Mesothelioma is a rare, deadly cancer that strikes nearly 3,000 people in the United States every year. The average life expectancy of a person suffering from mesothelioma is a mere six months from diagnosis. Most victims are men over the age of forty who have worked with asbestos or in buildings where asbestos was present.

Because mesothelioma is caused by direct exposure to asbestos or asbestos dust, and nearly 30 million tons of asbestos was used in buildings of every description until the mid 1970’s, it has kept Mesothelioma lawyers in high demand, as they pursue Mesothelioma settlements for the victims and their families. If your home was built prior to the mid 1970’s it should be inspected for asbestos. Asbestos was used in insulation, to include boiler and pipe insulation, fireproofing spray; firebrick, gunite and many construction materials, such as roof, floor and ceiling tiles.

Mesothelioma can develop up to 50 years after direct or indirect exposure to asbestos. Early symptoms can include shortness of breath, pain in the lower back or in the sides of your chest. Unfortunately, these symptoms are common to many types of illness, and diagnosis is often delayed because of this. If you suspect that you or your loved one may have mesothelioma, it is critical that you inform your doctor of your asbestos exposure. Other less common symptoms may include unexplained weight loss, fatigue, difficulty swallowing, cough, fever and sweats.

If you or your loved one is diagnosed with mesothelioma you should contact a mesothelioma lawyer immediately to see if you have a mesothelioma case. Try to write down any source of possible exposure regardless of time passed and try to locate the responsible parties. Your mesothelioma lawyer will advise you on the statute of limitations. If you have a family member who has died from mesothelioma you may still be eligible to file a claim. If you were never directly exposed to asbestos but contracted mesothelioma from indirect exposure, such as asbestos dust brought home on a family members clothing, you may also be eligible to file a mesothelioma case.

While a settlement can not erase the fact that you or your loved one have contracted mesothelioma, it can bring comfort, security and stability to a family in crisis.

Nick Johnson offers professional legal representation and specializes in cases involving victims diagnosed with mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma. Mr Johnson is lead counsel at Johnson Law Group, a personal injury law firm with principal offices located in Houston, Texas. For questions and information about Johnson Law Group and its mesothelioma lawyers, visit johnsonlawgroup.com johnsonlawgroup.com

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Tags: mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma

Colon cancer is, as its name suggests, a disease that affects the colon. The colon is a tube shaped organ, located in the abdomen, that starts at the end of the bowel and ends with the anus. It twists and turns a lot, so its length is over 4 feet. The functions of the colon are to digest the food, absorb the nutrient substances from it (proteins and aminoacids), and to create the concentrated fecal material, which is then stored and eliminated from the colon when the time comes. The end of the colon is called rectum. The rectum and the colon together form the large intestine.

When colon cancer occurs, tumors appear on the inner walls of the large intestine. There are two types of tumors - benign tumors, also called polyps, which are not dangerous, and malignant tumors, which are the cancer.
Polyps do not spread to other cells and tissues and they can be easily removed. Tumors on the other hand, can spread and cause life-threatening complications. Remember that a benign polyp will turn into a malignant tumor if it is not treated in time.

Once a colon cancer appears it will start to spread and attack other tissues and cells, and eventually it can reach the lungs or the liver and form new tumors there.
The causes of colon cancer are nor entirely known, but what is known is that some people are at a higher risk of developing colon cancer than others. Those who consume large quantities of fats and those who had a history of colon cancer in the family are most likely to get colon cancer. Smoking and alcohol also increases the risks.

The disease has almost no symptoms when it is in its early stages, and when it advances the symptoms are different from one person to another and they depend on the size of the cancer and its exact location.
The most commonly encountered symptoms of colon cancer are:

-narrow stools
-stool that contains blood
-abdominal cramps and pain
-excessive gas
-weight loss
-change in bowel habits

If you notice any of the symptoms mentioned above consult a doctor as fast as you can. He will make several tests in order to establish a diagnose. Some people consider these tests to be embarrassing, because among them there are rectal exams, and fecal sample tests.
If the test results indicate colon cancer than treatment must begin as soon as possible before it spreads to other areas. The main options for colon cancer treatment are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Surgery the most popular treatment method.

The good news is that most of the people survive colon cancer, as time passes the survival rate increases. Survival depends on which stage of colon cancer the patient has. If the cancer has reached the final stage then the chances are much lower because the cancer has already spread to other distant organs of the body.

Although the treatments are improving and the survival rate is increasing colon cancer is still one of the leading cause of death, because many don’t know that they have it until they reach the final stages. It is important to pay attention to its symptoms and consult a doctor for medical advice from time to time.

For more resource on different colon cancer subjects please click this link

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Many men, especially those later in life have made the decision with their doctors to simply watch and wait. Early prostate cancer is confined to the prostate gland itself; most of the patients with this type of cancer can live for years without any problems.

Cancer that grows in the prostate gland is called prostate cancer. About one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only one man in 34 will die of the disease. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the U.S. At an advanced age, the risks of surgery for prostate cancer or other more radical treatments may actually be worse than the disease.

