Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor in the lining of the chest and abdominal cavities. It is a rare form of cancer, with about 3,500 cases diagnosed in the United States each year. Most people who develop this cancer have a history of exposure to the widely found carcinogen asbestos.

Malignant mesothelioma is usually not curable, although some surgical cures have been reported in a very few patients with very localized tumors. Most patients, however, have widespread disease at the time of diagnosis, with chest pain and a buildup of fluid within the cavity involved-chest or abdominal-that causes shortness of breath or abdominal swelling. Treatment at this stage, which may involve removing the fluid and the tumor, is usually directed toward relieving these symptoms.

Types
Malignant mesothelioma is a tumor that can have fibrous and epithelial elements. Epithelial cancers that develop in the tissues that cover the surface of or line internal organs are carcinomas, so the epithelial form of mesothelioma is sometimes confused with adenocarcinomas of the lung or metastatic carcinomas. Epithelial mesotheliomas seem to have a better prognosis than other types.

How It Spreads
Mesotheliomas start in the membranes lining the chest or in the membranes of the abdominal cavity. They can spread via the lymphatic channels to the lymph nodes of the middle of the chest. They can also spread via the bloodstream within and beyond the cavity of origin and metastasize to other organs such as the lungs and chest wall and to abdominal organs such as the bowel.

What Causes Mesothelioma
Inhalation of asbestos fibers is a primary cause. About 70,000 tons of asbestos is used in the United States each year, in cement, brake linings, roof shingles, insulation, flooring products and packing materials. Asbestos has also been found as a contaminant in talc, which is also associated with ovarian cancer. Many urban water reservoirs contain asbestos-like fibers, and most public and private buildings contain asbestos. Only recently has the strong association between asbestos exposure and malignancy been recognized and appropriate industrial and health standards for exposure been put into effect.

It is sometimes difficult to prove the relationship between asbestos exposure and the development of mesothelioma. The risk of developing the disease begins about fifteen years after the first exposure and increases each year up to forty to forty-five years after the first exposure. It is estimated that about 8 million people living in the United States have been occupationally exposed to asbestos over the last half century during the mining and milling of the mineral and during various manufacturing processes. It has been estimated that there will be 250,000 cases of mesothelioma in the United States and United Kingdom by the year 2025.

1. Mesothelioma: Hospice wins landmark victory in asbestos cancer case - Court decision to make engineering firm pay £10,000 towards care of victim to open door for more claims from hospices Hospices that care for victims of a form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure hope to get help with treatment costs following a landmark court ruling. After a three-year legal battle the high court has ruled that a company that exposed a former worker, who later died of …
2. EHE International Window Display at Rockefeller Plaza to Promote Mesothelioma Awareness Day - September 26th is National Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Though mesothelioma is rarely in the spotlight, this year, EHE International is helping to change this, by generously donating a window display in the heart of New York City to increase awareness of mesothelioma.
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4. U of M Study Moves To Silver Bay - The University of Minnesota is conducting a study in Northeastern Minnesota to determine whether or not miners and their spouses are more likely to contract a rare form of cancer called mesothelioma.
5. Fighting for Karen - On June 24, Aurora resident Karen Miller was rushed to the hospital. For the past two years, she’d suffered from shortness of breath, but this time she was having chest pains and didn’t look good. “When we first got to the hospital, they thought she was having a heart attack,” said Dorthy Treadway, also an Aurora resident and one of Miller’s four daughters. “They gave her some chest X-rays and …
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7. Sandra Cohen, meticulous and passionate attorney - Sandra Cohen, former head of the municipal-law section of the Seattle city attorney’s office, has died at 59.
8. 9/11’s Toxic time bomb - The after-effects 9/11 threaten numbers far greater than died on the day.
9. Miles for Meso 5K Returns to Historic Downtown Alton to Raise Money for Mesothelioma Cancer Research - Last year, more than 500 participants raised thousands of dollars for mesothelioma research through the inaugural Miles for Meso race in Alton, Illinois. This year’s Miles for Meso event, planned for Sept. 25, is benefitting from a groundswell of support from those excited about doing even more to fight this deadly disease.
10. NHS to pay German cancer care - A cancer patient is to have treatment in Germany paid for by his local NHS Primary Care Trust.

Cancer, epithelial cancers, malignant mesothelioma, malignant tumor metastatic carcinomas

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