The mesothelium body membrane exists inside the lung, abdominal and heart cavities, and forms the lining for those cavities. Cancers affecting the mesothelium are called malignant mesothelioma, and are almost all caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. There is no safe level of exposure (unlike other asbestos related conditions such as asbestosis), and the latency (the time taken for the disease to develop) may be several decades. Patients may have treatments such as pleurodesis, surgery, chemo and radiation therapy but long survival times are extremely rare, and most patients will die in less than one year.
Almost all cases of this illness are linked to asbestos. Health and environmental bodies (UK HSE, US OSHA and EPA) are unable to identify a safe level of exposure to avoid risk of mesothelioma, and take the view that there is no safe level. Cases where the asbestos exposure is less than three months, have been known to result in the disease. Longer exposures do however increase the risks.
Latency is the period which elapses from contact with asbestos to the disease being manifested in the body. The latency for mesothelioma is always long. It rarely takes less than fifteen years for the disease to develop, and most cases take between thirty and forty years to develop.
Pleural mesothelioma is the form which affects the lung cavity lining. Symptoms can be similar to other lung conditions, which can delay diagnosis. Known exposure to asbestos would be treated by the doctor as increasing the clinical suspicion for mesothelioma.
Symptoms include pain in the chest wall, shortness of breath, tiredness (fatigue), coughing, wheezing and coughed up blood. The pain in the chest is usually caused by the build up of fluids (pleural effusion). Pleurodesis treatment (artificially obliteration of the pleural space by introducing chemicals or a talc slurry) is one treatment, which can help prevent the recurrence of the pleural effusion.
Most patients receive radiation and/or chemotherapy but long term survival is very rare: few patients survive longer than one year from diagnosis. Early detection through screening programs for those at risk should help, and research is ongoing in this area.
Almost all cases of this illness are linked to asbestos. Health and environmental bodies (UK HSE, US OSHA and EPA) are unable to identify a safe level of exposure to avoid risk of mesothelioma, and take the view that there is no safe level. Cases where the asbestos exposure is less than three months, have been known to result in the disease. Longer exposures do however increase the risks.
Latency is the period which elapses from contact with asbestos to the disease being manifested in the body. The latency for mesothelioma is always long. It rarely takes less than fifteen years for the disease to develop, and most cases take between thirty and forty years to develop.
Pleural mesothelioma is the form which affects the lung cavity lining. Symptoms can be similar to other lung conditions, which can delay diagnosis. Known exposure to asbestos would be treated by the doctor as increasing the clinical suspicion for mesothelioma.
Symptoms include pain in the chest wall, shortness of breath, tiredness (fatigue), coughing, wheezing and coughed up blood. The pain in the chest is usually caused by the build up of fluids (pleural effusion). Pleurodesis treatment (artificially obliteration of the pleural space by introducing chemicals or a talc slurry) is one treatment, which can help prevent the recurrence of the pleural effusion.
Most patients receive radiation and/or chemotherapy but long term survival is very rare: few patients survive longer than one year from diagnosis. Early detection through screening programs for those at risk should help, and research is ongoing in this area.
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