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Northwestern Montana can expect an epidemic of mesothelioma in
the next 10 to 20 years, according to Dr Alan Whitehouse, a pulmonologist
who works intensively in asbestos disease. Writing in the American
Journal of Industrial Medicine, Dr Whitehouse reported that
workers and other residents exposed to asbestos at the WR Grace
Vermiculite mine in Libby, MT will develop the disease in the next
two decades.
Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelium, the thin membrane
that lines the chest and abdominal cavity, and covers the organs
within each of these cavities. Mesothelioma is a relatively rare
cancer, accounting for only 1% of all cancer diagnoses, and almost
all cases of mesothelioma are linked to asbestos exposure. It is
caused by inhalation of microscopic asbestos fibers.
The inhaled fibers work their way into the chest cavity or the
abdominal cavity, and lodge in the mesothelium. The membrane thickens
into a hard, inflexible rind, forming bumps and nodules. The enlarging
cancerous tissue produces large amounts of fluid that crowds the
pleural or abdominal cavity, and the cancer itself compresses nearby
organs. The disease progresses slowly; symptoms may not appear for
15 years, sometimes for as long as 40 years after the initial exposure.
Pleural mesotheliomas, involving the lungs, occur about four times
as frequently as peritoneal mesothelioma. In pleural mesothelioma
usually only one lung is involved. Among mesothelioma victims there
are five times as many men as women, a fact which reflects the distribution
of men and women in jobs with high exposure to asbestos.
Mesothelioma researchers have determined that exposure to airborne
asbestos fibers for as little as one or two months can lead to the
development of mesothelioma 30-40 years later. The vermiculite mine
in Libby, MT shut down in 1990, but area residents and transient
workers had been exposed for decades before then.
"The extent of the epidemic of environmental mesothelioma due to
exposures based at Libby will probably not peak for another 10 to
20 years," Whitehouse wrote. "This is a public health problem of
considerable magnitude and points to the need for surveillance and
early detection of the disease."
Early detection offers patients wider option for treatment, and
often for a longer life expectancy from this aggressive cancer.
San
Diego mesothelioma lawyer Frederick Schenk and Casey Gerry's
team of asbestos attorneys and paralegals in California have helped
thousands of people through the claims process and through litigation
relating to the disease mesothelioma. Their work has achieved compensation
for asbestos victims from the companies that manufactured, installed
and sold asbestos products throughout the United States. Mr Schenk
and his team of experienced lawyers and staff are dedicated professionals,
waiting to assist you and your family in all aspects of the mesothelioma
litigation and claims process.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com:
New American Mesothelioma Epidemic Predicted
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