The Truth About Mesothelioma Life Expectancy

Discussing the subject of mesothelioma life expectancy is certainly not a pleasant one. Yet, it is a subject that must be discussed if you have been diagnosed with the condition. Actually, it also is a subject that should be raised to those fearing they have been exposed to asbestos and have not undergone a proper diagnosis from a physician. Once such a person realizes the severe life threatening nature of mesothelioma, it is doubtful the individual will wait much longer for a proper diagnosis.

Once again, mesothelioma is a severe form of cancer. It has taken the lives of many people that have contracted it. As a result, it is vitally important to seek out medical treatment as soon as humanly possible as this will potentially increase the chances of survival of the person with cancerous tumors.

The outlook of a person suffering from mesothelioma will be based on several factors. The only way to determine these factors would be to undergo a complete examination designed to determine the severity of the condition. Whether or not the cancer was detected early or late; the stage of the cancer; and whether or not the cancer has spread through the body would all be among the factors associated with how long a person's life expectancy will be.

So, while there are no guarantees whatsoever in terms of how successful treatment may be, early detection will have the greatest impact on mesothelioma life expectancy. The survival rate increases when effective treatment is instituted. Note: treatment always has a greater chance of being successful when cancer is discovered at an early stage.

To repeat, there is no way to uniformly determine a blanket mesothelioma life expectancy. However, there are statistics available that allow for researchers to examine the average life expectancy of one suffering from this cancer. There are three major forms that mesothelioma takes: pleural mesothelioma which afflicts the lungs; peritoneal mesothelioma which deals with the abdominal region; and pericardial mesothelioma which is somewhat rare and affects the heart. A fourth form, testicular mesothelioma is extremely rare and hardly diagnosed. With the three major forms of the cancer, mesothelioma life expectancy will vary.

Pleural mesothelioma is an incurable form of cancer and if undetected and untreated the chances for survival will range from four to 18 months. Peritoneal mesothelioma will only yield a five month to 13 month outlook if not treated. Because pericardial mesothelioma is so rare and research is limited, an estimation of the average life span when not treated is very difficult to ascertain.

Of course, with appropriate treatment, the ability to extend one's life span dramatically is possible. This is because treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation can slow down the growth and spread of the cancer cells. Chemotherapy and radiation may, potentially, destroy the cancer cells. Surgery can be employed to outright remove the cancerous tumors. The possibility of using combinations of any two or all three of the methods remains an option as well.

As previously mentioned, there will be a variety of factors that contribute to the ability for the treatment to be effective. The absence or presence of other diseases or disorders may play a role in how effective the treatment may be. In some instances, issues such as the actual location of the cancerous tumors can determine the treatment employed which, in turn, will affect life expectancy. A common example of that would be the presence of tumors near the heart. The high risk of performing surgery in such a region would often eliminate the procedure from consideration. The impact on one's life expectancy when procedures are reduced could possibly be negative.

Of course, a patient will need to do his or her part to extend life expectancy. Lifestyle choices can significantly impact how long or how short your life expectancy is. For example, someone that continues to smoke after being diagnosed with mesothelioma will drastically reduce his or her life expectancy. As such, it is well advised to follow all lifestyle suggestions made by a physician if the goal is to increase mesothelioma life expectancy.

The ability to extend mesothelioma life expectancy is never guaranteed. However, there are certainly ways this can be done. Determinations, however, will need to be made on a case by case basis.

Leigh White invites you to check out her site about Mesothelioma Compensation News where she is working on more articles like this one about Mesothelioma Life Expectancy News.

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Hiring a Lawyer for a Mesothelioma Lawsuit

Filing a mesothelioma lawsuit is not the difficult part of the equation. The difficulty comes into play when seeking the proper amount of damages for your pain and suffering. To errantly select a lawyer and rush into litigation would doubtfully lead to the desired outcome. As such, a proper approach is needed to increase the odds that the lawsuit ends up being a successful one.

Many people are seeking such legal remedies these days as the sheer numbers of diagnoses of mesothelioma cancer have increased tremendously over the past two decades. Despite the fact that more and more information has been discovered about the cancer risks associated with asbestos exposure, many older buildings are not effectively inspected for asbestos. Such a negligent oversight puts those entering such a building at needless and severe risk. In some cases, the exposure was so severe cancer developed in the exposed.

