Mesothelioma Awareness Day 2023
Today is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the membrane that surrounds different organs including the lungs, abdomen, heart, and testicles. The main cause of mesothelioma is asbestos. Asbestos is a fibrous mineral used for its heat and fire-resistant properties. There are only around 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in the United States every year. Numbers are declining since there are fewer people exposed to asbestos every year. Mesothelioma is mainly found in men, but cases are going up in women. The most common cases in women are in health care workers, the social assistance industry, and homemakers or spouses of asbestos workers.
Multiple symptoms are associated with mesothelioma. Symptoms for pleural mesothelioma include shortness of breath, pain in the side of the chest or lower back, dry and persistent cough, and problems swallowing or feeling like there is something stuck in your throat. People can also experience swelling in the face and arms and unexplained weight loss. Peritoneal mesothelioma sufferers can experience swelling and pain in the abdomen, constipation, nausea, vomiting, and blockage of the small intestine. Other symptoms that both main types of mesothelioma can share include fatigue, fever, and weight loss due to low appetite.
There are multiple treatment options for mesothelioma. Multiple different surgeries can be performed to help patients with mesothelioma. The first type of surgery is a wide local excision, where the cancer is removed alongside some of the healthy tissue around it. Another surgery is pleurectomy and decortication, where surgery is performed to remove the covering of the lungs and lining of the chest and a part of the outside of the surface of the lungs. Extrapleural pneumonectomy is another type of surgery. It is very radical because one of the lungs is removed alongside part of the lining of the chest, the diaphragm, and lining of the sac around the heart.
Another treatment option for mesothelioma is radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or other sources of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. It can also be used to treat and relieve symptoms of mesothelioma, improving quality of life. Another treatment option is chemotherapy, which is a cancer treatment that uses cytotoxic (cell killing) drugs to kill or stop the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy can either be given intravenously where it travels throughout the body or can be given in a specific cavity like the chest or peritoneum. While there, it can directly kill cancer cells. Immunotherapy is also an option where treatments that help the immune system are given to patients.
Mesothelioma is mainly caused by asbestos. When people worked with asbestos, they would send microscopic fibers into the air where they would then be inhaled or ingested. Once in the body, they can become lodged in the lungs, pleura (mesothelium that covers the lungs), or peritoneum (mesothelium that covers the abdomen). The fibers are very strong and cannot be broken down by the body. Over time the fibers cause inflammation and DNA changes in cells, turning regular healthy cells into cancer cells.
Were you exposed to asbestos or another carcinogen and later diagnosed with cancer? Contact us today to see if you could be entitled to compensation. Call 412-471-3980 or fill out our contact form and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
