Jumat, 30 Maret 2012

Mesothelioma symptoms, treatments, exposure and history


Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer. It is used to describe a cancerous tumor which involves the mesothelial cells of an organ, usually the lungs or abdominal organs.
Mesothelioma Illustration
The most common type of mesothelioma is the pleural mesothelioma. The pleura is a thin membrane found between the lungs and the chest cavity. It provides a lubricated surface so that the lungs do not chafe against the chest walls. Thus, a pleural mesothelioma is often referred to as a “lung” cancer.
Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Another form of mesothelioma is the peritoneal mesothelioma. The peritoneum is the membrane that encloses the organs of the abdomen. While peritoneal mesothelioma is less common than pleural mesothelioma, it tends to be more invasive, and may thus result in a shorter life expectancy for the patient. Mesothelioma has also been found in the stomach and other abdominal organs.
Why Me?
A common question posed by persons afflicted with mesothelioma is, “Why did this disease develop in me?” The answer is nearly always the same-exposure to asbestos. When diagnosed in the United States, its onset is typically linked to a history of exposure to asbestos fiber. Asbestos is a mineral that was used for decades as a thermal insulation material. It has been widely known since the 1920’s that asbestos is a carcinogen, which means that it causes cancer in humans. However, asbestos was used as an insulator until the mid-1970’s, and is still present in massive quantities in many buildings today. Unfortunately, in many cases very little exposure is required to set this cancer in motion.
Damage on the lungs caused by asbestos


Mesothelioma symptoms can be very general and therefore they are often ignored. In most cases, symptoms for this type of cancer arise 2 to 3 months before the cancer is found.
Management of mesothelioma depends largely on the staging of the tumor. Early diagnosis and surgical intervention may lengthen life expectancy. Depending on the age and physical condition of the patient, however, surgery may not be a viable option. In addition to surgical options, radiation treatment and chemotherapy may be helpful in the overall therapeutic program. Pain management and home care are typical alternatives in the later stages of the disease.
See below to learn about the respective symptoms of each type of mesothelioma.
Peritoneal mesothelioma symtoms include:
- Wight loss
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Belly pain
Pleural mesothelioma symptoms include:
- Trouble swallowing
- Tireness
- Weight loss
- Progressive loss of appetite’
- Fluid in the ches cavity called “Pleural effusions”
- Pain at the side of the chest or the lower back
- Fever
- Difficulty sleeping
- Cough
Where Do I Go From Here?
After diagnosis, it is important to understand your treatment options. Your doctor or oncologist will provide you with information on the treatments that are available to you.
It is also important to know about your legal rights. If you have mesothelioma, or any other asbestos-related disease, you were most likely exposed to asbestos. Many of the manufacturers of asbestos insulation products knew for decades that asbestos was hazardous, yet made a business decision not to warn people of those hazards. As a result, you may have a right of recovery against those manufacturers, which can help defray the costs of treatment and provide compensation for your pain and suffering.


Treatment options for mesothelioma include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. These treatments are sometimes combined.  Mesothelioma treatment depends on the location of the cancer, the stage of the disease and the patient’s age and general health.
Surgery
A mesothelioma treatment used either to remove the tumor or to alleviate pain and suffering. If the cancer is relatively contained, surgery can be used to remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen. The objective is to remove the cancer cells from the body by removing the tissues with large numbers of cancer cells. If the cancer has spread to several organs, it is impossible to remove all of the tissue infected with cancer. In this case, surgery can only be used to relieve pain and suffering.
Chemotherapy
This treatment consists of using drugs to treat the cancer. The drugs can be swallowed in pill form or can be injected by a needle into a vein or muscle. Most of the drugs used in the treatment of lung cancer either directly kill cancer cells or stop them from dividing into new cells. The drug enters the bloodstream and circulates throughout the body to reach and destroy the cancer cells. Chemotherapy targets the entire body and can kill normal cells as well as the diseased cells, causing severe side effects.
Radiation
Radiation therapy is the use of high level radiation to kill cancer cells in a localized area. The radiation injures the cancer cells so they cannot divide or multiply further. With each treatment, more of the cells die and the tumor shrinks. The dead cells are broken down and excreted by the body. Most of the healthy cells are able to recover from this injury, but the damage to them is the cause for the side effects of radiation therapy.
Gene therapy
An experimental medical intervention that involves altering the patient’s genetic material of living cells to fight or prevent disease. The therapy involves injecting a modified gene directly into a patient’s chest cavity. The goal of gene therapy is to supply cells with healthy copies of missing or altered genes. Many different strategies are currently under study.
Immunotherapy
An experimental therapy that uses the body’s natural defenses to fight cancer. This can include stimulating your own immune system to work harder, or using an outside source, such as man-made immune system proteins. Immunotherapy is usually used in conjunction with another type of therapy.
Photodynamic Therapy
An experimental treatment which combines a photosensitizing agent (a drug activated by light) with a light source to destroy cancer cells. The theory is that the photosensitizing agent collects more readily in cancer cells than in normal cells. Thus, when the agent is subsequently exposed to light, it reacts with oxygen to create chemicals that can kill the cancer cells.
Specialized techniques may be used by your doctor to relieve symptoms and control pain, such as
thoracentesis and paracentesis.  During these precedures a needle or a thing tube is used to drain fluid that has built up in the chest or abdomen area.  Paracentesis is a procedure in which fluid is removed from the abdomen.  Removal of fluid from the chest is called Thoracentesis.  Drugs may also be administered through a tube by your doctor in order to prevent more fluid from accumulating.  Surgery and radiation therapy may also be helpful in relieving sumptoms.