Do to the high number of mesothelioma diagnoses in recent years, a large number of lawsuits have been filed as a result. Filing such lawsuits in done for the obvious reason: there is a need to recoup costs associated with such a condition.

One thing that needs to be clearly understood prior to engaging in any legal action is that there are no guarantees of any outcome. This is true no matter how legitimate your claim is. Once a litigant realizes this fact, the litigant will understand the extreme need for hiring the right attorney to represent them in the case.

How do you know whether or not you are hiring the right attorney for the mesothelioma lawsuit? A multitude of factors will determine whether or not the attorney you are considering is the right one for your needs. Probably the most important factor would be the experience level of the attorney. Has this particular attorney represented a large number of litigants in mesothelioma cases? Experience counts for a lot and any lawyer that does have a lot of experience with such cases would be one well worth considering hiring.

It may be wise to define the experience the attorney possesses into more concrete terms. In other words, how many mesothelioma cases has the attorney represented? Does the attorney specialize in these types of cases or does are mesothelioma cases one type of case in a long list of liability areas in which the attorney represents?

There are also attorneys that take part in mesothelioma cases on an exclusive basis. In other words, they do not handle other civil cases and are experts in the exclusive representation of mesothelioma cases. Seeking out such specialists may be the better option since specialization can some with insights and experience other attorneys may not possess.

• Experience alone, however, is not an indication of skill. The attorney must have a "track record" for success litigation and settlements. Questions that need to be asked are:

• What percentage of cases represented are settled out of court and what percentage are litigated?

• Of the cases that go to litigation, what percentage is won?

• What is the average award received in a settlement and what is the average awarded judgment of a case that goes to civil trial?

Determining the definitive answer to all these questions is a must before selecting an attorney. The entire goal of entering into a lawsuit is to achieve financial compensation for all the trouble. The attorney's past performance can be considered the best indication of how the attorney will perform in the future. Examining the amount of monetary awards in litigation and settlements will yield the answers to any queries in this regard.

Also, it is necessary to determine the attorney's fees for representation. Will the attorney solely take a percentage of the settlement or the judgment or are other fees involved? There is no right or wrong way to charge clients. The client does, however, need to feel comfortable with the fee process. Entering into an agreement with an attorney and then having to dissolve the relationship over costs halfway through litigation could prove disastrous and is best avoided.

All in all, when you are seeking to file a mesothelioma lawsuit you want to hire the very best attorney for your needs. The reason for this is fairly obvious: You want to walk away from the litigation with a positive outcome. Without the right attorney in place, this would prove enormously difficult.

Leigh White invites you to check out her site about Mesothelioma Compensation Info where she is working on more articles like this one about Mesothelioma Lawsuit Tips.

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Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is an uncommon, but no longer rare, cancer that is difficult to diagnose and poorly responsive to therapy. Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious of all asbestos-related diseases.

A layer of specialized cells called mesothelial cells lines the chest cavity, abdominal cavity, and the cavity around the heart. These cells also cover the outer surface of most internal organs. The tissue formed by these cells is called mesothelium.

The mesothelium helps protect the organs by producing a special lubricating fluid that allows organs to move around. For example, this fluid makes it easier for the lungs to move inside the chest during breathing. The mesothelium of the chest is called the pleura and the mesothelium of the abdomen is known as the peritoneum. The mesothelium of the pericardial cavity (the "sac-like" space around the heart) is called the pericardium.

Tumors of the mesothelium can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). A malignant tumor of the mesothelium is called a malignant mesothelioma. Because most mesothelial tumors are cancerous, malignant mesothelioma is often simply called mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma was recognized as a tumor of the pleura, peritoneum and pericardium in the late 1700's. However it was not until much later, in 1960, that this particular type of tumor was described in more detail and even more importantly, its association with asbestos exposure was recognized. The first report linking mesothelioma to asbestos exposure was written by J.C.Wagner, and described 32 cases of workers in the "Asbestos Hills" in South Africa. Since than the relationship between mesothelioma and asbestos exposure has been confirmed in studies around the world.

The incidence of mesothelioma in the United States remains very low, with 14 cases occurring per million people per year. Despite these numbers the noticed threefold increase in mesothelioma in males between 1970 and 1984, is directly associated with environmental and occupational exposure to asbestos, mostly in areas of asbestos product plants and shipbuilding facilities.

