smoke themselves. Studies have shown that those who live with a smoker have a 24% greater risk of developing lung cancer than most non-smokers. Doctors estimate that about 3000 lung cancer deaths a year are related to secondhand smoke.

Asbestos Exposure

Exposure to asbestos is another well-known cause of lung cancer and mesothelioma - cancer of the pleural lining of the lungs. Asbestos was widely used in construction and everyday products in the late 1800s through the 1960s. Asbestos separates into fine silica fibers that become trapped in the tissues of the lungs. Mesothelioma is inextricably linked to asbestos exposure. There are no reported cases of mesothelioma in people who were not exposed to asbestos either in the workplace or through their environment. A non-smoker who was exposed to asbestos has a five times greater risk of developing lung cancer than a non-smoker who was not exposed. Smoking increases the risk dramatically - a smoker who was exposed to asbestos has a risk of developing lung cancer that is 50 to 90 times greater than that of a non-smoker.

Radon Gas

It is estimated that about 12% of lung cancer deaths can be attributed to radon gas, a colorless, odorless gas that is a natural byproduct of the decay of uranium. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as many as 15% of homes in the United States have unsafe levels of radon gas, which will account for 15,000 to 22,000 deaths from lung cancer annually.

Air Pollution

Scientists estimate that as many as 1% of all lung cancer deaths are attributable to air pollution. They believe that prolonged exposure to very polluted air can raise the risks of developing lung cancer to about the levels of a passive smoker.

For more information about lung cancer and help to quit smoking, visit Lung Cancer and Quit Smoking

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Asbestos lung cancer

Not Only Asbestos Causes Mesothelioma Lung Cancer By Vera Cherneva

Asbestos lung cancer

Mesothelioma lung cancer is usually associated with asbestos exposure. In fact there are many other risk factors that cause mesothelioma cancer. One of them is the erionite. Erionite is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that belongs to a group of minerals called zeolites. Zeolites are hydrated aluminosilicates of the alkaline and alkaline-earth metals.

Erionite was used in the past as a noble metal-impregnated catalyst in a hydrocarbon-cracking process. It was studied for use in fertilizers and to control odors in livestock production, because of its ability to selectively adsorb molecules from air or liquids. In many countries erionite blocks were used (and may be are still used) as building material or in stucco pastes and whitewash.

Erionite was mentioned for the first time as a mesothelioma lung cancer risk factor in 1975, when Turkish government presented a study that uncovered a high incidence of a rare malignant mesothelioma in lung tissues of people in certain small villages in the Cappadocia area in Turkey's central mountainous region. In two small villages the mesothelioma lung cancer accounted for 43% of the deaths during 23 years period of study. Erionite fibers were found in biopsies of lungs of the mesothelioma cancer afflicted people. Comparing this to a 9.7% rate of death from this disease among asbestos insulation installers shows how anomalous this condition was.

Further studies showed erionite causes similar diseases in laboratory animals. When researchers at Mt. Sinai Hospital injected rats with the same dosage of erionite that they used for asbestos, the rats didn't live long enough to get mesothelioma cancer. At a much-reduced dose, the rats did get cancer. Erionite is probably the most toxic known mineral - a milligram of fibers in the lungs is lethal.

Today erionite is considered so hazardous that the EPA requires any one who intends to manufacture, import or process any article containing erionite to notify the E.P.A. 90 days in advance. This gives the EPA a chance to review, limit or prohibit that activity.

Erionite is no longer mined or marketed for commercial purposes. Although other natural zeolites have many commercial uses (pet litter, soil conditioners, animal feed, waste-water treatment, gas absorbents, etc.) So potential occupational exposure to erionite occurs during the production and mining of other zeolites.

And there are questions:

Are there other mineralogical hazards like erionite and asbestos?

Should we expected mesothelioma lung cancer increases not only from asbestos exposure after another 20 - 30 years?

Vera Cherneva is running Mesothelioma News and Articles site, where everybody who is interested in mesothelioma cancer can find the latest mesothelioma news and related articles. All news and articles can be translated in 24 different languages.

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Asbestos lung cancer