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Difficulties Concerning Differences Between Mesothelioma And Lung Cancer.

Article by Asbestos Victim Advice

The Health & Safety Executive figures for the current annual, total number of asbestos-related cancer deaths in the UK is a conservative 4,000. Even though there were 2249 known deaths from mesothelioma which, when added to all asbestos-related lung cancers, brings the total to 4498.

An asbestos awareness issue can arise due to the unfortunate fact that lung cancer deaths caused by asbestos exposure are clinically indistinguishable from those, for example, resulting from a history of cigarette smoking and consequently, the number of cases tends to be estimated.

A 2001 study conducted in the US suggests that , ” a person’s risk of developing lung cancer increases up to four per cent each year that they were exposed to asbestos”. The analysis indicates that risk doubles after 25 cumulative years of asbestos exposure, while falling significantly 35 to 40 years after first exposure. The reason may be due to the long gestation period of between 15 and 50 years that elapse from first exposure and the emergence of mesothelioma or asbestosis symptoms.

Separate research has also discovered that the number of asbestos fibres in the lungs of patients with both lung cancer and asbestosis was significantly higher than in those patients who had lung cancer only. Once inhaled, the fibres permanently embed in the linings of the lungs ( pleura), eventually causing the fibrous scarring of asbestosis or the formation of incurable mesothelioma cancer tumours.

Recent ‘best’ estimates of the annual number of asbestos-related cancer of the lungs have improved due to advances in researched evidence and analysis over the last twenty years. Ratios of approximately ” two lung cancer deaths per mesothelioma each year” before the early 1990s to “one or two” are now typically recorded as “around one” annually. However, survival rates from a confirmed diagnosis of mesothelioma cancer at an advanced stage are typically 4 to 12 months.

Both cancer of the lungs and pleural mesothelioma manifest their first symptoms with a dry, wheezing cough. Confusion may arise in patients who have become accustomed to having a “smoker’s cough” from a history of cigarette smoking when they notice an increase in frequency and severity.

Although many patients tend to dismiss a cough at first, it is often a secondary complication caused by enlargement of the lymph nodes in the airways where tumours are developing and may eventually produce blood and phlegm in the sputum. When mesothelioma develops in the pleura (lung linings), pleural thickening results often causing the pleura to become fibrous and harden, constricting lung movement and causing breathing difficulties.

If a lung cancer tumour is blocking a major airway, patients may also experience difficulty in breathing. Other biological changes that may indicate the development of lung cancer include intermittent chest pain, hoarse voice, headache and weight loss. Once again, these symptoms are identical to mesothelioma with also the possible occurrence of sweating, fever, fatigue, upper body swellings, lower back pain and muscle weakness.

As with mesothelioma, lung cancer will spread to the chest wall or pleura, leading to a dull pain, tenderness or pleural effusions. An added complication is that some of the symptoms experienced are similar to pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, cardiovascular disease or other respiratory problems. It is not uncommon for some patients, however, to not display any symptoms and are incidentally diagnosed with either mesothelioma or cancer of the lungs during tests for another illness.

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About 10% of all Mesothelioma cases that are diagnosed in the United States today are cases of Peritoneal Mesothelioma. There are nearly 3000 newly diagnosed cases of it diagnosed every year, which means that about 300 cases of Peritoneal Mesothelioma are diagnosed annually.

The human body has numerous protective linings which encase various internal organs. Mesothelioma is the name given to the cancer which attacks this protective lining, which is only known to be cause by asbestos exposure. Asbestos is used as a fire resistant, cost effective, building material which lingers in factories, the automotive industry, the construction industry, destroyed buildings, and some older, smaller building that have been converted into office buildings usually found in cities and house small business personally owned and operated by small business entrepreneurs.

Asbestos related diseases are a horrific scar on the humanity of our free commerce society. Business owners neglectfully and reprehensively allowed the continuous exposure of their employees to the cancer causing asbestos without regard for their welfare, future health, or the potential consequences. The effects of asbestos were known as early as the 1920s, although there have been reports which speculate that the hazards of asbestos were well known as early as the late 1890s. One of the greatest human tragedies of wrongful infliction is the fact that asbestos laws which restricted (not eliminated) the use of asbestos weren’t passed until 1980. Apparently the American government wasn’t all that concerned with the fate of its laborers.

Mesothelioma is known to attack the protective lining of various organs in three different areas of the body, the heart, the lungs, and the abdominal organs such as the spleen, liver, kidneys, and intestines. Mesothelioma that attacks the lining of the lungs, which is the most common type of Mesothelioma, is known as Pleural Mesothelioma. Mesothelioma which attacks the lining that protects the heart, is the rarest form of it, is known as Pericardial Mesothelioma. Pericardial Mesothelioma is also considered the deadliest form of it with the shortest life span after diagnosis. The form of Mesothelioma which attacks the lining which protects the abdominal organs is known as Peritoneal Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma in all forms if often very difficult to detect, and diagnosis is often made too late to effectively offer hope of life after it. Even the best Mesothelioma doctors typically can not offer hope of survival since it is typically diagnosed well after the onset of symptoms when the disease has progressed beyond the early, more treatable stages of it.

Regardless, patients diagnosed with Mesothelioma should seek out the best doctors available. Cutting edge technology and cancer research may still offer hope one day. Doctors are intimately involved with the progression of Mesothelioma as well as medical research progress and will be the first to be able to offer new and innovative treatments.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma often mimics other rare diseases, and without the information of previous long term asbestos exposure, many doctors who are not specialists are unaware that they should be considering the possibility of Mesothelioma when diagnosing the accompanying symptoms. Patients with undiagnosed or diagnosed Peritoneal Mesothelioma may experience symptoms which include abdominal swelling, bowel obstructions and other bowel issues, fever, weight loss, weakness, nausea, and abdominal pain.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma patients may choose to spend their time fighting the disease and undergoing treatments which may involve surgery, palliative therapies, chemotherapy, and radiation therapies. Treating Peritoneal Mesothelioma leads to great physical difficulty and challenges beyond the disease itself, and often patients who are treating Mesothelioma with conventional methods find the treatment process too exhaustive.

Other Peritoneal Mesothelioma patients find that they would rather spend their remaining time as comfortable as possible and with as much quality time with their families and friends as possible. It takes decades to expose itself after asbestos exposure, and sometimes there are legal avenues which patients decide to follow in an effort to hold the responsible company accountable for its neglectful attitudes on asbestos exposure.

Other patients decide that are filing Mesothelioma lawsuits are not a valuable way to spend their time. In some cases, the government has limited a Mesothelioma victim’s ability to decide whether or not filing a lawsuit is in their best interest.

Regardless of how a Mesothelioma victim decides to spend their time, the fact of the matter remains that it is a needless and horribly distressing disease that could by all reasonable means be prevented. There is simply no reasonable excuse for the continuation of diagnoses.