Symptoms May Develop Long After Asbestos Exposure
Mesothelioma cancer develops when abnormal cells emerge in the mesothelium, a thin tissue covering the internal organs. Cases are rare but incidence is on the rise around the world. According to the American Cancer Society, between 2,000 and 3,000 Americans are diagnosed each year. Doctors distinguish four types based on its location in the body: • Pleural, affecting the lungs and the lining of the chest cavity, the most common type • Peritoneal, affecting the abdomen • Pericardial, affecting the heart • Of the tunica vaginalis testis - in the lining around the testicles It is detected when malignant cells are confirmed among mesothelial cells in biopsies. The disease is considered local when it has not spread to other tissues. If it does spread, symptoms can include swelling in the neck or face and trouble swallowing. Symptoms of the most common type, pleural, include shortness of breath and chest pain, both caused by excess fluid. Peritoneal symptoms involve accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, as well as pain, swelling, and weight loss. Sometimes other symptoms like bowel obstruction, anemia, fever, and blood clotting appear. When the pericardium is affected, patients may experience irregular heartbeat or palpitations and chest pain can occur. Much less is known about the last type, though it sometimes presents with a detected mass around the testes. Living with this illness often involves oxygen therapy to alleviate shortness of breath. There are also physiotherapies to remove secretions that accumulate and nebulized medications to dilute them - both of which help with the pain. Treatments for mesothelioma cancer are not curative and prognosis is usually poor. Most studies report a median survival of less than one year. However, some survivors have lived with it for over ten years, according to a medically reviewed publication that summarizes therapeutic options. Victims are male more often than they are female. Most who develop any variety have worked in settings that contained asbestos - a known carcinogen derived from silicate mineral compounds commonly used in building materials beginning in the late 1800’s. The most damaging kind of exposure to this carcinogen is respirable and free-form. In this case, damaging fibers are not “locked in” by a glue or resin and can therefore be inhaled. Once lodged there, they cannot be expelled or broken down by the body. This is just one condition that can develop from inhaling the carcinogen. Before it is diagnosed, or before it develops, a case can present as a condition from a family of disorders known as interstitial lung disease. The essence of these is gradual, irreversible scarring in the lungs. The scar tissue replaces healthy tissue and affects pulmonary function - the ability to breathe and oxygenate blood. Since they irritate the alveoli, air sacs through which oxygen passes to the blood, the immune system sends cells to engulf and destroy them. This is the body’s inflammation response. When they cannot be destroyed, a process of scarring begins and continually occurs. This inflammation is a pre-condition to the illness. According to the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information, there have been numerous epidemiological studies showing deaths due to mesothelioma cancer (and lung cancer) associated with inhaled carcinogenic exposure. Since biopsies confirming diagnosis often reveal fibers lodged in lung tissue, exposure to this carcinogen is regarded as the primary cause of almost all malignant mesothelioma.
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