Asbestos And Mesothelioma

Asbestos is a term used to classify a group of mineral fibers that share properties of thermal and chemical resistance, flexibility, and hight tensile strength. The term “asbestos” comes from the Greek word for inextinguishable and was termed the “magic mineral” because of its’ extraordinary ability to withstand heat. There are six minerals defined as asbestos including: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite.

The history of this remarkable, but hazardous material dates back to at least 2500 B.C., when it was used as an ingredient in pottery making. Since then, asbestos has been used in a wide-range of products such as automotive brake pads and clutches, cement, ceiling and floor tiles, boilers, electrical wire insulation, gaskets, joint compound and adhesives, just to name a few.

Mesothelioma is type of lung cancer that is aggressive in nature and almost, always results from exposure to asbestos. At present there is no known cure for Mesothelioma and life expectancy is between 4 to 24 month from the initial onset of symptoms. Currently there is an ongoing epidemic of this disease in the US and it is not showing any signs of slowing down. The primary cause of the Mesothelioma problem is negligence on the part of asbestos manufactures since the1970′s whom did not protect their employees from the dangers of asbestos. Due to this fact and because the latency period for Mesothelioma is between 20 to 40 years, the court system has being inundated with pending asbestos cases ever since. It is estimated that asbestos cases will not peak for another 20 years.

Below are some statistical facts about asbestos and mesothelioma lung cancer:

• Asbestos is considered a carcinogen, which means that it can cause cancer.
• Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that occurs naturally in the environment.

• About 70% to 80% of all reported cases of asbestos exposure occur in the work place.
• Over the past 50 years, occupational exposure to asbestos in the United States is estimated to have occurred in approximately 8 million people.
• Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of lung cancer that results from exposure to airborne asbestos fibers.
• There are two types of Mesothelioma, pleural and peritoneal.
• Initial symptoms of Mesothelioma do not appear until 30 to 40 years after first exposure to asbestos.
• Symptoms of Mesothelioma usually arise 2 to 3 months before the cancer is found and can resemble shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, pneumonia, chest and abdominal pain.
• Mesothelioma is a terminal disease with no known cure and victims die within 18 months of diagnosis due to the cancer being too advanced by the time it is detected.
• Treatments for Mesothelioma include surgery to remove the tumors, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of all three.
• Management of mesothelioma depends largely on the the staging of the tumor as well as the age and physical condition of the patient. Early diagnosis and surgical intervention may lengthen life expectancy.
• According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 3,000 new cases per year of malignant mesothelioma are being reported in the United States, and the incidence appears to be increasing.
• Asbestos cases will continue to increase and it is estimated to peak around the year 2025, according to experts.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued regulations to phase out the use of almost all asbestos products in 1989, and these rules were overturned in a court challenge in 1991.
• Asbestos is still not banned in the US and there are about 5,000 products that contain asbestos circulating in the US.
• Most asbestos products are used as an ingredient in the making of a final product, such as vinyl-asbestos flooring and friction products, which are purchased mostly by the construction and automobile industries.
• EPA has not banned any substance for any use since 1991 under the provision of the law used for the asbestos ban.
• It is estimated that about 8 million people in the U.S. have been exposed to asbestos in the work place, and, or their home.
• The Congressional Budget Office claims that there are 322,00 pending claims.
• Fair compensation for mesothelioma frequently means a settlement of over $1,000,000.
• About 2,500 victims of Mesothelioma die each year.
• The disease is three times more common in men than in women. In men, the occurrence of mesothelioma is ten times higher in men between the ages of 60-70 as compared to men between the ages of 30-40.
• Due to the monetary value of Mesothelioma as a keyword search term on the Internet, there are bids on Overture or Google Ad Words of over $160 per click, which primarily involved law firms.

Pain is one of the most significant factors associated with mesothelioma. In the beginning the patient will only feel discomfort in the chest or pelvic area (depending where the condition develops), but then unfortunately the pain will get more and more severe.

Mesothelioma treatment is prescribed by the doctor, depending on the severity of the condition. The quality of the life of the patient is changed drastically when chronic pain sets in. He/ she is not able anymore to tend to everyday tasks, and many times the patient has to be under constant surveillance in a nursing home or hospital.

