Cancer Information

I have to wonder just how many women get unnecessary mammograms?
I’ve had some scares already in my 49 short years and frankly am
somewhat hesitant about believing that the high technology today
is so wonderful!

Early last week I dutifully got my annual mammogram although it
was about a month past due. Hey, I don’t like going 3 days before
Christmas, just in case it is bad news! It went surprisingly quick
and without a lot of wait in the waiting room. I noticed an
improvement there as well. They removed that huge poster about Women
and Heart Disease displaying horrible statistics. I remember thinking
last year how ironic it was. So we women, waiting to hear
the outcome of our diagnostic X-rays could figure if the cancer doesn’t
kill us, heart disease will.

Last Thursday, two days later I got a phone call about coming back
in. I had pretty much forgotten about it and was a bit surprised by
the call. I was told they wanted to get another mammogram of my
left breast. I asked why as my right one was the one previously
diagnosed with micro calcifications after which having a botched up
needle biopsy, appear to not be an issue any longer. The reason
given to me was that there was a shadow seen on the left one and
that it may just have been the way it was taken (such as
overlapping tissue or some such thing), but they wanted to be sure.

My heart started pounding and I was thinking “Oh no, I may have
cancer”. It doesn’t matter how lightly the pleasant lady on the
phone put it, I was being called BACK and that couldn’t be a
a good thing. I was told that they would take a core mammogram
of my left breast and also set up an appointment for an ultrasound
in case they determined that I needed to have that done right away
after that. No matter how much I tried to reassure myself nothing
was there because for the umpteenth time I didn’t feel any kind of
lump or anything unusual, the fear was right there not very far
from my thoughts for the next week.

When I arrived today I was told they were going to take a bilateral
of each breast and then two of the left again. I challenged the
technician because I was told I would only need the left one done.
I have learned to not just trust anyone wearing a white (or pink
for that matter) lab coat. Why should I subject myself to more
radiation and a higher medical bill that was surely going to be
given to me - mistake or not? Turns out I was right and just the
left breast was doomed to being painfully squished and flattened
this time around.

Luckily I didn’t have to wait very long for the results when the
technician called me back in. She told me that my left upper breast
was more dense than the right one when I had my mammogram, which I
am guessing was a more dense shadow and so they wanted to take a
closer look at the left one. When they did, there was nothing
suspicious there. My thinking is the density got thinned out from
the x-ray machine grabbing just that section and smashing it as
thin as possible and nothing suspicious was found. I didn’t need
an ultrasound and could call the nurse later if I wanted to have
the official report (but she had heard the radiologist reading
the films and that is what he said).

Later I decided to call and got a nurse who although was extremely
nice, was skirting my question. She was explaining how if they had
seen something I would have needed an ultrasound to explore it further,
but they did not need one. I guess she was waiting for me to say
“Well that’s great news, thanks” and hang up. But I wanted to know
more than that. I asked if my left breast then showed that it was
more dense than the one they took a year ago? She couldn’t really
answer me. She just said the left had more density than the right
and so again I asked, “So it was more dense that last year’s mammogram?”.
Her response was “It must have been”.

Well that is baloney. I have no solid proof that the radiologist
first compared this year’s mammogram to the ones done a year ago (as
a diagnostic mammogram no less). For all I know just this year’s
were viewed and since the left didn’t match the right one in density,
another one was ordered.

Don’t get me wrong. I am completely ecstatic that I don’t have
breast cancer! But I would have been happier getting a form letter
that nothing was found. Just how many other women go through
needless second mammograms on a daily basis. I’m sure some of those
turn out to be actual findings that do need to be diagnosed and treated.
But for every one that truly have something for the poor woman being
clamped down by the x-ray machine to worry about, how many more are
called back for follow up mammograms that really aren’t necessary.
But who cares right? Better to be safe than sorry, right?
While that is certainly true, it still causes me to ponder how
many women are needlessly subjected to the added gray hair,
stress, anxiety, radiation exposure and medical fees when they already
have enough to worry about with caring for their family, home, work and
who knows what else is on their plate! At least I can happily say I
don’t have to deal with all this again for another year.