Although the disease is much more commonly seen in 60-year old men, it has been described in women and early childhood as well. The cause of the disease is not so well understood in these latter two groups, but there is some evidence of possible asbestos exposure for some of these cases as well.

Mesothelioma is one of the deadliest diseases known to man; the average life span of an inflicted person from the time of diagnosis until death is less than 24 months. It's a disease that strikes approximately 3,000 United States citizens each and every year; hard working people who have labored for a lifetime to provide for their families, doing the work that keeps this country running and a great place to live. They worked in factories, at shipyards, in mines, for the US military, as engineers, as pipefitters, as steel workers, as auto mechanics, and in so many other professions. They came home to their loved ones exhausted and covered in dirt and dust; tired, but content that they had a job and were providing for their family. Content that they were putting food on the table and a house over their loved one's heads. Content that they were working to make a better life for their families in this generation and the next...

But what they didn't know was that while they were working so hard, they were not only slowly killing themselves, but those that they were working so hard to help; their family, their loved ones.

What is the mesothelium?

The mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. It is composed of two layers of cells: One layer immediately surrounds the organ; the other forms a sac around it. The mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid that is released between these layers, allowing moving organs (such as the beating heart and the expanding and contracting lungs) to glide easily against adjacent structures.

The mesothelium has different names, depending on its location in the body. The peritoneum is the mesothelial tissue that covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The pleura is the membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity. The pericardium covers and protects the heart. The mesothelial tissue surrounding the male internal reproductive organs is called the tunica vaginalis testis. The tunica serosa uteri covers the internal reproductive organs in women.

What Is My Diagnosis?
There are three types of mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung (pleura), peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum), and pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining surrounding the heart (pericardium). Sub-types (or cell types) of mesothelioma are epithelioid (the most common, and considered the most amenable to treatment), sarcomatous (a much more aggressive form), and biphasic or mixed (a combination of both of the other cell types).

The structural appearance of cells under the microscope determine the cell or sub-type of mesothelioma. Epithelioid is the least aggressive; sarcomatoid, the most aggressive. The biphasic or mixed cell type shows structural elements of both of the other two.

There are three types of mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the lung (pleura), peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum), and pericardial mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining surrounding the heart (pericardium). Sub-types (or cell types) of mesothelioma are epithelioid (the most common, and considered the most amenable to treatment), sarcomatous (a much more aggressive form), and biphasic or mixed (a combination of both of the other cell types).

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Causes of Mesothelioma: How You Can Get This Disease

While this aggressive cancer is very difficult to diagnose and even harder to treat, the causes of mesotheliomaare well known. In the United States, this dreadful disease is diagnosed in two to three thousand people every year! Not shocking enough? Of those diagnosed with mesothelioma, three quarters of them got it from inhaling or swallowing particles of asbestos.

The obvious places to be exposed daily to asbestos are on the job. Military personnel, anyone who works on cars (either manufacturing or repairing), construction people, miners, and anyone else who works with materials such as cement, flooring, textiles, roofing materials, and insulation is at risk.

But there are other, more insidious places that are also causes of mesothelioma. Your home...your children's school, anywhere that asbestos was used for insulating is a danger to your health. Some even believe that just handling the clothing of someone who works near asbestos can make it possible for you to inhale or swallow some particles, putting you at risk.

Not all scientists agree on the way in which asbestos causes mesothelioma, though they all are sure that asbestos is the culprit. Here are several of their theories:

• Free radicals damage your DNA and cause cell mutation that leads to cancer. Asbestos increases production of these free radicals.
• Asbestos inflames and irritates the mesothelial cells causing damage and scarring, which then causes the cancer.
• The particles of asbestos enter and disrupt cell functions that are responsible for normal division of the cells. These changes then cause the cancer.

You will note that all these mesothelioma causes have one thing in common. Asbestos destroys, alters, or changes the structure of the cells...and cancer is the end result. Once the damage has occurred, the membranes thicken, and fluid begins to build up between the layers, after which tumors begin to grow.

