Epithelial mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer affects the membrane lining the chest cavity, heart, lungs and abdominal cavity. There are three forms of epithelial mesothelioma: the most common, pleural mesothelioma; the second most common, peritoneal mesothelioma (accounting for only a quarter of the cases) and the rarest form, pericardial mesothelioma.
The vast majority of epithelial mesothelioma cases are the result of asbestos exposure. Indeed, one of the most frustrating aspects of this type of cancer is that patients who develop it were generally exposed 15 to 40 years before hand, which often makes the time and place the disease was contracted difficult to determine.
The early symptoms of epithelial mesothelioma are subtle and somewhat general. Shortness of breath and chest pain are the most common early symptoms. It is because these symptoms are so generic that epithelial mesothelioma is rarely detected early on. Usually when its discovered it is already in an advanced stage and treatment options, particularly localized options such as surgery, are somewhat limited.
If the cancer is in a less advanced stage, aggressive surgery treatments can be sought. Aggressive treatments are treatments aimed at curing the mesothelioma or at least increasing the patients longevity. In some cases an extrapleural pneumonectomy can be performed to try to stop the spread of the mesothelioma.
However this operation is risky and many medical centers will not perform it because of its high mortality rate. Additionally this procedure involves removing an entire lung, as well as extensive epithelial tissue, thereby reducing the patients breathing capacity in half. Even when it is successful it rarely eliminates the mesothelioma, but rather only slows its progress.
Palliative surgery (surgery only aimed at alleviating symptoms) is an option at any stage of the disease. Usually this comes in the form of a "fine needle aspiration" or pleural tap. A pleural tap involves injecting a long needle into the chest or abdomen cavity and draining the pleural space of fluid build up. This procedure may greatly reduces symptoms associated with mesothelioma.
Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are other options. Both are systemic treatments and have the draw back of affecting surrounding tissues as well as cancerous tissues. Radiation therapy is often used in combination with surgery treatments as a way of attempting to remove cancerous growth that could not be removed through surgery. Chemotherapy still has not proved very effective against epithelial mesothelioma but doctors and researcher continue to experiment with new techniques.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Asbestos Awareness
Asbestos is a toxic substance that has been used in hundreds of products in the United States. Exposure to asbestos can cause malignant mesothelioma - a rare cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, abdomen or heart - and other diseases. Remarkably, asbestos has still not been entirely banned in the United States, and Americans continue to risk exposure to this dangerous fiber.
This Web site is dedicated to helping increase awareness about asbestos in America today. It describes the background of asbestos use in the U.S. and the relationship between asbestos and diseases such as mesothelioma. It also discusses timely issues such as legislation, regulations, and other current events regarding asbestos exposure and the rights of asbestos victims, as well as ways you can get involved in promoting positive change.
For more news about current issues involving asbestos, we also invite you to visit http://knowmass.blogspot.com for some of the latest news articles about asbestos and mesothelioma.
This Web site is dedicated to helping increase awareness about asbestos in America today. It describes the background of asbestos use in the U.S. and the relationship between asbestos and diseases such as mesothelioma. It also discusses timely issues such as legislation, regulations, and other current events regarding asbestos exposure and the rights of asbestos victims, as well as ways you can get involved in promoting positive change.
For more news about current issues involving asbestos, we also invite you to visit http://knowmass.blogspot.com for some of the latest news articles about asbestos and mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma-web data
According to a recent study, companies that are taking steps to reorganize their asbestos-related liabilities under bankruptcy laws are operating successfully and are likely to become “significantly stronger” in the future.
This research, by Dr. George J. Benston, a professor of finance at Emory University, has cast doubt on claims that asbestos lawsuits are driving companies out of business. It also flies in the face of proposed legislation that would prohibit asbestos victims from having their day in court—based on the belief that the litigation would be devastating to the economy.
Dr. Benston studied seven of the largest companies with asbestos-related liabilities. Each had sought reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, meaning that the companies could consolidate and resolve their asbestos-related liabilities while continuing business operations.
“On the whole, they essentially have increased or stabilized their sales, assets, employment and profitability, and have projected increases,” Dr. Benston concluded. “It is fair to say that they are viable and are likely to be increasingly successful companies that should generate funds to exit bankruptcy significantly stronger than when they went in.”