Mammogram Overkill
by Diane St James
Copyright 2007

Diane St James is a full-time work at home mom who wears many hats and is involved in many things. Visit her website: dianestjames.com dianestjames.com

Asbestos is believed to be responsible for many diseases including the lung fibrosis disease, which has been named asbestosis. Prolonged exposure to asbestos is also believed to cause an extremely potent form of cancer, in the chest and abdominal cavities, called mesothelioma. This is because of the nature of asbestos, which becomes carcinogenic when inhaled.

Asbestos litigations and lawsuits of the 1980’s and 90’s forced many state governments to pass amendments and reform bills. For instance, under a reform bill in Texas, it is mandatory for asbestos cases to get neutral medical tests, while Georgia puts the onus on the plaintiff to provide prima facie evidence of the injuries having been caused by asbestos itself through a reform bill.

There are changes and amendments happening regularly and any good asbestos lawyer will be aware of these, as well the most important cancer laws. The most important thing about a cancer lawsuit is that one has to act quickly, because of the statute of limitation imposed by every state that restricts filing for lawsuits beyond a stipulated period.

A qualified asbestos lawyer will also be aware of the implications and know how to deal with the various parties involved, such as the guilty company and the insurance firms that may try negotiating a settlement.

Apart from the compensation for financial losses like medical expenses and loss of employment both present and future, there is also compensation for another kind of suffering. This is for the anxiety and mental stress that is caused by asbestos related diseases. An asbestos lawyer will be well aware of this.

e-AsbestosLawyers.com Asbestos Lawyers provides detailed information on Asbestos Lawyers, Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawyers, Asbestos Trial Lawyers, Asbestos Lawsuits and more. Asbestos Lawyers is affiliated with e-AsbestosAttorneys.com Asbestos Litigation Attourneys.

Just as women are susceptible to breast cancer, men are at a high risk for developing prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is most common in men over the age of 50, however it is important to note that any man, no matter the age can suffer from prostate cancer. This is the reason why it is extremely important for all men to have the proper screening when it comes to prostate cancer.

If you or a family member has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you may wonder whether or not there is a real prostate cancer cure. There is no real answer to that question. A prostate cancer cure depends on the severity of the cancer and how quickly it is discovered. Many men have real success with a prostate cancer cure when they are young, relatively healthy and begin their treatment as soon as the cancer begins. It is much hard to find an adequate prostate cancer cure when it is caught at a very late stage. Treatment and cures are two very different things. Here are some things you should know when you think about prostate cancer cure.

• Treatment: There are many treatment options available for prostate cancer. No two men are alike and no two men respond the same way when it comes to a prostate cancer cure. For example, if you find a tumor and your doctor feels that it might be prostate cancer, he or she might take a “watching waiting” approach, meaning that the tumor will be monitored for a time before a course of action is taken. Some men may respond well to chemotherapy and others do well with hormone therapy.

• Early detection: The best way to find the proper prostate cancer cure for you is to make sure that the cancer is detected in its early stages. Most doctors recommend regular screening if you are at high risk for developing prostate cancer. Men over 50 and African American men are at the highest risk for developing prostate cancer. Also, if you have a family history of prostate cancer, then you should also get regular screening. Screening for prostate cancer involves your doctor examining your prostate gland. He or she is looking for abnormal cell growths and tumors. If something abnormal is found, your doctor will recommend a prostate cancer treatment that is right for you.

It is important to remember that any prostate cancer cure will depend on your individual case. Your doctor will help you find a treatment that is right for you.

You can also find more info on prostatecancertreatmenthelp.com/Prostate_Cancer_New_Treatment/ Prostate Cancer New Treatment and prostatecancertreatmenthelp.com/Prostate_Exam/ Prostate Exam . Prostatecancertreatmenthelp.com is a comprehensive resource to know more about prostate cancer treatment.

