Mesothelioma Treatment

Archive for the ‘Prevent Mesothelioma’ Category

Asbestos is a mineral material used as insulation against corrosive substances. Asbestos particles are invisible to the naked eye and are carcinogenic. Once inhaled, are introduced into the lungs causing health problems ranging from a condition known as asbestosis fibrosis is a lung to cancer in the pleura or peritoneum.

Due to their special characteristics, asbestos has been used for a wide variety of manufactured products, mainly in materials construction (roof covering shingles, tiles and tile products, paper products and cement asbestos), friction products ( clutch of cars, brakes , transmission components), heat-resistant textiles, packaging, packaging and coatings.

Malignant mesothelioma associated with exposure to asbestos at work (recognized as an occupational disease) or residence. After exposure to asbestos, you can spend a long time (more than 20 years) until the tumor appears.

Mesothelioma is usually diagnosed in the fifth decade of life with a clear predominance in males, the latter due to its relationship with occupational exposure to asbestos. Its incidence is increasing in Europe, expecting the same peak in 2018, affecting the cohort of men born between 1945 and 1950, although the incidence varies considerably in different geographic areas, reflecting the possibility of environmental exposure and occupational asbestos. Also be noted that the incidence increases linearly in relation to the intensity of exposure, but exponentially with respect to time elapsed since first exposure.

The incidence of mesothelioma varies in different areas of the world, depending on when asbestos was widely used in that area. Incidence rates are highest in the UK, where about 1,800 diagnosed cases per year. Australia was one of the world’s largest producers of asbestos, leading the country that had the highest incidence rates worldwide (based on population size). The incidence of mesothelioma in the U.S. is beginning to decline (about 2,000 diagnosed cases per year), while in Europe and Australia are expected to plateau in the next 10-15 years. Currently, in Spain the incidence rate stands at around 0.35 cases per 100,000 population per year and is responsible for the death of 5 people per million population.

Mesothelioma is a cancer with a particularly poor prognosis, mesothelioma life expectancy following diagnosis ranges from eight to fourteen months. The main reason is the latency period of mesothelioma rifles, and the fact that the first symptoms of mesothelioma are indicative of many other respiratory diseases and often delaying a correct diagnosis. While Stage 1 Stage 2 or mesothelioma often is potentially curable, stages 3 and 4 mesothelioma is not, these patients are often relegated to palliative care to relieve symptoms and restore quality of life.

Mesothelioma is the official forecast determined by a standard measure known as relative survival rate for five years. This number indicates how many patients are alive five years after being diagnosed with the disease. At present, the relative survival rate five years to meso is about 10 percent, a figure that is significantly higher than it was decades ago. The survival rate one year also improved over the last 20 years or so and now stands at about 40 percent. However, the overall survival rate of mesothelioma remains poor.

However, there are exceptions to the rule and there are some people who have defied the normal survival rate mesothelioma. A man, Australian Paul Kraus, has been living with the disease since 1997, designing its own treatment program and avoiding traditional medicine. Meso Other victims have been treated with standard therapies like chemotherapy and radiation have also survived longer than the usual 10 to 11 months after diagnosis. For example, there are cases of patients with a prognosis of mesothelioma typical beat the odds and survived the disease for ten years and more. In two cases (two elderly women), remission of mesothelioma occurred for no apparent reason.

It was difficult for doctors to determine why a patient may survive for years with mesothelioma and others succumb to disease within a year of diagnosis. Some indicators point to the role of the immune system in fighting the disease, many survivors participated in some type of treatment that served to enhance the immune system of your body.

A common question for those who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma is “How long I can live with this disease?” In fact, many patients turn to their doctor with this question as well as their friends and family members. As with most diseases, however, there is no response in terms of life expectancy of a patient meso, but – in general – the survival rate of mesothelioma is based on a number of different factors. Each case is a bit different and although the survival rate for victims of mesothelioma has traditionally been grim, more and more patients are living longer with the disease, scientists discover more and better ways to detect and treat disease.

