Mesothelioma and Asbestos

Mesothelioma is a dreaded cancer that is nearly always caused by just one factor: exposure to asbestos.

Causes of Mesothelioma

Before the grave dangers of asbestos were known, as well as even for years after the dangers were known, asbestos was used in literally thousands of products that humans as well as animals encounter daily – particularly in building components such as ceiling as well as floor tiles, walls, bricks as well as stucco, as well as in automotive parts such as brakes as well as clutches.

People who worked in the asbestos industry or in fields in which asbestos is used as a component of a product are most at risk for mesothelioma. Many individuals who possess mesothelioma labored for years or even decades in jobs that required repeated contact with asbestos. When this mineral is mined, processed, woven, sprayed or otherwise manipulated, its microscopic fibers can be released into the air, where they may be inhaled, initiating the development of mesothelioma.

Types of Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma can attack the pleural lining around the lungs. It can as well as attack the peritoneum, a tissue that surrounds the GI tract. Mesothelioma can attack the stomach lining, other internal organs, or even the pericardium (the tissue sac covering the heart). Thus, mesothelioma can be usually classified into the following types:

• Pleural – 75% of all mesothelioma cases
• Peritoneal – 10%-20%
• Pericardial – 5%

Mesothelioma can as well as be classified by the cancer class rather than the location of the cancer:

• Epithelioid – most ordinary, best survival rate
• Sarcomatoid – most very bad, but more rare
• Mixed/biphasic – a mixture of epithelioid as well as sarcomatoid cancer