Actually there is no such medical condition called ‘throat cancer’, although several types of cancer can arise in the throat and neck. The correct medical term for the throat is the ‘pharynx’, which can be defined as the passage that ensures that food and drink go to the stomach and that air goes to and from the lungs. The pharynx is made up of three parts: the oropharynx (the back of the mouth, including the soft palate and base of the tongue); nasopharynx (connecting the back of the nose to the back of the mouth); laryngopharynx (connecting the oropharynx and nasopharynx to the start of the gullet (oesophagus) and the windpipe (trachea) via the voice box (larynx)). The laryngopharynx is sometimes called the hypopharynx. ‘Throat cancer’ can be cancer of any of these, although the most common form of ‘throat cancer’ is nasopharyngeal cancer.

Just to make the term of ‘throat cancer’ even more useless and confusing, some people apply it to cancer of the thyroid gland (situated at the front of the base of the neck), cancer of the voice box (larynx), cancer of the gullet or cancer of the windpipe (trachea), which actually comes in the lung cancer group.

Most head and neck cancer cells are squamous, which means they do not travel far from their origin, although they often affect the lymph nodes. In fact, the first indication of head or throat cancer is often an enlarged neck lymph node, which is also sometimes referred to as throat cancer. Another sign could be appearance of white patches or spots in the mouth that will not respond to treatment. Known as leukoplakia, 33% of them become cancerous. It is estimated that 7,000 Americans die of a throat cancer every year, often because it was detected late. Ethnicity may also play a part, since African American men are 50% more at risk of throat cancer than Caucasian men. These cancers are relatively painless in early stages and can be confused with toothache, earache, sore throat or hoarseness. Once established however, they develop very quickly, although if detected at an early stage, they can almost always be successfully removed.

There is a wide variety of reasons why someone can be at a heightened risk for a throat cancer, including smoking; chewing tobacco and other things, such as betel nut, gutkha, marijuana or pan; heavy alcohol consumption; poor diet resulting in vitamin deficiencies (worse if this is caused by heavy alcohol intake); weakened immune system; asbestos exposure; prolonged exposure to wood dust or paint fumes; exposure to petroleum industry chemicals and being over the age of 55 years. The presence of acid reflux disease (gastroesphogeal reflux disease - GERD) or larynx reflux disease can also be a major factor. In the case of acid reflux disease, stomach acids flow up into the oesophagus and damage its lining, making it more prone to throat cancer. Because successful treatment depends on early detection, regular oral examination is suggested. Your dentist will have been trained to be on the look out for early signs, making a bi-annual visit to him even more rewarding.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to

Have you ever seen the effects of asbestosis, mesothelioma, or any of the various asbestos-related cancers that have killed or destroyed the livelihood of a close fried or relative? Believe me, some very powerful and influential figures have succumbed to these illnesses, so it is not just confined to manual workers working in factories or building sites where asbestos was involved.

As early as 1898 the then Chief inspector of Factories in The United Kingdom in his report to Parliament submitted in his report regarding the ‘evil effects of asbestos dust.’ He described it even all those years ago as having a sharp, glass like nature, very susceptible to disintegrating into minute particles, which then very easily permeated every nook and cranny in a building, or even a district where such a product was in use.

Litigation due to industrial exposure to asbestos remains the longest, most expensive joint claim in the world, with over 6,000 defendants, and at the latest count well over 600,000 claimants. With the current rate of detection of asbestos related diseases set to rise over the next decade, estimates of the litigation costs on the US alone is expected to rise to well over $250 BILLION. You would have thought that with such amounts at stake, anybody still manufacturing products based on asbestos or any asbestos-related products would be taking an enormous financial risk.

In early times items made of asbestos were held in great esteem, especially by Kings and Emperors, and of equal value to gold. Many in fact were cremated in an asbestos shroud, to keep their ashes separate from any other combustible materials. How rash was that! In fact, talking of rashes, although asbestos fibres when coming into contact with the skin causes rashes, there are stories from ancient times that asbestos was actually prescribed for ailments of the skin – especially the itch.

