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Asbestos has been used since the times of the Ancient Greeks, but its dangers are a modern-day issue. Asbestos was used often in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries because of its high tolerance to heat and its usefulness in fireproof insulation. However, recently it has been exposed that when inhaled, asbestos causes deadly lung conditions such as mesothelioma.

Occupational Exposure and Dangers To Workers

After noticing that chronic diseases, especially cancers of the lung such as mesothelioma, were extremely common in construction workers who were exposed to asbestos, doctors began making a connection between asbestos and mesothelioma. Unfortunately, construction and other workers who were exposed to asbestos from the 1950s through the 1970s, when the dangers of asbestos were more fully recognized, are still suffering from the ill effects of asbestos exposure at work. There are now laws and regulations in place that are designed to prevent workers from exposure to toxic asbestos; however, these laws cannot undo years upon years of exposure to this deadly mineral in the workplace.

Delayed Diagnosis Due To Long Dormancy Period

Workers may have been exposed to asbestos in the 1970s, but may only just now be developing the tell-tale symptoms of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is slow to appear which causes doctors to have a hard time diagnosing and treating patients with the disease in time. Because symptoms of mesothelioma don’t show up for many years after exposure and are similar to symptoms for other diseases, workers with mesothelioma might be misdiagnosed during the early stages of the disease.

Symptoms of mesothelioma include:

* shortness of breath;

* abdominal swelling;

* pain of the abdomen;

* blood clotting problems;

* chest pain;

* chronic cough;

* heart palpitations;

* fever;

* labored breath;

* weight loss.

Pleural, peritoneal and pericardial mesothelioma are all possible variations of the deadly cancer, with pleural (lung) mesothelioma the most commonly manifested version of the disease.

High-Risk Professions

Though the use of asbestos is now regulated by laws and regulations, the disease’s long dormancy period means that it still has a high number of potential victims. Professions at a high risk for asbestos exposure and mesothelioma are those which involved repeated exposure to asbestos in its industrial forms. These professions include:

* electricians;

* painters;

* insulators;

* carpenters;

* bricklayers;

* construction workers;

* mechanics;

* other tradespeople, in particulal, people who worked in home or commercial construction prior to the 1970s.

Other people at risk for getting mesothelioma are the families of people who worked with asbestos because the dust may have settled in the employee’s hair or clothing.

Legal Options

Because of the huge number of potentially affected workers, there has been a significant amount of litigation against companies who irresponsibly used asbestos, exposing their workers to the threat of mesothelioma and other life-threatening asbestos-related illnesses. It is essential to consult your doctor to discuss a treatment plan if you are suffering from exposure to asbestos. Then contact an asbestos attorney who is experienced in mesothelioma litigation. A competent asbestos lawyer may be able to help you recover damages for the pain and suffering incurred through asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, defray the costs of treatment, and provide for your children if you die of the disease.

Of the three forms of Mesothelioma, Pericardial, Peritoneal, and Pleural, there is no way to determine which is the most aggressive or the most destructive or the most vicious form of Mesothelioma. Pleural Mesothelioma, which attacks the lining of the lungs, is the most often diagnosed. Peritoneal Mesothelioma is when it attacks the lining which encases the internal organs. Pericardial Mesothelioma is Mesothelioma of the lining of the heart.

Mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive, deadly form of cancer that is only known to be cause via exposure to asbestos. Asbestos related illnesses can take anywhere form ten to forty years before announcing themselves with symptoms of illness. Pericardial Mesothelioma often presents with symptoms which include shortness of breath, chest pain, heart palpitations and a persistent cough.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer, and the treatment options available for patients are like any other form of cancer. The problem with that is that most patients do not respond as well as most other forms of cancer. Mesothelioma victims typically only survive maybe two years after diagnosis, with others not surviving nearly that long.

Pericardial Mesothelioma can be treated with chemotherapy, radiation treatments, palliative therapies, and surgical procedures. Each treatment option presents its own set of negative side effects which may or may not complicate the symptoms of it.

When treating Pericardial Mesothelioma with chemotherapy, a chemical concoction known to kill Mesothelioma cancer cells is introduced into the body. This chemical cocktail then attacks the cancer cells which are causing the Mesothelioma. The chemicals also tend to strip away the body’s immune system. Treating Mesothelioma with chemotherapy is also known to cause severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss, the loss of hair, fatigue, and sometimes mood alterations which lead to irritability.

Treating Mesothelioma with chemotherapy often does not prove to be aggressive enough, and radiation therapy is also introduced into the treatment regimen. Radiation therapy is the directed attack of radiation into the affected area in hopes of killing the Mesothelioma cancer cells. Radiation therapies are also known to weaken the immune system and create fatigue and illness. Often using chemotherapy in tandem with radiation therapy leads to destroying what quality of life the Mesothelioma patient has left without successful results.

Surgery is not a treatment option for Pericardial Mesothelioma. Pericardial Mesothelioma is very difficult to treat because it has been deemed unbeneficial to attempt to remove the cancer from the heart. Pericardial Mesothelioma patients do not qualify for heart transplants because there is a great risk of cancerous cells being spread throughout the additional mesothelium. Most Pericardial Mesothelioma patients do not live long enough to wait out a transplant list even if their overall health qualifies to be on the list in the first place, which unfortunately is very rare with Pericardial Mesothelioma.

Pericardial Mesothelioma is the rarest form of it. It is difficult to diagnose and even more difficult to treat. Pericardial Mesothelioma is often not diagnosed until treatment options are severely limited.

There are alternative options for treating Mesothelioma in conjunction with traditional methods, such as nutritional and lifestyle therapies, counseling, massage therapies, and holistic approaches to dealing with the vigorous side effects of the traditional treatment options. Alternative therapies and treatments have mostly only been effective in alleviated the discomfort and depression that is typically associated with Mesothelioma and its variable treatments.

The deadly nature of Pericardial Mesothelioma is grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit. Mesothelioma is the result of negligent exposure to asbestos. The long term exposure to asbestos creates the malignant cells in the protective lining of the internal organs, which over the course of decades, causes it. Mesothelioma in any form is typically deadly with a remarkably low survival rate.

The fact that companies who were responsible for the asbestos exposure were completely aware of the health threat which they were introducing to their employees makes it that much more deplorable. Victims and their families are well within their rights to file lawsuits to provide for their medical expenses, receive compensation for their pain and suffering, and to provide a secure financial future for their families. Mesothelioma wrongful death lawsuits are one of the only ways available to hold big business accountable for their blatant neglect. Many victims consider their lawsuits as part of their overall Mesothelioma treatment plan, allowing them to reclaim their dignity and have their voices heard. The crime of asbestos exposure should come with much more severe penalties, but for now the only recourse that victims have is th filing of Mesothelioma and wrongful death lawsuits.