There are cases in which no known exposure to asbestos has taken place. There are about fifty recorded cases of mesothelioma caused by radiation treatments. There are also other mineral fibers that do not contain asbestos (taconite and erionite are two) that are now being linked to the disease. When simian virus 40 contaminated polio vaccine in the 50's and 60's, it was also connected to malignant mesothelioma.

Of course, there are other causes of mesothelioma that have not been substantiated. Among them are injuries to the chest, organic chemicals, chronic inflammations of the chest, and genetics. While smoking is not a cause of this cancer, it does aggravate other conditions that are related to asbestos, and it is said to increase the risk of lung cancer by 84%.

I can't go into all of the information that's available about which mesothelioma support group will be good for you and available in your area in this article.

However, if you want to learn more about how to deal with this disease, you can check out the Mesothelioma Resource [http://www.mesotheliomaresourceguide.com] Guide. I had a friend with mesothelioma, and I have put together a resource site where you can get good information about all facets of mesothelioma help available. Feel free to visit it at: www.mesotheliomaresourceguide.com [http://www.mesotheliomaresourceguide.com]

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Mesothelioma Symptoms and Treatment

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that develops in the mesothelium; the protective lining that covers the internal organs of the body. It is usually caused by exposure to asbestos and the most common form of Mesothelioma is pleural, which affects the lungs, but it can also develop in the peritoneum, which lines the abdominal cavity, and the pericardium - the sac that surrounds the heart. In males it can sometimes be found in the tunica vaginalis, which is the sac that surrounds the testis.

While Mesothelioma remains a relatively rare cancer, there are more and more cases being reported by the older generation who may have been exposed to asbestos in industrial working environments in their younger years. The countries with the highest rate of Mesothelioma cases are Britain, Belgium and Australia, with 30 per 1,000,000 per year.

What makes Mesothelioma so difficult to treat is the fact that it can take 20-50 years for symptoms to develop and when they do present themselves, they are commonly mistaken for other illnesses and suffers sometimes misdiagnose themselves before seeing a doctor.

Signs of Mesothelioma include shortness of breath, chest or abdominal pain, fatigue, hoarseness or wheezing and unexpected weight loss. In severe cases of the disease, Mesothelioma symptoms may include blood clots in veins, pleural effusion, low level of blood sugar and jaundice.

Because Mesothelioma symptoms are similar to a lot of other common conditions,and because of the latency of the disease, diagnosis of Mesothelioma can be difficult and by the time Mesothelioma is detected, it is often too late.

Unforunately, the life expentancy for people diagnosed with the cancer is rarely more than a couple of years and in most cases, is just a few months. There are, however, treatments available that can slow the progression of this aggressive cancer and expand the amount of time that sufferers have left. These include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and in some cases, surgery. Mesothelioma treatment can be effective in shrinking tumors in the early stages of the disease, but cures are incredibly rare and the prognosis remains sadly disappointing.

Because Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos, many cases are due to working conditions of people in the past where asbestos was present in their working environment. Compensation may be available to those who contracted the disease due to inhaling asbestos or being exposed to the fumes in jobs they held and many dedicated law firms can help people affected to file lawsuits against their former employers.

Lisa lost her grandmother to Mesothelioma in 2010 and has since researched the disease in an attempt to help others affected by it. For more information on treatments available to those diagnosed with Mesothelioma, click here.

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Understanding a Mesothelioma Prognosis

A mesothelioma prognosis can range for a variety of different patients. Some may experience difficult prognosis and others may receive better and more positive news. Either way, mesothelioma remains a very serious disease that comes with a high fatality rate. This is why legal action against those that place people at risk to contracting mesothelioma is so aggressive.

Mesothelioma derives from exposure to asbestos which was commonly found in pipes in prior generations. At the time, it was not considered a harmful substance. Over the past two decades, the fact that exposure to asbestos can cause cancer was revealed. As a result, building owners have a responsibility to have asbestos detected and removed. Sadly, this does not always happen which leads to the unfortunate issue of those exposed suffering from this horrific form of cancer. Once a diagnosis has been made, the patient then needs to seek treatment.

Mesothelioma prognosis occurs immediately after the patient learns that he/she has the disease. A prognosis can be considered an overview of what the cancer will do in the body. The prognosis of what the course the cancer will follow will be dependent on many factors. Obviously, these factors will play a large role in whether or not the prognosis is a good or bad one.