Although there are many forms of asbestos, they all have the same characteristic to a greater or lesser degree, that eventually however they may be packaged up within another material, they will all form asbestos dust particles at some point in their life.

Due to asbestos’s fire-retarding properties, until the late 1980’s there were many applications within public and private buildings where asbestos in one form or another was used. Acoustic ceilings, putty, vinyl floor coverings, fire-retardant fillings, adhesives and ceiling tiles, acoustic curtains in theatres, and in brake disk pads in cars, busses and trains, clutch plates, gaskets, fire blankets – the list is endless, as is the lurking danger.

In fact, many a worker in the American shipyards during the Second Word War were heavily exposed to this asbestos danger, and even some top people were affected and struck down with asbestosis, mesothelioma, or asbestos-induced cancers of some sort.

Now, with many asbestos based products no longer allowed in new construction, there must be thousands upon thousands of sites where asbestos is still lurking, and even demolition and or removal creates its own hazard conditions.

Interestingly, in the interest of ‘profit’ there are still a number of applications where asbestos is still in use, and can even be found in some consumer products, such as talcum powder.

In all, the list of asbestos based products is still scarily quite long.

Asbestos-cement corrugated and flat sheets; asbestos clothing for heat resistant applications, pipe line wraps, roofing felt, and many applications in the auto industry, including automatic transmission system components, clutch plates, friction pads such as disk brake pads and so forth are still being manufactured.

How many of us have smelt the acrid fumes when a train applies it’s brakes in your local station?

Because of all this historical use of asbestos, we are all constantly exposed to certain levels of asbestos dust. These are usually quite low levels (between 0.00001 to 0.0001 fibres per millilitre of air we breathe) with the higher levels predominately in towns and cities. Some drinking water can also contain asbestos fibres from natural sources, but this is usually very closely monitored.

Where asbestos removal takes place, whole buildings have to be hermetically sealed to try and trap the bulk of the dust.

If you have been unfortunate enough to breathe large quantities of asbestos dust, either in a short burst, or over a period of years the effects are usually very much the same.

1. This dust, on the lungs and the membranes inside us, will eventually cause scar like tissues in the lungs, and in the pleural membrane (lining) surrounding the lungs. This ‘asbestosis’ as it is known will usually cause coughing, difficulty in breathing, and sometimes, enlargement of the heart. Asbestosis is very serious, and often results in death. However, it is usually confined to those who worked in the asbestos industry.

2. Lower levels of intake of this deadly dust may cause changes called plaques in the pleural membranes. Effects here are not as serious as with asbestosis, but restricted breathing may still take place.

3. Any irritation of the lungs, or any other membrane in the body will have a marked increase in the formation of cancers, and lung cancer and mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the thin lining (pleural membrane) surrounding the lungs is a well-know side effect of breathing asbestos dust.

4. Children are particularly at risk, as how many of them may play around old buildings, and take great pleasure in smashing up old sheets of asbestos, not realising that they are really playing with something more deadly than an unexploded time-bomb.

As a successful property renovator, and provider of buildings for my property club members, asbestos is of a very serious concern to me.

In all, asbestos, although having served mankind “Faithfully?’ down throughout the ages, has now been identified as the spectre of danger that it presents, but unfortunately we have been mining the stuff for centuries, so it will not go away quietly, and without a fight.

Hence the massive levels of lawsuits piling up surrounding all forms of asbestos.

Copyright 2006 Geoff Morris

Geoff Morris is a Property Entrepreneur who has been studying the dangers of renovating old buildings for his club members ( propertyprofits4u.com propertyprofits4u.com). Such an International scare really needs more investigating, and you can identify far more information by visiting mesotheliomatime.info mesotheliomatime.info

In the last ten years the treatment of many types of cancer has been revolutionized by monoclonal antibody therapies. There are many, many print and audiovisual advertisements for these drugs bringing them into the public mainstream.. So, this brings to point some important questions: 1) What are monoclonal antibodies? 2) What types of cancer are treatable by this therapy? 3) What is the basic mechanism of action, i.e., How do these drugs work?

