Main Mesothelioma Symptoms and Treatment
Author: Nick Johnson
Mesothelioma cancer has an extremely low survival rate, with an expected life expectancy of only eight to twelve months after a mesothelioma diagnosis. The sooner one is able to discover the cancer the longer the amount of time one may have. Also, specialists in treating malignant mesothelioma can give you more valuable time.
Since mesothelioma symptoms often occur after the disease had evolved into its deadly form, it is important to get a mesothelioma diagnosis before the onset of any signs.
Symptoms can include difficulty breathing, chest discomfort, cough, fever, weight loss and chronic fatigue. People who can catch the disease early enough have even experienced a five-year survival rate - but time is of the essence.
Who should attempt to get a mesothelioma diagnosis?
Anyone who has been around asbestos for prolonged period of time.
This includes workers, manufacturers, and family members who came in contact with the clothing or individuals who worked around the hazardous material.
If mesothelioma symptoms lead you to the doctor’s office and ends up in a positive mesothelioma diagnosis, you do have some treatment options at your disposal.
Below are three kinds of treatment options for patients with malignant mesothelioma diagnosis:
1) Surgery to take out the cancer
2) Chemotherapy, which is the use of drugs to abate the cancer
3) Radiation Therapy - high does x-ray or high energy ray cells kill the cancer cells
Two or more treatments can be used to fight the invading cancer cells but as stated above, one usually doesn’t have much time let after mesothelioma symptoms develop and a mesothelioma diagnosis is confirmed.
Even with all the aid you can receive, more often than not, you only have a few years left. Your remaining time could be fraught with pain and worry over your family’s future. A mesothelioma attorney could be the answer to your problems.
With a mesothelioma attorney to represent you, you will be able to get compensation for medical bills and make sure your family is financially secure. With the right attorney at the helm, you can concentrate on the things that are most important to you and your family. This is also important, as stress can make or break your fragile health.
Worry can rob you of precious moments after a mesothelioma diagnosis - a good mesothelioma attorney will fight on your behalf, allowing you to spend time with family, loved ones and people who matter.
About the Author:
Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on injury cases involving Fen-Phen and PPH, Paxil, Mesothelioma, and Avandia. Call Nick Johnson at 1-888-311-5522 or visit http://www.johnsonlawgroup.com
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/main-mesothelioma-symptoms-and-treatment-329865.html
Mesothelioma: a Brief Overview
Author: Thomas Berten
Introduction
Mesothelioma is a cancer which affects the tissue which surrounds and protects various organs in the body. This tissue is called the Mesothelium, and Mesothelioma causes it to become abnormal, divide without control, and invade and damage nearby organs. The most common form is pleural mesothelioma which affects the sac that lines the chest cavity and protects the lungs (the pleura). Other forms are peritoneum mesothelioma (which affects the abdominal cavity) and pericardium mesothelioma (affecting the lining around the heart). The tumours can be either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous) although they are most often malignant.
Causes
Mesothelioma is caused by the inhalation of asbestos, a fibrous carcinogenic. These fibres lodge themselves in the lining of the lung affecting the mesothelial cells. Sometimes they cause scarring of the lungs (which is called asbestosis) but this is not cancerous. They can, however, trigger tumour growth between 20 to 50 years after they are inhaled (the average is 35 to 40 years). Asbestos fibres which are swallowed can reach the lining of the abdominal cavity where they play a part in causing peritoneal mesothelioma.
It is generally the case that the longer or more intense the exposure to asbestos the more likely Mesothelioma is to occur. However, there are cases of people getting Mesothelioma years after having worked with it for just a few months. The families of asbestos workers are also at risk as they would possibly have been exposed to asbestos fibres on the clothing of their loved ones.
The dangers of asbestos are now well known, but this was not always the case. Before the 1970s asbestos was a primary insulating material with little or no control in its use or handling. The resulting increase in cases of Mesothelioma is a direct cause of these past practices.
Symptoms
Mesothelioma is often advanced before symptoms occur. This means that the prognosis is not usually very good, with the average survival time for all stages of Malignant Mesothelioma being about one year. Symptoms resemble pneumonia, which coughs, breathing difficulties and abdominal pain being common.
Treatments
Mesothelioma can be treated by chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery, or a combination of the three.
Surgery
Extra pleural pneumonectomy is where the entire lung and a portion of the lining of the chest, the diaphragm, and some or the entire sac which surrounds the heart is removed.
Wide local excision targets and removes the cancer and a limited amount of the healthy tissue surrounding the cancerous region.
Pleurectomy and decortication removes part of the covering of the lungs, as well as the lining of the chest and portions of the outside covering of the lungs.
Pleurodesis uses a blend of chemicals and/or drugs to create an intentional scar between the layers of the pleura. Post surgery, the space created by the scar must be drained, using either a catheter or chest tube, and is then filled with a chemical which inhibits the accumulation of fluid in the pleura cavity.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation Therapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells.
In External radiation therapy a machine emits radiation in a targeted stream at a certain portion of the body.
Internal radiation therapy uses needles, seeds and catheters to place radioactive substance directly on or near the cancer.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses cancer targeting drugs to stop the cells them from dividing and thus prevent their growth.
About the Author:
Andy Bowen manages Mesothelioma ArticlePages a site dedicated to providing articles and information about the disease Mesothelioma.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/mesothelioma-a-brief-overview-59701.html