One symptom is a need to urinate frequently, especially at night. Weak or interrupted flow of urine and painful or burning urination can be symptoms to watch out for. There may be other symptoms not mentioned here.

One prostate cancer symptom is difficulty starting urination or holding back urine. Having one or more cancer symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have prostate cancer. Most prostate cancer symptoms, although associated with prostate cancer, are more likely to be connected to non-cancerous conditions.

One downside to PSA testing is that health care providers are detecting and treating some very early-stage prostate cancers that may never have caused the patient any harm. The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test measures the PSA enzyme in your blood for abnormalities. The decision about whether to pursue a PSA test should be based on a discussion between you and your doctor.

There are several potential downsides to PSA testing; for example a high PSA does not always mean a patient has prostate cancer. What is called a free PSA may help tell the difference between BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy), an enlargement of the prostate gland, and prostate cancer. A bone scan can indicate whether the cancer has spread or not.

Surgery, called a radical prostatectomy, removes the entire prostate gland and some of the surrounding tissues. Since prostate tumors require testosterone to grow, reducing the testosterone level is used to prevent further growth and spread of the cancer. What you can do now is begin to understand what exactly your treatment options are and where you’re going to begin.

In the early stages, surgery and radiation may be used to remove or attempt to kill the cancer cells or shrink the tumor. Medications can have many side effects, including hot flashes and loss of sexual desire. Urinary incontinence can be a possible complication of surgery.

In patients whose health makes the risk of surgery unacceptably high, radiation therapy is often the chosen conventional alternative. Radiation therapy to the prostate gland is either external or internal, both of which use high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Whether radiation is as good as prostate removal is debatable and the decision about which to choose, if any, can be difficult.

Some drugs with numerous side effects are being used to treat advanced prostate cancer, blocking the production of testosterone, called chemical castration; it has the same result as surgical removal of the testes. Surgery, radiation, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy all have significant side effects; know fully what they are before you proceed.

Many men simply want the best treatment they can get but what’s important is picking the best treatment for you.

Other medications used for hormonal therapy, with side effects, include androgen-blocking agents, which prevent testosterone from attaching to prostate cells. Thoroughly discuss your treatment options and concerns with your doctor and other health professionals; it never hurts to get a second or even third opinion or more if necessary.

With the advent of PSA testing, most prostate cancers are now found before they cause any symptoms. If you haven’t been diagnosed but are concerned about symptoms you should call for an appointment to see your doctor; and if you’re a man older than 50 who has never been screened for prostate cancer (by rectal exam and/or PSA level determination) or not had a regular annual exam, or have had a family history of prostate cancer, make an appointment soon.

The outcome of prostate cancer varies greatly; mostly because the disease is found in older men who may have a variety of other complicating diseases or conditions, such as cardiac or respiratory disease, or disabilities that immobilize or greatly decrease their activities.

For more information on

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Although drug treatment and minor minimally invasive surgery can be the solution for many men suffering from BPH (a swollen or enlarged prostate), for others surgery is necessary and there are currently three main surgical procedures carried out for BPH treatment.

The first is known as a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). This is the commonest form of surgery used in BPH treatment and involves the removal of the inner core of the prostate. The procedure is performed under general anesthetic (or using a spinal anesthetic) and a wire cutting loop is inserted through the penis and urethra to remove tissue from the prostate. Patients will normally stay in hospital for one or two days for this procedure and, following surgery, will need to uses a catheter to drain the bladder for two or three days.

In cases where the prostate is not too enlarged a more limited form of surgery known as transurethral incision of the prostate (TUIP) may be used. In this procedure instead of removing tissue from the prostate a series of cuts are made in the prostate to relieve pressure on the urethra. This procedure is again carried out under anesthesia and patients will remain in hospital for between one and three days.

In the case of both TURP and TUIP patients will normally require about two to four weeks for recovery and may experience moderate levels of pain or discomfort following surgery. The most commonly seen side effects of surgery are erection difficulty, which appears in about 3% to 13% of patients, and urinary retention, which appears in about 1% to 21% of patients. Some degree of urgency and frequency of urination will also be seen in most patients.

The final form of surgery used today is the open prostatectomy. Carried out under general anesthetic, an incision is made in the lower abdomen to allow the surgeon to gain access to the prostate and the inner core of the prostate is then removed. Patients will normally remain in hospital for several days and will also be required to use a catheter for a time at home after surgery. Recovery from open surgery typically takes about three to six weeks during which time patients may experience a moderate degree of pain or discomfort. The main side effect of open surgery is incontinence which will be seen in about 6% of patients.

Surgery is an excellent form of BPH treatment and can reduce BPH symptoms considerably for most men. It is not however 100% effective and some symptoms will often remain even after surgery.

One point to remember is that BPH treatment does not act as a treatment for prostate cancer. BPH treatment involving the removal of tissue from the prostate only removes tissue from the inner core of the prostate. Prostate cancer however normally first appears on the outer tissue of the prostate from where it will often spread. It is important therefore that BPH patients continue to have regular checkups and screening for prostate cancer.

For further information about prostatecancerexplained.com/bph.html” target=”_blank BPH treatment please visit prostatecancerexplained.com” target=”_blank Prostate Cancer Explained

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