dangerous disease that, while rare, is troublesome for several reasons.
For one thing, the initial symptoms of mesothelioma are ones that can
usually be associated with other, less threatening problems, including
asthma, old age, and being out of shape. Because of this, while only
3000 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed every year, it is held that
quite a few fatal cases of seemingly harmless lung ailments were in
fact misdiagnosed cases of mesothelioma.
The inital cause of mesothelioma is the introduction of minute fibers
of asbestos into a person's lungs through inhalation. Asbestos is a
fibrous, fire retardant material that was commonly used in the past
several decades for fire proofing purposes. The fibrous nature of the
material causes it to fragment into small slivers that are easily
airborne and almost invisible to the naked eye. People who inhale the
fibers first develop a problem called asbestosis.
Asbestosis is the development of small scar tissue in the lungs due to
the fibers of asbestos. This scar tissue causes difficulty breathing,
and given time can block entire sections of the lung's air passages
altogether. However, if left unchecked, asbestosis causes a more severe
lung problem called mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer caused by
tumors in the lungs. The lungs and chest cavity in general develop an
excess of fluids due to the body's unsuccessful effort to combat these
tumors and the foreign particles (the asbestos fibers).
Symptoms
The earliest symptoms of lung asbestos problems is a harsh, rattling
breathing pattern commonly associated with smokers. The other symptoms
include shortness of breath, shallow breathing, and a drop in physical
endurance. Since these symptoms are commonly found in smokers as well,
it was a previously held misconception that asbestosis was also caused
by smoking filtered cigarettes. Recent studies show that this is not
the case - not that smoking is healthy, but rather only that the two,
while having the same symptoms, are not related.
If left unchecked asbestosis develops into mesothelioma, and the
symptoms worsen to sudden chest pains, even more difficulty breathing,
and even a "sloshing" feeling when breathing, like that experienced by
people during severe coughs where the lungs temporarily fill with
phlegm. Again, this symptom can be easily explained away as a case of
fever or cough, and can easily be misdiagnosed.
In either case, the only real way to determine if someone has
asbestosis or mesothelioma is to undergo an x ray. X ray scans can
detect the presence of asbestos fiber induced scar tissue, or the
formation of tumors in the lungs. Without an x ray there is no sure way
to determine the presence of asbestos in the lungs.
Effects
The effects of asbestosis and mesothelioma are ultimately fatal if left
unchecked. Pulmonary emboli, a condition where blood clotting forms in
the lungs and not only restricts breathing, but also sends these clots
into the blood stream and eventually causing cardiac arrest, is one of
the usual causes of death from asbestos inhalation.
The fluid buildup in the lungs, chest cavity, and chest lining brought
about by mesothelioma is another common cause of death, as this fluid
can literally fill a person's lungs, restricting breathing completely,
or can likewise cause cardiac arrest eventually. The lung tumors of
mesothelioma can also grow out of control, eventually eating away a
person's lungs like a regular cancer, or can cause severe wounds in the
chest cavity that causes internal hemorrhaging.
Treatment
Regular lung surgery can be used to treat early cases of asbestosis,
assuming that no cancers have developed yet. The survival rate is
pretty much on par with regular operations, so at this early stage
people can be treated with safety. However, if the asbestosis has
already developed into mesothelioma, regular surgery ceases to be an
option, as the average life expectancy of a patient after the operation
is only 5 years. Chemotherapy and laser surgery procedures geared
towards cancer treatment are the most effective medical procedures used
in tandem to treat mesothelioma tumors.
Avoidance/Safety Tips
One fact about asbestosis and mesothelioma is that the symptoms only
manifest between 20 to 50 years after inhaling the fibers, depending on
the fitness of the person and the amount of asbestos inhaled.
Therefore, at the first possible signs x rays should be taken to
determine of the problems are simply old age or not.
Wearing safety masks with air filters if working in an area with
asbestos is a must to prevent asbestosis and mesothelioma. This not
only includes factory workers who are exposed to industrial materials
laced with asbestos, but to civilians who travel through construction
and demolition sites where old houses are situated. The reason for this
is because some houses and buildings constructed in the 1970s and 1980s
included asbestos lining as part of the materials in an attempt at fire
proofing.
