Asbestos In Your Home -- Don't Give Your Kids Cancer

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a mineral fibre that is known for its heat resistance and strength. It is also very resistant to acid. Asbestos can only positively be identified under a microscope, however, asbestos in the home and workplace is very easy to identify. As asbestos ages it starts to crumble and break, the fibres which are deadly are then released into the air and breathed in.

What Illnesses are caused by Asbestos?

The tiny fibres that are released by the asbestos penetrate deeply into the lungs and remain in the individuals lungs for the rest of their lives. Constant or regular exposure to high does of asbestos fibres can cause scarring of the lung tissue and respiratory disease asbestosis. Exposures to low amounts of asbestos are still highly dangerous and can cause lung cancer. Direct contact with asbestos can also cause Mesothelioma ? a form of cancer exclusively linked to asbestos exposure. Symptoms of asbestos exposure usually take 20 ? 40 years to develop and 100% of cases are fatal. All types of asbestos cause cancer and all types of asbestos cancers can kill. Children are especially prone to developing cancer after exposure to asbestos.

What Products Contain Asbestos?

- Floor Tiles

- Ceiling Tiles

- Sprayed on Textures Ceilings

- Wrapping For Pipes

- Boiler Insulation

- Fire Proofing ? Surfaces and Similar

- Roof Tiles

- Roof Tar

- Heaters ? Gas & Electric

What To Do If You Suspect You Are In Contact With Asbestos

Should you discover or suspect that you have asbestos in any part of your home or business you need to make a decision based on the amount of exposure and the condition of the asbestos. The most important factor is the general condition of the asbestos. If it is crumbling or broken it must be removed immediately as it will be releasing deadly asbestos fibres into the surrounding area. You must not remove the asbestos yourself. The asbestos needs to be removed and disposed by a properly qualified and protected individual. Call your local government office or council immediately and seek advice on recognised companies that can remove the asbestos safely.

If you are a home owner or a tenant you must make arrangements immediately to have the asbestos encapsulated or removed. You are liable for any person who develops cancer as a result of exposure in your home.

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Mesothelioma. How do doctors diagnose Asbestos Cancer? Part 2

Continued from part 1.

If the effusion is suspicious for some infection or cancer, sample of the fluid may give the clue whether the cause is benign or malignant. However, four out of five tests may miss the cancer. Eventually, the biopsy of the pleura by a needle or by a surgical procedure confirms the diagnosis of the mesothelioma.

For abdominal mesothelioma, an abdominal x-ray checks the fluid in your belly.

Sometime an x-ray may show not only effusions, but also mass, or signs of asbestos accumulation, pleural plaques and calcifications or scarring due to asbestosis and chronic inflammation.

Drain of the fluid is done by needle in the chest or abdominal cavity. The name is thoracocentesis or pleural aspiration from chest, and abdoparacentesis or peritoneal aspiration in tummy.

At modern days the CT (computerized tomography) scan is used more often. CT is a special x-ray machine that shows sliced images of your body. CT scan of chest or abdomen shows the swellings in organs, cavities, and lymph nodes. A contrast dye may help to the scan. CT scans show pleural effusion, pleural thickening, pleural calcification, spreading of tumor into chest wall. However, CT do not really distinguish benign asbestos disease, lung cancer or mesothelioma. Doctors also use CT scans for guiding needle aspiration of suspicious pleural masses.

Thoracoscopy is the procedure when a surgeon makes small cut in your chest wall between two ribs and looks through a thoracoscope (a tool with a video camera). The biopsy (tissue sample) goes to a lab to check for cancer cells.

Bronchoscopy allows doctors to look inside the airways. A thin flexible tube (bronchoscope) helps to get samples of tissue and send them sent to a lab for testing for cancer cells.

Mediastinoscopy checks mediastinum (the area in chest containing heart, great blood vessels, lymph nodes, esophagus, nerves and so on). Mediastinoscopy allows sampling lymph nodes in your body to look for metastases.

Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure when doctors look inside of your belly with a small camera-fitted tube. The surgeons will biopsy suspicious areas. The bioptate (the tissue sample) goes to the laboratory. A pathologist checks it under a microscope. Laparoscopy leaves a small cut on the skin of your belly. Another name of the same procedure is peritoneoscopy. The tool is named peritoneoscope.