Alabama
Dr. Robert J. Cerfolionia
UAB Medical Center, The Kirklin Clinic
619 19th Street South
Birmingham, AL 35249
(205) 934-9999
California
Dr. David M. Jablons
Box 1674, UCSF
San Francisco, CA 94143-2674
Contact: (415) 885-3882
(205) 934-9999
E-mail: jablonsd@surgery.ucsf.edu
Dr. Thierry Jahan
UCSF, Box 1705, Cancer Center 7th Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94143
Contact: (415) 353-9888
E-mail: thierry.jahan@ucsfmedctr.org
Dr. Mark Lischner
2 Medical Plaza, Suite 100
Roseville, CA 95661
Contact: (916) 786-7498
Dr. Robert Cameron
Dept. of Surgery, UCLA Medical School
Center for the Health Sciences, Rm 62-215
Box 951741
Los Angeles, CA 90095-2741
Contact: (310) 794-7333
E-mail: rcameron@surgery.medsch.ucla.edu
Connecticut
Dr. Mark Cullen
135 College Street, Rm. 366
New Haven, CT 06510
Contact: (203) 785-6434
E-mail: markcullen@yale.edu
Washington, D.C.
Dr. Paul Sugarbaker
Sugarbaker Oncology Associates
Washington Cancer Institute CG-275
100 Irving Street, N.W
Washington, D.C. 20010
Contact: (202) 877-3908
Florida
Dr. Lary Robinson
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
12902 Magnolia Drive
Tampa, FL 33612
Contact: (813) 972-8412
Illinois
Hedy Kindler, MD
5841 S. Maryland Ave.
MC 2115
Chicago, IL 60637
Contact: (773) 702-6149
E-mail:hkindler@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
Maryland
Dr. Stephen C. Yang
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
601 North Caroline Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21287
Phone: (410) 614-3891
E-mail: syang@jhmi.edu
Masschusetts
Dr. Elizabeth Healy Baldini
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Radiation Oncology
75 Francis Street, ASB1-L2
Boston, MA 02115
Contact: (617) 732-6313
Dr. Jeanne M. Lukanich
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Department of Surgery, Thoracic Surgery
75 Francis Street, ASB1-L2
Boston, MA 02115
Contact: (617) 732-5922
E-mail: jmlukanich@bics.bwh.harvard.edu
Dr. Arthur T. Skarin
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
44 Binney Street, D1234
Boston, MA 02115
Contact: (617) 632-3468
E-mail: arthur_skarin@dfci.harvard.edu
Dr. David J. Sugarbaker
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Division of Thoracic Surgery
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
Contact: (617) 732-6824
Michigan
Dr. Harvey Pass
Harper University Hospital
Wayne State University
3990 John Road, Suite 2102
Detroit, MI 48201
Contact: (313) 745-8746
Nebraska
Dr. Brian Loggie
Creighton University Medical Center
Wayne State University
Division of Surgical Oncology, Suite 3700
601 North 30th Street
Omaha, NE 68131
Contact: (402) 280-5009
New Mexico
Dr. Claire F. Verschraegen
University of New Mexico
900 Camino de Salud NE
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Contact: (505) 272-5837
E-mail: cverschraegen@salud.unm.edu
New York
Dr. Valerie W. Rusch
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Ave
New York, NY 10021
Contact: (212) 639-5873
Dr. Mary Louise L. Keohan
161 Fort Washington Ave., Suite 910
New York, NY 10032
Contact: 212-305-0592 or 212-326-5511
Dr. Roman Perez-Soler
New York University
Kaplan Cancer Center
New York, NY 10019
Contact: (212) 263-8043
Dr. Robert Taub
161 Fort Washington Avenue
Herbert Irving 9-907
New York, NY 10032
Contact: (212) 305-6921
North Carolina
Dr. David H. Harpole, Jr.
DUMC Box 3617
3582 Duke Hospital South
Durham, NC 27710
Contact: (919) 668-8413
E-mail: harpo002@mc.duke.edu
Ohio
Dr. David Mason
The Cleveland Clinic
9500 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44195
Phone: (216) 444-4053
Pennsylvania
Dr. Daniel Sterman
3600 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Contact: (215) 614-0984
Dr. Larry Kaiser
University of Pennsylvania
4th Floor
Philadephia, PA 19104
Contact: (215) 662-7538
Tennesse
Dr. Spencer McCachren
Thompson Cancer Survival Center
1915 White Ave., 1st Floorr
Knoxville, TN 37916
Contact: (865) 541-2720
Texas
Dr. David Rice
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Blvd., Box 445
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone: (713) 745-4530
E-mail: drice@mdanderson.org
W. Roy Smythe, MD
Professor and Chairman Department of Surgery
The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center
Scott and White Clinic
2401 South 31st Street
Temple, Texas 76508
E-mail: wrsmythe@swmail.sw.orG
Washington
Dr. Eric Vallieres
1959 NE Pacific Street
Seattle, WA 98195
Contact: (206) 548-4477

Occupations that deal with asbestos and which are often associated with the onset of mesothelioma later in life are as follows:

Aerospace
Building Engineers
Building Managers
Building Inspectors
Contractors
Custodians
Demolition Crews
Electricians
Excavating machine operators
Floor Coverers
Former US Navy Personnel
Glass Factory Worker
Heavy Equipment Mechanics

Home Improvement
Hospital
Insulators
Die setters
Laborers
Manufacturing Workers
Mechanic
Mixing Operatives
Gasket Manufacturing Workers
Painters
Paper Mill Workers
Plasters
Plumbers

Pot Tenders
Protective Clothing Manufacturing
Rubber Worker
Sawyers
Schools
Steam Fitters
Teachers
Technicians
Tile Setters
Tinsmiths
Warehouse Worker
Weavers
Welders

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