Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure
Mesothelioma Cancer Diagnosis
Mesothelioma Diagnosis
Our articles will give you a better understanding of the treatments available for anyone suffering from Mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer. It affects the linings of the cavities around the lungs, stomach, and heart. It is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers, but the cancer usually does not appear until 10 to 40 years after a person first inhales asbestos.
The latest information about Mesothelioma diseases, their diagnoses, causes, treatments and the medical research currently underway to prevent and someday cure Mesothelioma. We want to help those potentially exposed to Mesothelioma to understand which materials contain Mesothelioma causing cancers and how exposures occur.
Mesothelioma and asbestos exposure
The discovery that exposure to certain types of asbestos is linked to pleural mesothelioma is a result of the pioneering work of Dr. Christopher Wagner, who documented the high incidence of the disease amongst people working at or living near crocidolite (blue) asbestos mines as well as in household members of workers at these mines. Later research by Newhouse and Thompson (1965) also found elevated mesothelioma risks amongst workers (and their household members) at a manufacturing plant using crocidolite.
Generally, once diagnosed, cases of mesothelioma are rapidly fatal, but the very long latency of the disease means that symptoms may only begin to appear 20, 30 or even more than 50 years after initial exposures.
From the 1940s through to the 1970s, crocidolite and another amphibole, amosite, were used extensively, either alone or in conjunction with chrysotile, in friable insulation applications in the ship-building and construction industries, primarily in North America and Europe.
These sprayed-on applications have been discontinued since the 1970s. To a lesser extent, amphiboles were also used in the manufacture of asbestos-cement pipe. In the past, in most of these industries, workers were exposed to extremely high fibre levels. However, what is particularly disturbing is that a number of cases of mesothelioma have been reported in individuals who have had relatively short but intense exposure to amphiboles.
The discovery of mesothelioma and its association with certain types of asbestos exposure prompted new research programmes, regulatory attention and increased public awareness of the health risks of asbestos.