Putting a needle into your abdomen and removing the fluid inside is named paracentesis Putting a needle into your chest and draining the fluid is named thoracentesis.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan gives a sliced picture of the inside of your body. It is better than X-ray or CT scan because there is no radiation of your body. However it requires significant time. Sometimes it takes up to 20 minutes. And some people afraid to stay in the machine for half an hour required for the test. Besides MRI has a limitation. The test requires avoiding metals in your bodies (like metal joints and other metal implants). MRI is not a routine test, so sometime it is not ordered. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is most commonly ordered to determine the extent of tumor to plan the surgery. MRI also easier than CT scans shows enlarged lymph nodes and surface of diaphragm and this is important for surgical planning.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) came recently for diagnosing different type of cancers and mesothelioma as well. PET uses special radioactive substances that emit positrons. Localized mesothelioma is confined to the pleura. Advanced mesothelioma spreads to the lungs, chest wall, abdomen and lymph nodes.

Pathological examination checks biopsy samples under the microscope It is difficulty to diagnose mesothelioma sometime. The cells of the tumor may be of many different types. These cells may look similar to other cancers. Peritoneal cells may look similar to pleural mesothelioma or other types of lung cancer and even ovarian cancer. Epithelioid type of mesothelioma is more common and considered better for treatment more than aggressive sarcomatous type. Biphasic mesothelioma is the mixture of both.

Doctors and scientists also proposed some immunological makers to find mesothelioma, however majority of the markers are not very specific. Just to mention: Epithelial membrane antigen, CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen √ very unspecific, may happen in many different cancers), Calretinin, Mesothelin, Cytokeratin, osteopontin and some others.

Look also: http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact, http://www.nlm.nih.gov, http://www.rdoctor.com

So, to recap, the tests used by doctors:

*X-rays

*CT scan

*Thoracocentesis

*Paracentesis

*Thoracoscopy

*Bronchoscopy

*MRI scan

*Mediastinoscopy

*Laparoscopy

*All kinds of biopsy

The diagnosis is done after careful evaluation of complaints, physical exam and imaging in addition to the biopsy.

Keywords: Diagnosis, asbestos cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, mesothelioma symptoms, peritoneal mesothelioma, lung cancer

Aleksandr Kavokin, MD, PhD. Medical Articles http://www.kavokin.com, Free On-line diagnostics at http://www.symptomat.com, http://www.rdoctor.com

Asbestos Lung Cancer

People with a history of asbestos exposure are about seven times more likely to die from lung cancer than those who are unexposed to asbestos. Asbestos exposure is associated with all types of lung cancer, and with a rare type of cancer called malignant mesothelioma, which affects the tissue lining the lungs called the pleura. The time between exposure and development of cancer ranges from 15 to 30 years. This gap between exposure and disease may delay diagnosis until the lung cancer is advanced and less amenable to treatment. If someone with asbestos exposure also smokes, the risk of getting lung cancer increases substantially.

Until the mid-20th century, asbestos was widely used in construction and to manufacture insulation and fire retardant materials. As knowledge of the health risks associated with asbestos fiber inhalation or ingestion increased, asbestos became less commonly used. While asbestos is still present in many public buildings and in older homes, it is generally thought to be less harmful to leave it in place than to remove it, as doing so may release asbestos fibers into the air. Some industries continued to use asbestos after its risks became known, and are facing lawsuits from former employees.

The symptoms of asbestos-related lung cancer are similar to those of lung cancer in general. These include breathlessness, wheezing, chest pain, coughing up of blood, a new cough or a persistent cough, or hoarseness. A diagnosis is usually made using a combination of physical examination, x-rays, CT scans, lung tissue biopsies, and lung function tests. Recent research suggests that levels of a blood protein, osteopontin, rise in people with malignant mesothelioma. Treatment depends on the type of lung cancer and on the stage or extent of spread when it is diagnosed; overall five-year survival rates are below 20 percent.

Asbestos Lung Cancer provides detailed information on Asbestos Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer Stages, Lung Cancer Survival Rate and more. Asbestos Lung Cancer is affiliated with Asbestos Exposure

Asbestosis And The Legal Implications

A chronic medical condition, which affects the tissue of the lungs, is known as asbestosis. Mine workers and several other professionals suffers from this disease, which occurs due to heavy exposure to asbestos over a long period. Shortness of breath is the most common complaint from those affected by asbestosis and ultimately they end with various types of cancer of the lung.

