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The Asbestos and Mesothelioma Center – Committed to providing the latest, up-to-date information in hopes of creating awareness about the dangers of asbestos.

Cancer.gov – The National Cancer Institute Site created by the National Cancer Institute. This covers all cancer types and offers several resources to patients. It has statistics, news, and locations of cancer centers. There is also an online chat room for live help.

Cancer.org – American Cancer Society Site created by the American Cancer Society. This offers resources for patients, survivors, health information seekers, professionals, and donors. It also includes links to charities, and ways to volunteer to join the fight against cancer.

The White Lung Association The White Lung Association covers an array of subjects, specializing on publicizing current asbestos cancer related news. There is also a section on legal information.

Medline Plus This site is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. This site offers links to the latest news stories surrounding mesothelioma and other cancers. It also contains links to alternative therapy, nutrition, and disease management resources.

About.com – Cancer This site also covers the basics of mesothelioma and other cancers. It has articles written by patients and medical professionals that allow a user to pick information based on a specific type of cancer. It also has an extensive forum section.

Oncolink.com Sponsored by the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, this site also contains current news stories surrounding mesothelioma and other cancers. It has a library of resources available to the public and has an easily used clinical trials section. This site also contains information in Spanish.

For some mesothelioma patients, aggressive treatment is not an option. This may be because of the age of the patient, because the disease has progressed to the point where aggressive treatment is not feasible or simply because of the personal wishes of the patient. In these situations, palliative care, which is aimed at improving quality of life by controlling pain and reducing other physical symptoms, becomes important.

Two symptoms very common to mesothelioma and addressed by palliation early in a mesothelioma diagnosis are:

Because pleural effusion is often acute and leads to extreme shortness of breath, chest tube drainage is most often required to make the patient more comfortable. The procedure used to prevent fluid from recurring once it has been drained is called pleurodesis or in layman’s terms, a “talc treatment”. In this technique, a sclerosing agent is used to abrade or rough up the pleural surfaces producing an adhesion. This prevents further effusion by eliminating the intrapleural space where the fluid builds. Talc appears to be the most effective agent with a success rate of nearly 95%. Before instilling the talc, all fluid is removed and the lung is completely collapsed. The talc is then administered, and the pleural cavity is inspected to be sure the talc has covered the entire pleural surface.

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What is Benign Mesothelioma?

More recently referred to as a “solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura,” benign mesothelioma – as the name indicates – is usually not cancerous, though cancerous forms can occur from time to time.

Appearing more in men than women, these tumors usually start in the tissues under the mesothelium, which is known as the submesothelium. A similar tumor may grow in the peritoneum, the lining of the abdomen. Doctors have appropriately named that disease “solitary fibrous tumor of the peritoneum.” Why is this Tumor Different?

The most important difference between these benign mesothelioma tumors and the cancerous forms is that these tumors do not spread, invading adjacent tissue. On the other hand, malignant tumors often spread quite quickly, making treatment difficult and non-effective. Symptoms of Benign Mesothelioma

Benign mesotheliomas are actually very rare. They account for less than 10 percent of all mesothelioma cases worldwide. However, they do occur, usually presenting symptoms that are quite similar to those connected with malignant pleural mesothelioma. As a matter of fact, it is nearly impossible to differentiate between the two without extensive testing or surgical procedures.

The most common symptoms that may indicate the presence of a solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura are:

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What Causes Pericardial Mesothelioma?

Prolonged exposure to asbestos is – to this day – the only known cause of pericardial mesothelioma as well as the other types of the disease. With mesothelioma, loose asbestos particles are inhaled and gather in or near the internal organs, most often the pleural, which is the lining of the lungs.

There is no exact answer as to how an individual develops pericardial mesothelioma and how the dangerous asbestos fibers make their way into the pericardium. Researchers theorize that asbestos fibers, once they are broken up into smaller pieces in the lungs, are carried from the lungs into the blood stream. As the fibers are pumped through the heart, they may become lodged in the heart lining. Once lodged in the pericardium, the chronic inflammation process, which leads to the formation of cancerous growths or tumors, is similar to what occurs in the more common pleural mesothelioma. Symptoms of Pericardial Mesothelioma

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Doctors and researchers offer two theories as to how asbestos fibers are able to enter the peritoneum. Some believe that the fibers are caught and held by the mucus in the trachea or bronchi and ultimately swallowed. The second explanation notes that fibers lodged in the lungs may move into the lymphatic system and be transferred to the peritoneum.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma Regardless of which explanation is correct, peritoneal Mesothelioma can be quite difficult to detect, as the cancer may lay dormant for many years. Like all types of asbestos-related cancers, documented incidences show that this type has, at times, been dormant for up to four decades. That, of course, makes it all the more difficult to treat this disease because, by the time it’s detected, it has reached its advanced stages.

The symptoms of peritoneal Mesothelioma are non-specific and can often be mistaken as indicators of a much less serious disease. Therefore, it’s important to let medical professionals know that the patient has been exposed to asbestos in the past. Symptoms of this type of Mesothelioma might include:

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Indeed, pleural mesothelioma is the most common of the 3 types of mesothelioma, which also include the peritoneal and pericardial varieties of the disease. More than 75% of all diagnosed mesothelioma cases affect the pleura.

How Does Pleural Mesothelioma Develop?

When an individual is exposed to asbestos on a regular basis, whether it be through job-related activity or other environmental issues, inhalation of loose, airborne asbestos fibers can occur. These fibers travel to the lungs and become imbedded in the lung lining, outside of the lungs and inside the ribs.

When these jagged particles settle in the pleura, they cause inflammation. The inflammation, in turn, can lead to dangerous cancerous tumors. In some cases, those who’ve inhaled asbestos fibers will first develop the less-severe asbestosis, followed by mesothelioma several years later.

Upon diagnosis, patients usually exhibit multiple tumor masses affecting both the visceral (further from the lung) and parietal surfaces (closer to the lung) of the pleura. The parietal surface is more often affected than the visceral surface, and the right lung, due to its larger size, often suffers more damage than the smaller left lung. In addition, more asbestos tends to settle in the lower lungs than the upper lungs.

These tumors often grow quickly in size and can cover the entire lung cavity, making it very difficult to breathe and causing excruciating pain. Also, in the advanced stages of pleural mesothelioma, the cancer may spread to other nearby organs, including the heart, abdomen, and lymph nodes.

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A common misconception on the part of many individuals, however, is that asbestos is a hazardous man-made substance, conjured up in factories around the world for commercial use. The truth is, however, that asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral that can be found in hundreds of countries on just about every continent. As a matter of fact, asbestos is still mined in several of these countries, including Canada and Russia. Other countries have outlawed the mining of asbestos.

Asbestos is a highly-fibrous mineral with long, thin, separable fibers. The thin fibers can be spun and woven together, and possess valuable heat-resistant properties that make asbestos suitable for insulation and other such products. Indeed, for decades, asbestos was the material of choice for many industries that were manufacturing products for which heat resistance, low electrical conductivity, flexibility, and high tensile strength were essential factors. Today, there are other alternatives.

There are two kinds of asbestos. The serpentine variety is curly. Chrysotile asbestos, most commonly used for industrial purposes, is from the serpentine family. Other asbestos fibers, from the amphibole family, are very straight and needle-like. Amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite are amphibole asbestos varieties.

Currently, chrysotile asbestos is the only type mined on a wide-scale though a handful of countries continue to mine other forms. However, worldwide outrage about the use of dangerous asbestos has forced many countries to reconsider their position on mining.

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