Thursday, May 8, 2008

Asbestos Lung Cancer Treatment & Mesothelioma Information

Doctor appointments are critical to make sure you?re staying in proper health. However, exposure to asbestos presents an added urgency for routine appointments. Because asbestos related diseases take decades to form, early detection is critical for proper treatment. People who have jobs in industries like construction, shipbuilding and manufacturing are particularly susceptible of contracting these conditions.

Even with the best screening techniques available today mesothelioma often can escape diagnosis. The best thing to do is get screened early and consistently, especially if you had exposure to asbestos. Medical technology has breakthroughs every day and eventually a cure will be found. However, until then, the victims of mesothelioma should take action against those responsible. Contact a lawyer in your state today so you can receive compensation for your suffering.

The affected areas from mesothelioma cancer are the lining of the internal organs in the body. Because of the location of the infected cells, mesothelioma does not respond well to conventional treatments unlike most other forms of cancer. In addition, there are no blatant symptoms of the disease, so doctors cannot properly diagnose the illness until it?s significantly advanced. Because of these factors, the effectiveness of many conventional treatments are limited.

When treating mesothelioma, doctors use several treatment options. Surgery, radiation treatments and chemotherapy have been traditional options for slowing the growth of cancerous cells. Doctors dealing with mesothelioma have to plan an innovative method of attack to combat this condition. New treatments like angiogenesis, photodynamic and gene therapy hold new hope for victims of mesothelioma everywhere. Depending on the state and location of the cancer, doctors will choose the best course of action for the circumstances. If it?s discovered early enough, doctors can prolong the life of the victim, but sadly cannot cure the disease.

The three main types of malignant mesotheliomas are epithelioid, sarcomatoid and mixed/biphasic. Epithelioid is the most common kind as around 50-70% of all mesothelioma cases reported are this type. Epithelioid also has the best chances of survival. It affects the internal organs and internal surfaces coverings. Sarcomatoid is a much more serious condition as it affects the secondary tissues in the body such as cartilage, muscles, bone and fat. However, this cancer is much rarer, as it only occurs 7-20% of the time. Mixed/biphasic is having both types of the cancer at once, and this makes up 20-35% of the occurrences.

There are three targeted areas that mesothelioma can affect. Pleural mesothelioma affects the pleural cavity around the lungs and is responsible for a majority 75% of all cases diagnosed. Peritoneal mesothelioma accounts for 10-20% of all cases and affects the tissues in the abdomen (especially the stomach and intestines). Pericardial mesothelioma is the rarest form which affects the sac and lining surrounding the heart.

To learn more about known asbestos worksites, who gets mesothelioma or photodynamic therapy for mesothelioma, please visit our website. This article may be freely reprinted as long as this resource box is included and all links stay intact as hyperlinks.

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