The survival rates of patients with mesothelioma depends on many factors which may include any or all of the following:

• latency period of mesothelioma – Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer which has a long latency period. Essentially, this means that the disease often “hides” in the body for many years, sometimes four or five decades. Therefore, 40-50 years may have passed since the first exposure to asbestos for the first time. This long latency period also means that the disease is not detected until symptoms appear. Often, at that time, cancer has spread from the main area to other parts of the body.
• stage of disease at diagnosis – Those whose mesothelioma is discovered in Stage 1 and 2 have a much better chance of surviving the disease for a prolonged period of time because there are more treatment options available to them. Those with stage 3 or 4 mesothelioma have fewer treatment options. The poor prognosis of mesothelioma is observed in these patients with advanced cancer are symptomatic or with distant metastasis of primary tumor, ie, the cancer has spread from the main area to other parts of the body.
• operability of the tumor – Due to the latency period mentioned above, surgery to remove the primary tumor mesothelioma is often not an option. However, if the disease is discovered at an early stage, a surgical procedure to remove the tumor may be a possibility, especially when the patient is healthy.
• patient’s age – The younger the patient, the greater the chance of survival. Studies have shown that age is indeed a factor in improved survival rate and young patients certainly fair.
• Comorbidity with other diseases – Patients, especially older ones, who have many medical problems are less likely to survive for a long time with mesothelioma. This is especially true in older patients, who represent a large number of victims of mesothelioma. Heart disease, kidney problems, hypertension, diabetes, and a host of other diseases or disorders can seriously affect the treatment options and, therefore, shortens the life expectancy of the patient.
• Mesothelioma treatment plan – The length of time a victim survives mesothelioma may depend on treatment (s) you receive. Most doctors will be as aggressive as possible, understanding that this is a difficult cancer to treat.
• area and type of disease – Mesothelioma occurs in various forms. About 75 percent of cases occur in the pleura, 15 to 20 percent in the peritoneum, and only 5 percent in the pericardium. The pleural mesothelioma is easier to treat and patients usually have a higher survival rate of mesothelioma than those whose disease is focused elsewhere. In addition, people with epithelial mesothelioma (most cases are this type) have a better prognosis than those with other types of mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer, bone tumor involving the mesothelial cells of the protective outer membranes of some internal organs as such, lungs, heart and abdominal organs, diaphragm pleura best known is and its function is to be a lubricating surface that protects the lungs from rubbing against the rib cage.

Currently, all cases of mesothelioma (cancer of the pleura), and lung cancer are related to the inhalation of asbestos fibers. When inhaled, these fibers can cause scarring in the tissues of the lung, which can not expand and contract normally.

A year are diagnosed in about 15,000 cases in the world, how to treat this cancer is by chemotherapy, radiotherapy and alternative medicines eligible for convatir disease. Usually those affected by this disease are over fifty years. The characteristics of asbestos-name of a group of different types of minerals are, long fibers, resistant, can be separated, are flexible, can be intertwined, also resist high temperatures.

Asbestos fibers do not dissolve in water or evaporate into the air, so these pieces of fibers can enter the water and air by the erosion of natural deposits and wear manufactured asbestos products, asbestos minerals always are widely distributed in the environment. Can be found in large natural deposits, or even contaminants in other minerals, eg, vermiculite, talc and chrysotile deposits which are in the tremolite asbestos. The most likely way of exposure to asbestos is through inhalation of asbestos fibers airborne, these fibers can come from natural sources or wear asbestos or disturbance of manufactured products, eg automotive brake and clutch linings, tiles and tiles, dry wall, insulation, cement and roof tiles, however, these products do not always contain asbestos.

In general, almost all air sample can be detected low levels of asbestos, which are little or no risk to our health. The levels found near an asbestos factory or mine can reach 11,000 fibres/m3 (0.01 fibers / ml) or more. In general, levels may be higher than average near buildings containing asbestos products are being demolished or renovated or near a waste site where asbestos is not covered and stored properly in order to protect from wind erosion.