Antibodies are the body’s natural immune defense against invading pathogens. They are produced by specific cells of the immune system termed B cells. When an infection of the body occurs, the immune system takes note. After a brief time, when the front line defenses of the immune system battle the infection, [termed the innate immune response- the first line of battle], the cellular part of the fight takes over [the adaptive response]. The adaptive immune response involves antigen presenting cells, T and B cells. Very briefly, what happens within your body when an infection occurs is this: Circulating “detectives” called macrophages and dendritic cells find the infection and literally eat it or eat cells infected [in the case of a viral infection]. The cells then “present” specific protein parts of the eaten pathogen [bacteria or virus--called antigens] to cells called T and B cells. This is a call to arms: this is literally a scream saying “time to kick butt” by the immune system. The T cells are activated by the B cells upon finding the presenting antigen. The B cells then decide that they can better fight by changing themselves into a plasma cell. This is where the action happens. The B cell changes into a protein pumping machine, the protein being antibodies. The antibodies then go find from the blood the pathogen that the original antigen presenting cells early in the infection encountered. When the antibodies find their target, they bind to it and mark it for death. Think of this as a ball with toilet plungers attached. The wooden handle is what tells the immune system, “this thing needs to die”.

This is the basic theory behind monoclonal cancer therapy. Except in the context of monoclonal antibody cancer treatment, the antibodies are produced to a single epitope (a particular protein that the immune system readily sees from a cancer cell). These cells are then taken into the laboratory, grown and stimulated to produce a single antibody that “sees” a cancer cell.

An example of monoclonal antibody treatment in cancer is Herceptin. Herceptin is a monoclonal antibody specific for an antigen called HER2. HER2 is a protein that is more prevalent on cancer cells of the breast than in normal cells. This protein is from a family of receptors that tells normal cells to grow. The drug then takes advantage of this and can specifically target cancer cells of the breast in order to kill them. This drug too has side effects of being NOT heart friendly.

Another good example of neoplastic cancer therapy is the drug termed Rituxan (Rituximab). Rituxan is a monoclonal antibody directed towards the antigen CD20 on circulating lymphocytes of the blood and is indicated for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It works by depleting the blood of cells that have over-produced cells that have CD20 on their cell surface. When the antibody binds, like Herceptin, the body sees those cells as foreign and kills them.

So, the question is now that we know what neoplastic antibody therapy is, how does this killing work?
The current research and thinking is that when cancer cells are coated by these antibody drugs, the extending end of the antibody [called the Fc portion] attracts Natural Killer, NK, cells from the immune system. These cells actually have receptors that recognize this very event. When NK cells find antibody coated cells, they bind to them tightly and commence to kill them. The close proximity of the two cells allows the NK cell to release protein degradating enzymes, and other cytotoxic elements to kill the target.
This entire process is termed Antibody Dependent Cellular Toxicity, ADCC.

ADCC is a powerful tool being utilized by numerous biotech companies with the intent to augment the immune response with other, novel drugs. Such drugs that come to mind are TLR agonists, chemotherapy drugs and gene transfer strategies.

Genentech makes Herceptin, while Rituximab is in combination with Biogen Idec/Genentech. Both drugs are multimillion dollar assets to both companies. The side effects of Herceptin have been documented and are under intense research to understand them. Rituxan continues to be a key element to the bottom line of both companies with it’s successful treatments.

Herceptin is produced by Genentech.
Rituxan is another monoclonal antibody treatment indicated for the treatment of lymphoma.

T Bell posts regularly at biotech101.org biotech101.org There, T Bell interprets scientific clinical trial data and relates this to the current stock price of a particular company. In addition, with the help of what is that drug, they post how drugs most advertised in the media work within the body at whatisthatdrug.com whatisthatdrug.com T Bell has advanced research experience in pathology, cell biology, immunology and pharmacology.

Albert Einstein, the Great Man of Science wrote: “It is theory that decides what we can observe.” If our mind is set (biased by the theory that we have learnt in school) then “that is all” that we can see – we can’t see anything beyond what we have learnt or been taught! It needs an open-minded person to “see” what others do not want to see or fail to see.

