Mesothelioma Advice Help

by Dhyar Irdiansyah

Many of the internal organs of the body protected by a membrane called the mesothelium. This membrane actually consists of two layers of cells. Layer around the organ, and the second is a sac that surrounds the layers. When the internal organs of this membrane must move, expand or contract - such as heart, lung, cancer, bladder, and so on, they can do because mesothelium produces lubricating fluid between two layers.

Most often begins mesothelioma of the pleura or peritoneum. Pleura surrounding the lungs and chest cover. Peritoneum closed some organs in the abdominal cavity. Other mesothelium tissue is also vulnerable to mesothelioma. These include the pericardium that surrounds and protects the heart, testic tunica vaginalis that surrounds the internal reproductive organs of men, and that uterine serous membrane that covers the internal reproductive organs in women.

Who is at greatest risk to develop mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma has a very specific cause - exposure to asbestos. During the first half of the previous century, right up until the mid 1970s asbestos was an important material used to insulate buildings, machines, heavy equipment, and a broad range of commercial applications. Because it was plentiful and inexpensive to mine, asbestos was used in many building products such as home insulation, floor, ceiling and roof tiles. It was also used in commonly found commercial products such as brake linings and pipe insulation.

This meant that millions of people were coming in contact with asbestos on a daily basis. And since the effects of exposure to asbestos fibre often do not become apparent for 30 or 40 years after prolonged exposure, companies and health officials were slow to recognize the dangers of asbestos. As a result, shipyard workers, men and women working in asbestos mines and mills, workers producing asbestos products, workers in the heating and construction industries, and virtually all other tradespeople were exposed to asbestos fibres for extended periods of time.

Today it is understood that anyone working with or near asbestos has an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, so there are strictly controlled limits of exposure in the work place. But since the dormancy period of mesothelioma can often be 30 or 40 years, there are millions of workers who are at risk because of their exposure in the decades before the safety controls were put in place.

What are the symptoms of mesothelioma?
Pleural mesothelioma - cancer of the pleura or lung lining - causes shortness of breath or chronic coughing. Other symptoms of pleural mesothelioma may include chest pain, chronic coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, wheezing, hoarseness, weight loss, or blood in the phlegm from the lungs when coughing.

Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the lining around the stomach and intestines and is usually just as dangerous. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include pain or swelling in the abdomen, weight loss, bowel obstruction, anemia, and fever.

Many of the symptoms of mesothelioma can easily be mistaken for allergies or a common cold. Mesothelioma is often discovered when patients think they have one of these other common illnesses.

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About the Author
Dhyar Irdiansyah writer of Health Care Change