The deadly disease of mesothelioma is diagnosed in close to 3,000 Americans each year. The only established cause of this cancer is exposure to asbestos. The real tragedy is that this fatal disease could have been avoided. Most mesothelioma sufferers were unwittingly exposed to deadly asbestos at work.
At Belluck & Fox, asbestos and mesothelioma lawyers, we focus on mesothelioma cases, holding negligent companies accountable for the pain and suffering they inflicted on their unsuspecting employees. We have built an extensive document library and we retain a team of experts to successfully represent mesothelioma victims and their families with their claims. We have recovered over $200 million in lawsuits for clients with mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer, and we can help you get the financial compensation you deserve as you fight this deadly disease.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you should explore your legal options. You have a right to file a claim for compensation from those companies that knowingly placed you and your family at risk. Contact Belluck & Fox so we can advise you of your legal options
Mesothelioma is an asbestos-caused cancer of the membranes that surround many of the body’s vital organs. This membrane, known as mesothelium, secretes a lubricating fluid that provides easy movement of the organs within the body. When the mesothelium becomes cancerous, it is called mesothelioma. Surrounding the lung, the mesothelium is called the pleura and the form of mesothelioma is called pleural mesothelioma; in the abdomen, it is the peritoneum and the cancer is called peritoneal mesothelioma; the lining around the heart is the pericardium and there mesothelioma is identified as pericardial mesothelioma. There is also mesothelial tissue in the reproductive organs: in males, this tissue is called the tunica vaginalis testis and in women the tunica serosa uteri. Mesothelioma of the reproductive tissues has only presented in men, so it is known as mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis.
Mesothelioma is a diffuse malignancy and spreads itself throughout a tissue area. Some forms of cancer are characterized by a single, solid tumor mass, whereas malignant mesothelioma presents as an invasion of a large number of smaller masses throughout an entire area. The diffuse nature of mesothelioma has important implications for how treatment, as complete surgical extraction of the cancer is difficult.
Types of Mesothelioma
There are multiple forms of mesothelioma. The differences involve the location in which the tumor begins, known as its origin site, and the type of cells that the tumor invades, known as its histological subtype. Each type may require a different treatment
.Location of Disease
The most common form of mesothelioma is pleural mesothelioma, where the cancer attacks the pleural tissue surrounding the lung. As many as eighty percent of all mesothelioma diagnoses are for pleural mesothelioma. The pleura’s proximity to the lung is the reason many people mistakenly think of mesothelioma as lung cancer, which it is not. Pleural mesothelioma can spread (“metastasize”) to the lung, but the origin site is the actual pleural tissue surrounding the lung—not the lung itself. There are many differences between mesothelioma and lung caner.
After pleural mesothelioma, the next most common type is peritoneal mesothelioma, which develops in the majority of other cases. There is some evidence to suggest that diagnoses of mesothelioma are on the rise. While pericardial mesothelioma and mesotheliomas of the tunica vaginalis are also possible forms of the disease, they are very rare tumors and occur less often.
Histological Subtype
Besides the location in which the tumors form, the other identifying factor in the diagnosis of mesothelioma is the histological subtype of the cancer. This refers to the type of cells that the tumors invade. There are three histological subtypes of mesothelioma: epithelioid mesothelioma, which attacks epithelial cells, sarcomatoid mesothelioma, which attacks sarcomatous cells, and bi-phasic mesothelioma, where the tumor attacks both epithelial and sarcomatous cells. The identification of the proper subtype is an important diagnostic factor because it greatly affects the disease’s prognosis. Epitheloid mesothelioma has the best response rate for treatment, while sarcomatoid mesothelioma has the worst.
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Mesothelioma and Asbestos
While a rare disorder in the general population, mesothelioma is not rare among individuals exposed to asbestos. There are two to three thousand new diagnoses of mesothelioma every year.
Exposure to asbestos is the only confirmed cause of mesothelioma. Most mesothelioma victims were exposed to asbestos in the workplace and were never told of its dangers or given proper protective gear. Others were exposed through family members who brought asbestos home on their clothes or through home renovation projects. Unlike many other predominantly pulmonary-related cancers, cigarette smoking has no known causative effect on mesothelioma incidence, although asbestos workers who smoke do have a much greater likelihood to develop lung cancer — even more so than regular smokers who don’t work with asbestos.
One of the most difficult aspects of mesothelioma to come to terms with is its long latency period, which is the period of time between first exposure to asbestos and the onset of the disease. Mesothelioma can develop anywhere between 10 to 70 years after the initial exposure.
Tragedy of Mesothelioma
The great tragedy of mesothelioma is that it was preventable. Many of the corporations that manufactured and profited from the sale of asbestos-containing products were aware of the hazards of asbestos. These companies did not warn of the risks or protect workers. It was their legal duty to know about their products and to test them for any potential hazards. If a potential hazard did exist, the company had a responsibility to warn workers of these hazards. In many cases, they hid the knowledge they had in order to protect themselves from liability or from having to find a new business model. The result is that many workers have unnecessarily developed mesothelioma.
If you are one of the victims of mesothelioma, you should seek out a competent mesothelioma lawyer so you can file a claim or a lawsuit against those responsible for your cancer. Contact Belluck & Fox so we can advise you of your legal options.
Link : www.mesotheliomahelp.net
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