For twenty-six years, I devoted two lectures in my physiology class to teaching university students understand the Scientific Method. The first step for any scientific discovery is OBSERVATION of a phenomenon. If you cannot or don’t want to “see” how can you ever discover anything new?

After more than a decade working with cancer patients there is one phenomenon that I had observed: “ breast cancer patients tend to suffer metastasis (spread) to their lungs, bones, etc. pretty soon after undergoing medical treatments.” Of course, some doctors may scream at such a suggestion! I wonder if this “hunch” is an illusion? The answer came on 7 April 2007, in the form of a small, insignificant column in The Star. It had this heading: “Study: Treatment may fuel cancer’s spread.” The study reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation by Dr. Carlos Arteaga and colleagues at Vanderbilt University, USA, showed that treating cancer with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation may sometimes cause tumours to spread. In their work they used doxorubicin (a common chemo-drug used for breast cancer) or radiation and found that these treatments raised levels of TGF-beta, which in turn helped breast cancer tumours to spread to the lung. The researchers wrote: “The repopulation and progression of tumours after anti-cancer therapy (such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery) is a well-recognised phenomenon.”

How many of us (doctors and patients alike) know this? If doctors know, do they tell their patients? If patients know, what is their response?

After reading this report, I spent a whole morning surfing the web to learn more about this phenomenon. This is what I learnt. The key to our understanding is a biological protein called Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGF-beta). TGF-beta exists in at least five (iso)forms, known as TGF beta 1, beta 2, beta 3, beta 4 and beta 5. The roles of TGF-beta in cancer are very complex and often confusing indeed. TGF-beta controls cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis (cell death) and motility. At the early stage of carcinogenesis (cancer process) TGF-beta is a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation but at later stages of carcinogenesis the levels of TGF-beta increase with tumour progression. It is not known how TGF-beta switches it role from being a tumour suppressor to being a promoter during the course of cancer progression.

Many disease processes are associated with loss of normal TGF-beta function, such as cancer, atherosclerosis, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Excessive TGF-beta production have been implicated in the formation of scar tissues or fibrosis (in lung and liver), development of pulmonary edema (fluid in lung), immunosuppression and successful parasite infection.

TGF-beta has been said to cause chronic pulmonary (lung) fibrosis in rats and mice exposed to chemo-drugs, bleomycin or cyclophosphamide, and in the development of hepatic (liver) fibrosis in rats exposed to radiation.

TGF-beta has been shown to promote breast cancer metastasis by acting directly on the tumour cells. TGF-beta is also shown to enhance parathyroid-hormone-related protein (PTHrP) and subsequently resulted in bone destruction in breast cancer patients. Advanced breast cancer patients have been shown to have increased plasma TGF-beta levels after chemotherapy and TGF-beta is positively associated with disease progression.

Dr. Carlos Arteaga and colleagues showed that when mice infected with human breast cancer were treated with radiation or doxorubicin, they had higher levels of TGF-beta in their blood. They also had more tiny tumour cells in their blood and these cells spread to the lungs. When the mice were treated with antibody that suppresses TGF-beta, the spread stopped. The spreading process did not occur at all in mice bred to lack TFG-beta.

Comments: What are the implications of the above? When you are asked to do chemo or radiation, ask first what is the main objective of such a treatment – to cure? to prevent cancer from spreading? or what. This study showed that treatments like chemotherapy or radiation cause the spread of cancer. This report is a direct opposite of what you are often told about the purpose of chemotherapy or radiotherapy – i.e., to kill the cancer cells or stop them from spreading!

For more information about complementary cancer therapy visit: cacare.com cacare.com, NaturalHealingForYou.com NaturalHealingForYou.com, BookOnCancer.com BookOnCancer.com

There are many forms of cancer that exist today. One of the more severe types of cancer is mesothelioma. Mesothelioma affects the mesothelial tissues of body organs, typically the lungs or abdomen. The cause of mesothelioma is usually a result of prolonged exposure to asbestos. This is not the only cause as there are many people inflicted with mesothelioma who never had any type of exposure to asbestos.

