Mesothelioma, General Information

Mesothelioma affects one person in about a million typically, and is a type of cancer which is not common. It is usually caused by asbestos exposure.

Smoking is not known as a cause of mesothelioma itself, but it can increase the risk of the disease alongside asbestos exposure. The usual cause of the disease is breathing in the dust of asbestos. This can happen while working or indirectly such as while doing the laundry of a person who works with the chemical.

The symptoms of this cancer sometimes include difficulty in breathing due to liquid which builds up in the lungs, pain in the chest as well as less specific symptoms including loss of weight, high temperature and pains in the abdomen, head and neck. The symptoms might not be present at all until up to 50 years after the asbestos exposure. Diagnosis of the disease can be helped by a CT scan or chest X-ray, and could be verified by a biopsy (tissue sample).

Recovery from the disease is not common, and median survival times is about 9 months from presentation (with the 5-year survival rate being about 10%), although a few people do survive for more than 20 years after having the disease. Some patients have survived more than 5 years after having radical surgery plus chemo and radiation therapy, but radiation therapy alone has proved ineffective.

Most people who get the disease are dead within 18 months from knowing they have it. This is due to the challenges in having a clear diagnosis rather than the progression rate of the disease. Treatment for the disease can sometimes total 800,000 dollars.

Mesothelioma litigation began in 1929. Over half a million asbestos claims have been filed. Workers in the ship building and repairing industries have the highest mortality rate from Mesothelioma, and as such are the most likely to seek an asbestos settlement. The amounts received from mesothelioma claims can be considerable so there are specialist asbestos lawyers and asbestos attorneys.

The prognosis for the disease is typically not good, even given the currently available treatments.

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