At the beginning of the condition, when there is only a discomfort present, the patient will be administered mild analgesics (such as Ibuprophen for instance). These types of analgesics are called non-opioids, which mean that they can be procured over the counter. When the pain gets chronic, the doctor will generally choose to put the patient on opioids medication, which is the strongest medication.

In the opioids class there is listed the morphine, the fentany, the hydromorphone or the oxcodone. These types of medications have quite a few side effects; so much attention is needed not to take anything more than the daily recommended dosage. Immunity to these types of medications can set in easily, and then the patient needs more of the same substance in order for it to have effects.

In such cases, it is always necessary to talk to the doctor to see if the dosage can be elevated. Treatment for mesothelioma, as you can note, may contain more strong drugs, so the patient needs to be extremely careful.

In many cases, the doctor will also recommend the adjuvant analgesics. These are meant to help the patient fight off depressive states. The mood of the patient is extremely low, and he/she may develop apathy, and then these adjutants are needed to keep him/her on the floating line on an everyday basis.

The next group of drugs in the treatment options for mesothelioma is the epidural implant. These implants basically contain pain killing substances that are administered through a thin catheter that is right beneath the skin. These substances are delivered right into the spinal canal, and the pain signals are blocked. The patient will not feel pain, and his quality of life is made better, and he doesn’t need to be constantly hospitalized. The epidural implants are administered only in the case the oral or intravenous pain killers are not effective anymore.

Cancer research and development is an ongoing process. In the field of mesothelioma treatment, researchers are focusing on improving traditional treatments as well as developing new techniques to ease the pain of patients. New chemotherapy agents and combination’s are now giving new hope to mesothelioma patients and are increasing the survival rate amongst them. Several recent advances have improved diagnosis and treatment of this incurable disease. Hoping for a cure in the near future is therefore not something surreal.

CT Scans

Computer tomography scans are not only a diagnostic tool in mesothelioma treatment. CT Scans now enable the surgical team to accurately determine the position of tumors in the anatomy of the patient. This enables cytoreduction to be more effective. Adequate cytoreduction is an essential prerequisite to improving the survival chances of the patient. The greater the number of tumor cells that are removed, the less is the chances that the cancer grows and propagates.

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)

Photodynamic Therapy is one of the latest mesothelioma treatments being researched. PDT makes use of a photosensitizer. This is a drug that produces active oxygen when exposed to a certain wavelength of light. Active oxygen destroys all nearby cells. When the patient is treated with the photosensitizer (e.g. with porfimer sodium), the drug invades the whole body. However, by the very nature of the molecule, it remains attached to cancer cells for a longer period. Hence, after a period of 24-72 hours, when the agent has been removed from the normal cells, the tumor is exposed to light (usually a laser transmitted to the tissue by a fiber optic cable carried by an endoscope). Active oxygen destroys the tumor cells directly with minimal damage to normal cells. PDT also helps to shrink tumors indirectly by destroying the blood vessels that supply tumors and activating the immune system to fight the tumor.

The advantage of PDT is that it can be used repetitively with much less side effects than other treatments. The main drawback is that the light usually cannot reach tumor cells that are more than 1 cm deep. Hence, PDT is most effective in skin cancers and cancers found in the lining of internal organs or cavities. Fortunately, mesothelioma falls in this category.

Angiogenesis Inhibitors

Angiogenesis refers to the development of new blood vessels. Blood vessels are a critical factor in the growth of tumors. All malignant tumors develop their own vascular system that carries nutrients from the bloodstream to the tumor, fuelling its growth. Controlling the development of these vascular systems has been an important strategy in the fight against mesothelioma cancer. Angiogenesis inhibitors are drugs that block angiogenesis. This cuts off the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the tumor whose growth immediately halts.

The advantage of angiogenesis inhibitors is that they are not as toxic as most other chemotherapy drugs. They can thus be given continuously to the patient and are thus more effective in fighting the cancer. An example of an anti-angiogenesis drug under clinical trial for mesothelioma is bevacizumab (Avastin).