Mesothelioma is divided into three primary histological types:
* Epithelioid mesothelioma - Epithelioid mesothelioma constitutes approximately 50% to 70% of all malignant mesothelioma making it the most common type of mesothelioma.
* Sarcomatoid mesothelioma - Sarcomatoid mesothelioma is the least common type of mesothelioma accounting for about 10% to 15% of malignant mesothelioma.
* Mixed or Biphasic mesothelioma - As its name implies, Mixed or Biphasic mesothelioma is combination of the sarcomatoid and epithelioid types. Approximately 20% to 40% of the mesothelioma cancer cases fall into the biphasic category.
Mesothelioma develops in three major areas of the body:
* Pleura – the lining of the lung, resulting in pleural mesothelioma
* Peritoneum – the abdominal cavity, resulting in peritoneal mesothelioma
* Pericardium – the heart, resulting in pericardial mesothelioma
As malignant mesothelioma can be confused with other cancers, consider getting a second diagnostic evaluation from your physician or from a mesothelioma oncology specialist.
Source : mesothelioma.org
Saturday, November 20, 2010
History of Asbestos
Asbestos has been used for more than 2,000 years. It was named by the Ancient Greeks, its name meaning "inextinguishable". The Greeks also noted its harmful biological effects. Even though the Greek geographer Strabo and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder both observed the "sickness of the lungs" in the slaves that wove asbestos into cloth, they were in such awe of asbestos' seemingly magical properties that they ignored the symptoms.
The Greeks used asbestos for the wicks of the eternal flames of the vestal virgins, as the funeral dress for the cremation of kings, and as napkins. It is rumored that Romans would clean asbestos napkins by throwing them in the fire. The asbestos cloth would come out of the fire whiter than it went in, so the Romans named asbestos "amiantus", meaning "unpolluted".
Use of asbestos declined during the Middle Ages, yet some say that Charlemagne had asbestos tablecloths. Marco Polo was also shown items made from asbestos cloth on his travels.
Asbestos use was brought back in the 1700s, but did not become popular until the Industrial Revolution during the late 1800s. It then began to be used as insulation for steam pipes, turbines, boilers, kilns, ovens, and other high-temperature products. Ancient observations of the health risks of asbestos were either forgotten or ignored.
At the turn of the twentieth century, researchers began to notice a large number of deaths and lung problems in asbestos mining towns. In 1917 and 1918, it was observed by several studies in the United States that asbestos workers were dying unnaturally young.
The first diagnosis of asbestosis was made in 1924. A woman had been working with asbestos since she was thirteen. She died when she was thirty-three years old, and an English doctor determined that the cause of death was what he called "asbestosis". Because of this, a study was done on asbestos workers in England. Twenty-five percent of them showed evidence of asbestos-related lung disease. Laws were passed in 1931 to increase ventilation and to make asbestosis an excusable work-related disease. It would take the United States ten more years to make these steps.
Read More
The Greeks used asbestos for the wicks of the eternal flames of the vestal virgins, as the funeral dress for the cremation of kings, and as napkins. It is rumored that Romans would clean asbestos napkins by throwing them in the fire. The asbestos cloth would come out of the fire whiter than it went in, so the Romans named asbestos "amiantus", meaning "unpolluted".
Use of asbestos declined during the Middle Ages, yet some say that Charlemagne had asbestos tablecloths. Marco Polo was also shown items made from asbestos cloth on his travels.
Asbestos use was brought back in the 1700s, but did not become popular until the Industrial Revolution during the late 1800s. It then began to be used as insulation for steam pipes, turbines, boilers, kilns, ovens, and other high-temperature products. Ancient observations of the health risks of asbestos were either forgotten or ignored.
At the turn of the twentieth century, researchers began to notice a large number of deaths and lung problems in asbestos mining towns. In 1917 and 1918, it was observed by several studies in the United States that asbestos workers were dying unnaturally young.
The first diagnosis of asbestosis was made in 1924. A woman had been working with asbestos since she was thirteen. She died when she was thirty-three years old, and an English doctor determined that the cause of death was what he called "asbestosis". Because of this, a study was done on asbestos workers in England. Twenty-five percent of them showed evidence of asbestos-related lung disease. Laws were passed in 1931 to increase ventilation and to make asbestosis an excusable work-related disease. It would take the United States ten more years to make these steps.
Read More
Mesothelioma surgery treatment
Surgery is the type of traditional mesothelioma treatment.
Major surgery for people with mesothelioma has not always been thought a good idea by surgeons. This is because surgery cannot cure the disease. And because many people with mesothelioma are not fit enough to get through a very large operation. But the point of surgery in mesothelioma is to slow the cancer down, rather than cure it.
Before any surgery is considered for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma, your overall health has to be evaluated. Tests are done to make sure the cancer has not spread to distant sites and to evaluate how well your lungs and heart are functioning. Lung tests look for any signs of lung damage from tobacco or from other diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These tests determine how risky surgery would be, especially if a lung needs to be removed.
Aggressive surgery A procedure called extrapleural pneumonectomy involves removal of the pleura, the lung, the diaphragm and the pericardium. The intent of this very aggressive, complicated surgery is to remove as much of the tumor as possible. Not all centers will do this procedure because it is so complex and because it carries a high risk of death within 30 days after surgery. This procedure typically is done only in younger patients who are in good overall health with stage I disease. Patients are evaluated carefully to determine their ability to tolerate the surgery.
Palliative procedures When malignant mesothelioma is advanced, palliative procedures can be done to relieve or control symptoms such as breathlessness, which are caused by fluid or by the tumor pressing on the lung or other organs. These procedures do not cure the disease.
Read more
Major surgery for people with mesothelioma has not always been thought a good idea by surgeons. This is because surgery cannot cure the disease. And because many people with mesothelioma are not fit enough to get through a very large operation. But the point of surgery in mesothelioma is to slow the cancer down, rather than cure it.
Before any surgery is considered for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma, your overall health has to be evaluated. Tests are done to make sure the cancer has not spread to distant sites and to evaluate how well your lungs and heart are functioning. Lung tests look for any signs of lung damage from tobacco or from other diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These tests determine how risky surgery would be, especially if a lung needs to be removed.
Aggressive surgery A procedure called extrapleural pneumonectomy involves removal of the pleura, the lung, the diaphragm and the pericardium. The intent of this very aggressive, complicated surgery is to remove as much of the tumor as possible. Not all centers will do this procedure because it is so complex and because it carries a high risk of death within 30 days after surgery. This procedure typically is done only in younger patients who are in good overall health with stage I disease. Patients are evaluated carefully to determine their ability to tolerate the surgery.
Palliative procedures When malignant mesothelioma is advanced, palliative procedures can be done to relieve or control symptoms such as breathlessness, which are caused by fluid or by the tumor pressing on the lung or other organs. These procedures do not cure the disease.
Read more
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