Today, September 26, is National Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that most commonly develops from exposure to asbestos. Asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral, was widely used in a variety of building components for its fire-resistant and insulating properties.

Most patients who are diagnosed with mesothelioma often worked at jobsites that exposed them to asbestos. Some of these jobsites include shipyards, Navy vessels, asbestos manufacturing sites, construction sites, power plants, and chemical plants, just to name a few.

Asbestos exposure occurs when toxic, microscopic asbestos fibers are inhaled or ingested into the body. This is usually a result of asbestos-containing materials becoming damaged or disturbed, which allows them to disperse the fibers into the air. After being inhaled, the fibers typically attach themselves to the mesothelial lining of the lungs, know as pleural mesothelioma. However, these fibers can also attach to the mesothelial linings surrounding the heart and abdomen.

People of any age can develop malignant mesothelioma, but most newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients are quite old. A person with a developing case of mesothelioma may live for decades without symptoms or other obvious signs of serious illness. While this may seem like a blessing to some, it is decidedly a curse, as the long latency period associated with the disease presents a serious challenge to doctors who wish to treat mesothelioma patients.

By the time a person with mesothelioma begins to show symptoms of the disease, they might be in their 70s or 80s and already living with a disease in its latest stages of development. Mesothelioma treatments can include surgery, radiation therapy, anticancer drugs, chemotherapy, and other methods.

Even with the use of asbestos proven to be hazardous, the toxic mineral has yet to be banned in the United States. As a result, approximately 2,000 to 3,000 people will continue to be diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. The Meso Foundation has given more than $4 Million towards mesothelioma research, and today they are asking everyone to help spread awareness about this harmful disease.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 26th, 2008 at 4:34 pm and is filed under Mesothelioma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.