Mesothelioma Info

Mesothelioma is unlike any other cancer.


Mesothelioma is a cancer like no other. Unlike cancers that get more coverage in the media, like leukemia or breast cancer, mesothelioma is a disease that is becoming harder to ignore. Each year, 2,500 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed. Many more die of the disease annually as the prognosis for mesothelioma cancer is remains poor. The major obstacle in survival of mesothelioma cancer comes from the detail that many who are sick with the ailment are not aware of their condition.


The federal government allocated approximately $2 million in federal funding for mesothelioma research last year. This figure is inordinately low compared to the spending given to other types of better known types of cancers. Mesothelioma is differentiated from other cancers because both of the mechanism of the illness and how it is contracted, as well as the survivability of the disease.


The first medical documentation of mesothelioma came in the early 1940s. Although the cause of mesothelioma was not known at that time, the emergence signaled a dark time to come for America’s industrial workers. The cause of mesothelioma was isolated in the early 1970s when a direct link to the disease was found between workers who were regularly exposed to asbestos. Once the Environmental Protection Agency deemed the naturally occurring mineral to be a public health hazard, steps were taken to remove asbestos from industrial sites, like shipyards and lumber and pulp mills.



Asbestos was used widely used in the fabrication of hospitals, schools, and prisons prior to the 1970 decision to begin limiting the use of asbestos. Because asbestos was used in a wide array of building and structure, the amount of people who have been exposed over the long term is immeasurable.


Mesothelioma is a cancer that can lie dormant for many years—in some cases up to 30. Once the asbestos particles attach themselves to the lining of the lungs, there is no way to remove them. The attached particles begin to form scar tissue that, over time, develop into tumors and then into the disease mesothelioma.



Sadly, the number of those exposed continues to rise as new cases of mesothelioma are reported each year. The average time for a mesothelioma suffer to succumb to death is usually between 6 and 12 months. Although certain oral and chemotherapy agents have been used with some success in the past during treatment, the mesothelioma patient has little hope for prolonged survival after diagnosis.


With mesothelioma deaths and new diagnoses on the up rise, it is apparent that the federal government needs to begin allocating larger amounts of funds to the development of alternative treatments and new medicines in the war to combat mesothelioma disease.



The time for action in maintaining the lives of those who have been diagnosed is now.


If you or someone you know has been exposed to asbestos, or if you have a suspicion that you have been exposed to asbestos materials, you should see the attention of a medical practitioner for evaluation.