During the early part of this century, the link between cancer, exposure to asbestos and asbestosis was established and the governments enforced strict safety measures. In 1929, asbestos manufacturers faced the first lawsuit. Afterwards there was a deluge of lawsuits against employers and manufacturing for neglecting the safety regulations.

According to various allegations, training and information regarding detection, removal, diseases, dangers and other issues connected with asbestos are not provided to managers and employers. To implement the wide range of regulations properly, managers and employers are pleading for relevant information and training.

From the sheer magnitude of lawsuits and complaints by people suffering from asbestosis, the liability reached billions of dollars. Many court cases fought over the issue of method and amount of compensation and their allocation. In June 1982, James Cavett, a retired boilermaker was awarded a record compensation of 2.3 million US dollars as compensation and 1.5 million US dollars as punitive damages.

In the history of the United States, one of the most expensive and longest mass torts is asbestos litigation. Currently there are 600000 claimants and 6000 defendants connected with asbestos litigation. According to the current trends, there will be a sizeable increase in the number of people being diagnosed with asbestosis during the next decade.

There was a heavy toll on industry and insurance due to the litigation connected with asbestosis and asbestos. Unfortunately, to obtain a just compensation against the employers and manufacturers of asbestos, litigation is the only recourse.

By employing a lawyer experienced in mesothelioma and asbestosis, substantial compensation can be obtained by individuals exposed to asbestos and subsequently suffering from asbestos related diseases.

In the United States, mesothelioma is known to be caused only by exposure to asbestos and by proving the exposure, which subsequently led to the disease, legal compensation can be easily won. At the same time, it should be noted that the asbestos industry fights these cases by engaging some of the best legal brain available. They not only try to deny compensation but also drag and delay the process of justice to the asbestosis victims.

Lucy Bartlett is a proud contributing author. Find more articles here. For more info visit Lawyer Resource or Asbestos Lawyers.

Asbestos - Don't Die Of Fright!

Asbestos generates a lot of fear, much of it, although genuine and understandable, is unwarranted. On the other hand, some people ignore the risks problem. Much is said and written about asbestos - here are the facts.

Asbestos can kill, but only in the right (!) circumstances

Asbestos is a very hazardous material, but it is only risk to health when the asbestos fibres become airborne, are inhaled and are deposited in your lungs. So, asbestos materials that are undamaged and undisturbed are not a risk.

If the fibres do get into the atmosphere in significant quantities they are a serious health risk. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can lead to serious diseases such as lung cancer, mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the chest and abdomen) and asbestosis (a chronic fibrosis of the lungs). In the past, several industries generated high levels of asbestos fibre in the air. As a result, there are many cases of disease, and many deaths ? at least 3500 deaths a year in the UK at present.

Because asbestos was used so widely in buildings, there are groups of people who may still be exposed to fibres ? but usually at lower concentrations than the older industries. These groups include tradesmen such as plumbers and electricians, and other building and maintenance workers. They are exposed to asbestos when they accidentally disturb asbestos fibres during their normal work.

Diseases caused by asbestos

Cancers

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the chest and abdominal lining. Almost all cases are caused by asbestos. It is always fatal. Mesothelioma takes a long time to develop, from the time of first exposure to development of the disease (known as its latency period): between 15 and 60 years. Exposure to high levels for long periods is not necessary, but the risk increases with higher and longer exposures. It is caused by the brown and blue asbestos, but not by white asbestos.

Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer caused by asbestos is identical to that caused by smoking. People who smoke and are exposed to asbestos run an even higher risk. The latency period is usually at least 20 years. It can be caused by any asbestos fibre, but the risk is higher from brown and blue asbestos.

Other lung diseases

Asbestosis is a disease which causes scarring of the lung tissue - fibrosis. The tissue becomes leathery and less flexible. The lungs? is less able to absorb oxygen from the air and pass it into the blood. Breathing becomes more difficult and the disease progresses over the years. It is sometimes quoted as an underlying cause of death when a sufferer dies. Latency period is about 15 to 30 years.

Pleural plaques or diffuse pleural thickening is a scarring of the chest lining. It can be seen on X-rays but does not cause noticeable symptoms. There is no know connection between pleural plaques and other asbestos diseases, but it is used as a marker of asbestos exposure.

Click the link for the full articleNiall Evans is a health and safety professional in the UK. http://www.clickforhealthandsafety.com/Asbestos-Dont-Die-Of-Fright.html