Years ago, exposure to asbestos was more common. Many companies had employees working with asbestos. Not only were the employees at risk, but their families were too. People who even wash the clothing of people exposed to asbestos are at risk. So it is not unusual for a wife of one of these employees to be affected if she were the sole person washing clothing. Such employees would be in the fields of construction, insulators, and boilermakers to name a few.

There are two different forms of mesothelioma. These are pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. The expected survival timeof a person who has mailgnant mesothelioma is between 4 months and 2 years. This is from the time the symptoms present themselves.

Mesothelioma is not always fatal. The patient will have a chance to survive depending on the size of the cancer, where it is located, how old the patient is, and how their body responds to the different cancer treatments. Typical treatments for mesothelioma are radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and photodynamic therapy. Another form of treatment, though not proven, is that provitamin A or beta-carotene may decrease the risk.

For more information on

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer. It caused by previous exposure to asbestos. An exposure of as little as one or two months can result in mesothelioma 30 or 40 years later. Simian virus 40 (SV40) may act as a cofactor in the development of mesothelioma. Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious of all asbestos-related diseases. The two major types of malignant mesothelioma are pleural mesothelioma, which concerns the mesothelium membrane that surrounds the lungs, and peritoneal mesothelioma which concerns the mesothelium layer that covers the organs in the abdominal cavity. The people most at risk from being carriers of this cancer are those have worked with asbestos over the past thirty to fifty years. Because of this, the disease is most common in men between the ages of sixty and seventy as this is the group that commonly worked with asbestos during those years. Because of the lack of protection and regulations in those days, these workers were constantly exposed to the dust and fibres from the asbestos, which caused the cells of the mesothelium to become abnormal. Many building materials used in both public and domestic premises prior to the banning of asbestos may contain asbestos. Those performing renovation works or diy activities may expose themselves to asbestos dust.

Mesothelium helps protect the organs by producing a special lubricating fluid that allows organs to move around. Mesothelioma is an extremely malignant and incurable cancer that infects the membrane that surrounds most of the internal organs. Symptoms of mesothelioma may not appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath, cough, and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleural space are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. Affecting the mesothelial cells that make up the mesothelium – the outer lining that protects the body’s major organs such as the heart, stomach and lungs. Pleural mesothelioma represents 75% of mesothelioma cases - but it is far from the only type of this deadly cancer. Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the lining around the stomach and intestines, and is just as dangerous and deadly. Treatment of MM using conventional therapies has not proved successful and patients have a median survival time of 6 - 12 months after presentation. The clinical behaviour of the malignancy is affected by several factors including the continuous mesothelial surface of the pleural cavity

Mesothelioma Cancer Treatment and Prevention Tips

1. Health-care workers who specialize in part control are employing state-of-the art techniques to successfully fight pain.

2. During the initial stages of mesothelioma, pain can be relieved with over-the-counter analgesics, such as aspirin, Tylenol or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin).

3. Drug therapy is the primary method for treating mesothelioma pain.

4. Non-Opoids are pain-relieving medicines such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and NSAIDs, such as ibuprofin, which can be purchases over-the-counter and taken orally.

5. Opoids are the strongest medicines available to treat pain. Opoids, such as codeine, morphine, oxcodone, fentany, and hydromorphone, are very effective in relieving mesothelioma pain.

6. Adjuvant analgesics are medicines intended for purposes other than pain relief. A number of these are used to alleviate pain associated with mesothelioma, such as antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and steroids.

7. Emotional Support to Help Relieve Pain.As with all aspects of mesothelioma, emotional support from family or professional counseling can play a key role in pain management

8. For patients with localized disease, and who can tolerate a radical surgery, radiation is often given post-operatively as a consolidative treatment.

9. Chrysotile has been used more frequently, hence many mesotheliomas are caused by chrysotile.

10. Removal is taking place in schools and other public buildings throughout the U.S. The hope is that these measures will greatly reduce the occurrence of this cancer.

