Malignant mesotheliomas are rare cancers that form in the tissues lining the lungs (pleura), abdomen (peritoneum) or heart (pericardium). Pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs, is the most common, accounting for about 75 percent of all malignant mesotheliomas. Between ten and twenty percent of all malignant mesotheliomas are peritoneal mesotheliomas. Pericardial mesotheliomas are extremely rare. A history of exposure to asbestos is found in most individuals with mesothelioma. The time from exposure to onset of cancer may be as long as thirty years; this is why most people with malignant mesothelioma are between 50 and 70 years old.

Many symptoms of malignant mesothelioma are non-specific, and are also seen in a number of other chest and abdominal conditions. This, combined with the lack of an accurate history of asbestos exposure in some patients, may considerably delay diagnosis. The majority of people with mesothelioma only have symptoms during the two to three months before they are diagnosed. About one quarter of all people with malignant mesothelioma have symptoms for about six months before diagnosis.

Once symptoms are present, they may depend on the location of the primary cancer. In general, symptoms become more pronounced with more advanced disease. With pleural mesothelioma, common symptoms are difficulty breathing, cough, pain in the chest or under the ribcage, coughing up blood, hoarseness, and the collection of fluid or pleural effusion in the pleural cavity. The face and arms may swell up. Many of these symptoms and signs are also seen with lung cancer.

With peritoneal mesothelioma, symptoms may include a lump or swelling in the abdomen, abdominal pain, fluid in the abdomen, constipation due to bowel obstruction, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Patients suffering from pericardial mesothelioma may experience chest pain, breathlessness and palpitations. Some symptoms of malignant mesothelioma are common to many cancers. These include unexplained weight loss, fever and fatigue.

e-mesotheliomasymptoms.com Mesothelioma Symptoms provides detailed information on Advanced Mesothelioma Symptoms, Clinical Mesothelioma Symptoms, Mesothelioma Diagnosis: An Introduction, Mesothelioma Stomach Symptoms and more. Mesothelioma Symptoms is affiliated with e-MesotheliomaInformation.com Pleural Mesothelioma Information.

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Tags: lung cancer, mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma

Asbestos is a group of fibrous metamorphic minerals of the hydrous magnesium silicate variety. Types of asbestos: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite.
Most asbestos fibers are invisible to the human eye because their size.

Fibers ultimately form because when these minerals originally cooled and crystallized, they formed by the polymeric molecules lining up parallel with each other and forming oriented crystal lattices.

As they get smaller and lighter, they become more mobile and more easily get into the air, where human can imbibe them.
The inhalation of some kinds of asbestos fibers however causes various serious illnesses, including asbestosis, mesothelioma, and asbestos related lung cancer, and thus most uses of asbestos are banned in many countries.

In the ancient times asbestos was of high value as the gold. Emperors and kings had napkins made of it. Others used asbestos to make perpetual wicks for sepulchral lamps.

Amosite and crocidolite were used in many products until the early 1980s. For example: low density insulation board and ceiling tiles, asbestos cement sheets and pipes for construction, casing for water and electrical/telecommunication services, and thermal and chemical insulation.

In the United States used chrysolit mainly for the following products: sheetrock taping, mud and texture coats, vinyl floor tiles, adhesives and ceiling tiles, plasters and stuccos, roofing tars, “transite” panels, acoustical ceilings, fireproofing, putty, caulk, gaskets, brake pads, clutch plates, stage curtains and fire blankets.
You can find pictures on my website.

Nikoletta Bocz owns and operates mybebo.net/mesothelioma mybebo.net/mesothelioma site. You can find more articles and resources about mesothelioma.
Feel free to reprint this article in your ezine, blog, autoresponder or on your site, as long as don’t modify the content and include the resource box above.

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Accepted causes of mesothelioma include exposure to asbestos, erionite exposure (In the country
ofTurkey only), rarely chronic irritation of the cavity containing the lungs(pleura), radiation
therapy for other cancers (controversial and disputed),simian virus 40, and unknown causes. Asbestos exposure has been the most investigated cause. In 1960 Wagner and associates first suggested the association of asbestos exposure and mesothelioma (Wagner JC et al. Diffuse pleural mesothelioma and asbestos exposure in the North Western Cape Province Br J Ind Med 1960;17:260-71). Exposure is usually by inhalation and entrapment of the asbestos fibers in the tissues affected. Subsequent studies in the US have confirmed this observation with 90 % of chest cavity(pleural) tumors and 60 % of abdominal cavity (peritoneal) tumors. Asbestos occurs in two mineralogic forms: 1)Amphiboles and

2)Chrysotile. Amphiboles consist of amosite and crocidolite which persist very long in tissues than
chrysotile. Chrysotile on the other hand disappears from tissue rapidly accounting for why mesothelioma occurrs more in people exposed to amosite and crocidolite and less in people exposed to chrysolite (McDonald JC, McDonald AD. Epidemiology of asbestos-related lung cancer. In: Antman K, Aisner J eds.

