Saturday, September 15, 2007

How To Treat Mesothelioma


Treatments for mesothelioma depends on the stage of the cancer,the specific part being affected, the total amount of spacebeing affected, how long one have the problem of mesothelioma,the look of the cancer cells under microscope and the age factorof the patient. These are the factors that are being consideredbefore choosing the treatment option.

Treatments for mesothelioma include Surgery, Chemotherapy andRadiation Therapy.

Surgery : There are two types of surgery available one isaggressive surgery and another one is called palliativeprocedures.

Aggressive surgery is done through a procedure named extrapleural pneumonectomy, by which the pleura, the lung, thediaphragm and the pericardium are removed. The aggressivesurgery's motive is to remove as much tumor as possible.Palliative procedures will be done when the mesothelioma diseaseis at the matured stage. The motive of this procedure is to giverelief to the patient from the symptoms.

Chemotherapy : In chemotherapy drugs are being used to treatmesothelioma cancer. The drugs may be in the form of pills orinjections. To improve the results of the chemotherapy somedrugs may be used as mix in some proportion and this has given agood improvement in the treatment results.

Radiation therapy : Radiation therapy uses radiations to killmesothelioma tumor. This procedure is complex to undergo as thetumors are surrounded by sensitive parts of our body. There arepossibilities that the heart and lungs being damaged by theradiation. Lower dose radiation is one solution to slightlyovercome from this critical issue.

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What You Need Before Filing A Mesothelioma Lawsuit

If you suffer from mesothelioma, then you likely have grounds for a mesothelioma lawsuit. Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer, which causes malignant cells to be produced on the protective sac covering most of the bodys internal organs, mainly the lungs. Exposure to asbestos is the cause of mesothelioma; there is no known link between smoking and mesothelioma. Those with the greatest risk of developing mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, or a family member has died as a result of mesothelioma, then you are entitled to recover compensation through a mesothelioma lawsuit against the companies that made these asbestos products.

The first step in initiating a mesothelioma lawsuit is to contact an attorney associated with a reputable mesothelioma trial law firm. Your mesothelioma attorney can recover up to millions of dollars, which will be invaluable in assisting you and your family with medical bills and other expenses associated with the disease. When searching for a mesothelioma attorney, you should be careful to choose a law firm that has the required experience and skill to aggressively represent your interests. You should be prepared to interview potential attorneys, asking questions such as how quickly their past cases have been resolved, how much compensation they have successfully obtained and how many total mesothelioma lawsuits they have dealt with.

Once you have selected an attorney, you will need to provide him or her with all relevant information regarding your diagnosis and prognosis. This information will form the basis of your mesothelioma lawsuit. One of those most important details to provide to your attorney is the time period in which you believe you were exposed to asbestos. This information is critical for two reasons. First, because as many as twenty or even thirty years will often pass before one becomes ill from asbestos exposure. Second, most states have a set time limit in which you can file your lawsuit, and it is very important that you not miss this deadline known as the statute of limitations.

Other details that your attorney will request from you include the name and location of your employer, the working conditions during the term of your employment, and whether your employer informed you that you would be exposed to asbestos during your employment. Many people are concerned because they do not know exactly where and when they were exposed to asbestos. Some people may have been exposed to asbestos numerous times. However, your mesothelioma attorney can help to pinpoint the products that you were exposed to. If necessary, your attorney will hire the services of a private investigator to find out where the exposure took place. Nick Johnson serves as lead counsel with Johnson Law Group, a personal injury law firm with principal offices located in Houston, Texas. Johnson specializes in representing plaintiffs with injury cases involving mesothelioma, nursing home abuse, medical malpractice and defective drugs

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What You Should Know About The Mesothelioma Illness


What is Mesothelioma? A lot of people are not aware of this disease and thus, die due to the delay in diagnosis. Millions of people die every year because of cancer; it is among the most pervasive illnesses every one of us is exposed to. Generally speaking, a cancer is a group of diseases characterized byalarming rapid growth of abnormal cells in the body. The disease can affect almost any part of the body and among the most commonly affected are the lungs. Cancer-causing substances are everywhere, especially in the air that we breathe so the lungs are vulnerable to several fatal diseases. One rare cancer that affects the lungs is Mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma has been popularized only because of its association with asbestos, a fibrous mineral form of magnesium silicate used in fire proofing, chemical filters, electrical insulation and others. Most of the patients diagnosed with Mesothelioma have been frequently exposed to asbestos. They are those who work in construction sites, shipyards, insulator makers and similar places. They usually inhale the impure fibersfrom the asbestos that float through the air.

It can be noted that there are about 30-50 per cent of Mesothelioma patients who did not have any exposure to asbestos,which leads to the assumption that asbestos may not be the solecause of Mesothelioma. There are some Mesothelioma patients, too, that had only little exposure to asbestos but had contracted the disease. Activities such as washing clothes of a person who has been exposed to asbestos can still put a person at high risk of Mesothelioma cancer. This disease takes years to develop so a person exposed to asbestos might be diagnosed with Mesothelioma only after 20-50 years of the exposure.

Like other forms of cancers, Mesothelioma is named after thepart which is affected by the disease. In the case of Mesothelioma, the malignant cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective sac that covers different internal organs. Thisprotective sac produces fluid that lubricates the organs, allowing them to move. They allow the beating of the heart and expanding and contracting of the lungs, for example. Specifically, Mesothelioma affects the lining of the lung and chest cavity. There are some cases, too, that the lining of the abdomen (peritoneum) is the one affected. These two types of Mesothelioma cancer are known as Pleural Mesothelioma (affecting the lungs) and Peritoneal Mesothelioma (affecting the abdomen).

Symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma include panting, persistence of cough, loss of weight, fever and chest pain. On the other hand, Peritoneal Mesothelioma may cause swelling and pain of the abdomen and also weight loss. During the early stages of Mesothelioma, the symptoms are non-specific; thus, the disease is not immediately identified. Also, the symptoms are often mistaken as signs of pneumonia. There are instances too that the patient doesn't show any sign of this deadly cancer.

If a patient manifests any of the said symptoms, he must immediately seek a physician's help. Usually, an xray isrequired to clearly see the abnormalities in the lungs (in the case of Pleural Mesothelioma). Indications of a Mesotheliomacancer include a build-up of fluid between the pleura coveringof the chest wall and the diaphragm. In normal conditions, the mesothelial cells produce only small amount of fluid enough tolubricate the space between the chest wall and the lung.

The chance of a patient's recovery from Mesothelioma depends on the extent or stage of the disease and location of the disease. Furthermore, the person's age and the way he responds to treatment and medication can tell whether he can survive the cancer or not. Generally the patient's option for treatment include: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and anticancer drugs.

About the author: David Arnold Livingston is an advocate for health issues and I suggests you check out: http://www.newmesothelioma.com/

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