Using filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission and other public data, Dr. Benston found that most of the companies had increased employment levels, and all of the companies had remained profitable.
“Indeed, with few exceptions, they have prospered, increasing their sales,” Dr. Benston wrote. “They have been able to maintain their assets and employment, meet their obligations to business creditors and employees and make capital investments that will allow them to continue to prosper.”
One of the companies, Babcock & Wilcox, increased employment by 39 percent after seeking reorganization. Babcock & Wilcox has publicly stated that its “core business continues to be strong” and that asbestos liabilities should have no negative effect on “salaries, benefits or promotion opportunities.”
Owens Corning, another of the companies studied, continues to describe itself as a “world leader” in the building materials industry, with annual sales of about $5 billion. Owens Corning predicts that its reorganization plan will allow it to resolve its asbestos liabilities “in a fair and responsible manner” while maintaining its focus on “competing successfully in the global marketplace.”
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit research organization, claims that asbestos lawsuits are “bankrupting” businesses are misleading. “When most people hear that a company is going bankrupt, they think liquidation of assets, massive layoffs and shutting down the business,” the group explains in a report on asbestos. Under 1994 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code, companies with asbestos-related liabilities can reorganize their present and future liabilities without liquidating their assets. These reorganizations are appealing to companies because they protect the company from all future asbestos claims against them and all of their subsidiaries.
“Clearly these companies have not ‘gone bankrupt’ in the sense commonly imagined by the public and invoked by politicians who are pressing for ‘asbestos litigation reform.’” According to the EWG report, “. . .asbestos reorganizations are a relatively smooth and equitable way for a company to assist the families of workers and others injured or killed by asbestos.”
This research, by Dr. George J. Benston, a professor of finance at Emory University, has cast doubt on claims that asbestos lawsuits are driving companies out of business. It also flies in the face of proposed legislation that would prohibit asbestos victims from having their day in court—based on the belief that the litigation would be devastating to the economy.
Dr. Benston studied seven of the largest companies with asbestos-related liabilities. Each had sought reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, meaning that the companies could consolidate and resolve their asbestos-related liabilities while continuing business operations.
“On the whole, they essentially have increased or stabilized their sales, assets, employment and profitability, and have projected increases,” Dr. Benston concluded. “It is fair to say that they are viable and are likely to be increasingly successful companies that should generate funds to exit bankruptcy significantly stronger than when they went in.”
Using filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission and other public data, Dr. Benston found that most of the companies had increased employment levels, and all of the companies had remained profitable.
“Indeed, with few exceptions, they have prospered, increasing their sales,” Dr. Benston wrote. “They have been able to maintain their assets and employment, meet their obligations to business creditors and employees and make capital investments that will allow them to continue to prosper.”
One of the companies, Babcock & Wilcox, increased employment by 39 percent after seeking reorganization. Babcock & Wilcox has publicly stated that its “core business continues to be strong” and that asbestos liabilities should have no negative effect on “salaries, benefits or promotion opportunities.”
Owens Corning, another of the companies studied, continues to describe itself as a “world leader” in the building materials industry, with annual sales of about $5 billion. Owens Corning predicts that its reorganization plan will allow it to resolve its asbestos liabilities “in a fair and responsible manner” while maintaining its focus on “competing successfully in the global marketplace.”
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit research organization, claims that asbestos lawsuits are “bankrupting” businesses are misleading. “When most people hear that a company is going bankrupt, they think liquidation of assets, massive layoffs and shutting down the business,” the group explains in a report on asbestos. Under 1994 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code, companies with asbestos-related liabilities can reorganize their present and future liabilities without liquidating their assets. These reorganizations are appealing to companies because they protect the company from all future asbestos claims against them and all of their subsidiaries.
“Clearly these companies have not ‘gone bankrupt’ in the sense commonly imagined by the public and invoked by politicians who are pressing for ‘asbestos litigation reform.’” According to the EWG report, “. . .asbestos reorganizations are a relatively smooth and equitable way for a company to assist the families of workers and others injured or killed by asbestos.”
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