Asbestos-related malignancy. Orlando: Grune&Straton;1987:57-79). It has been estimated that the risk of developing mesothelioma after exposure to the different fibers is as follows: 1(one) for chrysolite;100 times increased risk after exposure to amosite; and 500 times for crocidolite compared to people who were not exposed to asbestos(Hodgson Jt, Darnton A. The quantitative
risks of mesothelioma and lung cancer in relation to asbestos exposure. Ann Occup Hyg 2000;44:565-601). Other causes of mesothelioma includes radiation treatment for other cancers (Cavazza A, et al. Post-irradiation malignant mesothelioma. Cancer 1996; 77:1379-85). However some larger studies did not show any increased risk of mesothelioma after radiation (Neugat AI, Ahsan H, Antman KH. Incidence of pleural mesothelioma after thoracic radiotherapy. Cancer 1997;80:948-50). From the foregoing, mesotheliomas both arise in patient who had been exposed to asbestos and does who have not. Exposure can be direct occurring in individual whom had direct contact with asbestos in their work environment; and indirect in those who got exposed to things like clothing and work clothes of the workers who had the direct contact with asbestos.

Ike Uzoaru, M.D. is a physician practitioner.
nojargonmesothelioma.com nojargonmesothelioma.com

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Tags: lung cancer, mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma

There are many types of breast cancer and not all look the same way. Not all breast cancers show up as a lump. One type of breast cancer that does not typically present as a lump is Inflammatory Breast Cancer or IBC. IBC makes up only 1% to 6% of all breast cancers, so many people are not familiar with the disease.

IBC is the most aggressive type of breast cancer. It tends to grow at a much faster rate than the other types of cancer. IBC grows in sheets or nests of cells in the breast as opposed to growing in a solid tumor. IBC grows in the dermal (skin) lymphatic system which explains why there is usually no lump associated with it. The symptoms of IBC appear due to the cancer cells blocking the lymph vessels below the skin - typically presenting as warm skin and color changes. Because of the involvement of the lymphatic system, IBC carries an initial Stage 3 diagnosis, however, the earlier you detect the disease and begin treatment, the greater your chances of survival.

Symptoms of IBC include a rapid, unusual increase in breast size; nipple discharge or change in the areola area (the pigmented area around the nipple); any skin changes of the breast such as redness, rash or blotchiness; a flattening or retracting of the nipple; persistent itching of the breast or nipple; dimpling or ridging of the nipple; a lump or thickening of the breast tissue; any lymph node swelling under the arm or above the collar bone; stabbing pain or sore breast; and a feverish breast. These symptoms may appear quickly and seemingly out of nowhere. Mammograms and ultrasounds usually miss IBC unless there is a tumor involved.

IBC can be detected by a number of biopsy methods. A skin punch biopsy or needle core biopsy in combination with an MRI and/or a PET scan are usually the course of action when investigating suspicious symptoms. Any area of concern removed by biopsy must also include the tissue from below the skin surface. Another term used to refer to IBC in a pathology report is “dermal lymphatic involvement”.

Some doctors will treat women with an antibiotic for mastitis upon initial consultation. Mastitis is a benign breast infection. If your symptoms have not improved after 7-10 days of antibiotic treatment, insist on a biopsy. Some skin rashes can be caused by allergies or are reactions to certain soaps and/or detergents. Changing the soap or detergent you use can sometime resolve a skin rash, but if there is no improvement you should insist on a biopsy.

One myth of breast cancer is that is does not hurt. Most of the time breast pain comes from non-cancer causes, such as hormonal changes. With IBC there is pain involved more so than other types of breast cancer.

The treatment for IBC includes chemotherapy, modified radical mastectomy (MRM) and auxiliary lymph node dissection (ALND) and radiation. If the cancer is hormone receptive, a hormonal treatment like Tamoxifen is used.

As with all breast cancer symptoms, any indication of IBC should not be taken lightly. Chances are in your favor that it will be benign, but in the event that you do have IBC, early detection and treatment are key to your survival.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to breast-cancer.treatment-and-guides.com/ Breast Cancer

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