One factor that can potentially impact whether or not the prognosis is positive will be early detection. The longer it takes for the cancer to be detected, the worse the prognosis will generally be. This is because the cancer will continue to spread if it is not detected and treatment starts. If the cancer has not spread significantly then the ability to treat it is enhanced. This is why those that feel they have been exposed to asbestos need to take immediate action and contact their physician for a complete examination.

Detection of mesothelioma will also entail determining where the cancer actually is. If the tumor is located in one area of the body, it may be likely that it can be surgically removed. If the tumors are spreading throughout the body then surgery could prove complicated or potentially impossible.

Once the cancer has been detected, the stage the cancer is in will be determined. There are four stages in a mesothelioma prognosis with stages three and four being the more severe and advanced. Anyone that is currently in such a stage would have a difficult time beating the cancer. Conversely, those that catch the condition early enough may be able to take steps needed to send the cancer in remission.

Again, this is why early detection is so important when discussing the prognosis of the mesothelioma. If the cancer can be caught in the very early stages, survival rate increases. Yet, no matter how early the cancer is detected, it will always remain life threatening with no guarantees the treatment will work. Such information is not presented to be downbeat. It is mentioned to explain the severity of the disease so that anyone that may have been exposed to asbestos understand the necessity of seeking a proper diagnosis from a physician.

The patient's overall health will play a role in the prognosis. This is not to say a person can be so healthy that the treatment will be "easier." However, a healthy person will have a stronger immune system and will be able to handle the treatment needed to deal with the cancer. Surviving mesothelioma is not easy. Some may find that survival of five years or so is the maximum they can achieve. Again, the individual's overall health will play a factor in the ability to handle the treatment.

Those that have been exposed to asbestos through negligence and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma should explore their legal options. The reason for this is there are a lot of costs associated with mesothelioma treatment along with great financial strain due to the inability to work when dealing with such cancer. A qualified attorney with experience handling mesothelioma cases would be the best professional to work with in such a situation.

A mesothelioma prognosis is a serious one. It requires immediate medical treatment and should also include the search for proper legal representation. Doing so makes the ability to deal with the condition more tolerable.

Leigh White invites you to check out her site about Mesothelioma Compensation Resources where she is working on more articles like this one about Mesothelioma Prognosis News.

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Lung Cancer Survival Rate - Stage 2 Lung Cancer

When one seeks a medical professional about stage 2 cancer of the lung, one of the first questions that will come to their minds is this: what is my lung cancer survival rate? This is greatly influenced due to the medical records showing that cancer of the lung has one of the lowest survival chances among cancers in the entire globe. One must realize that these statistics are just numbers and a huge variety of factors can affect one's chances of being cured.

Ones lung cancer survival rate is affected by various variables. One of these variables is age. Younger people tend to have a higher survival chances than people above 50. This is due to the strong natural defences of younger people than those at the later age. Medical records also show that women with stage 2 lung cancer have a higher capacity to be cured than their male counter parts.

The spread of the malignant tumor is a huge factor when determining one's lung cancer survival rate. Tumors may spread from the lung tissues up to the lymph nodes. When the lymph nodes are affected by the cancer cells, one's survival rate goes down a bit more. Continues smoking even after being diagnosed of stage 2 cancer of the lung will greatly decrease one's ratio of being cured for smoking greatly increases the toxins being infused in the lungs.

Complications such as blood clots in the lungs will be a huge hurdle in one's quest to be cured of cancer of the lung. Overall, the general health of the person is the biggest determinant if one will have a higher lung cancer survival rate or not.

The advancements in modern technology today in not just detecting and determining the grade of the cancer, but also in facilitating proper cure and methods of treatments are one of the biggest reasons why stage 2 lung cancer rates of survival are starting to go up. As of now, the 5 year survival rate of someone with stage 2 cancer of the lung is at 40 to 50 percent chance of cure and this could go up even more if the patient has a good physical well - being and natural defences.

One shouldn't be afraid when diagnosed of a terminal disease like cancer. He or she must remember that the key to surviving one of life's biggest challenges is facing it immediately for the earliest the detection the higher the chances of survival and cure.

For more stage 2 lung cancer survival rate information, visit Lung Cancer Survival Rate.

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