Juliet Cohen writes articles for health-care-clinic.com/ health care clinic and healingremedies.org/ home remedies. She also writes articles on cosmeticsdiary.com/ beauty tips.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelium; the protective sac that covers and protects most internal organs of the body. The mesothelium has two layers, one, which covers the organ, and a second, which forms a sac around it. The mesothelium has different names depending on the location in the body. The pleura is the name for the mesothelial tissue surrounding the lungs and lining the chest cavity. The peritoneum covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity, while the pericardium covers and protects the heart.

The mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid that allows organs within it to move and glide easily. The fluid allows the lungs to breathe and the heart to expand and contract without creating any type of internal friction.

Like other forms of cancer, mesothelioma occurs when cells become abnormal and divide or grow out of control. When someone has mesothelioma, the helpful lubricating fluid described above may be over-produced. This excess fluid encases the organs with a thick layer of tumor tissue, described as a rind type of layer. In advanced cases of mesothelioma, cells metastasize, or grow and invade other organs and spread to other areas of the body.
The majority of individuals suffering from mesothelioma have cancer in the lining of the lung. Sometimes, mesothelioma occurs in the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneal mesothelioma) or in the lining of the heart (pericardial mesothelioma).

The symptoms of mesothelioma are common to a number of illnesses which means that mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose. Unique types of treatment for mesothelioma are still being investigated through clinical trials and research, but as a general rule, mesothelioma does not respond well to most treatments that are currently being offered.

Mesothelioma is caused by breathing or ingesting asbestos fibers. The coarse fibers cause scarring of the mesothelial tissue which can cause asbestosis or pleural plaques. Unfortunately, the scarring can also lead to cancer known as mesothelioma.

It often takes 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos before the symptoms of mesothelioma develop. This period of time is referred to as a latency period. Because of the latency period, the disease commonly affects men and women that are at least 50 years of age and that worked with asbestos between 20 and 50 years ago. Many workers working 20 to 50 years ago did not use any type of protection in the workplace while they were exposed to the dust or fibers from asbestos. At the same time, however, many of the companies employing the workers had full knowledge that asbestos was dangerous and that exposure to asbestos would harm the health of many of the workers. Insulators, plasterers, electricians, pipefitters, mechanics, ironworkers, ship builders, ship workers, brick layers, carpenters, and other tradesmen are just a few examples of workers that were likely to work with asbestos on a day-to-day basis. Also at risk are the families of these workers, as the asbestos fibers may be brought into the home from the clothes, skin, or hair of the worker.

If the mesothelioma is detected in the earlier stages and treated aggressively, studies have shown that half will survive two years and 20 percent will survive five years. However, if the diagnosis is for Advanced Mesothelioma, only 10 percent have a three-year survival rate and only 5 percent have a life expectancy of five years.
Keep in mind that these statistics should only be used as general guidelines, and not as a definitive idea of an individual patient’s survival rate. Patients are encouraged to speak with their physicians about their individual prognosis.

Unfortunately, millions of people have been exposed to asbestos over the years. Only now are we able to see the disastrous effects of asbestos exposure in the workplace.

As with other cancers, a speedy diagnosis is important to effective treatment of mesothelioma. If you believe that you may have mesothelioma and that you worked with asbestos in the past, you may wish to inform your doctor of this fact.

WHAT ARE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS?

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with mesothelioma in the last five years, you may wish to meet with an attorney to discuss your legal rights. Anyone who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma should consider this option. If you have a loved one who is deceased because of mesothelioma, their spouse or an executor of the estate should also consider legal representation.

There are different avenues to consider regarding representation and the possibilities of obtaining compensation. We believe it is important that you choose representation by a firm that is exclusively devoted to mesothelioma claims. We believe you should choose a firm that has years of experience and a proven track record with mesothelioma claims.

Patricia Hughes works for an eplusm.com Internet marketing firm ePlus Marketing
For more information contact: Maune Raichle Law firm 1-800-358-5922.
The firm specializes in mesothelioma cases. Or go to: