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Mesothelioma is a rare cancer,occurring in approximately one in 150,000 people in the United States, diagnosis and treatment can be a great challenge to patients and their families.
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copyright © 2009 by cure media group l.p published by cure media group 3102 oak lawn suite 610 dallas texas 75219 www.curetoday.com information presented is not intended as a substitute for the personalized professional advice given by your health care provider the publishers urge readers to contact appropriately qualified health professionals for advice on any health or lifestyle change inspired by information herein this publication was produced by cure media group the views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers although great care has been taken to ensure accuracy cure media group and its servants or agents shall not be responsible or in any way liable for the continued currency of the information or for any errors omissions or inaccuracies in this book whether arising from negligence or otherwise or for any consequences arising there from parts of this book were first published in cure magazine and are reprinted here in slightly different form review and creation of content is solely the responsibility of cure media group all rights reserved no part of this book may be reproduced scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights purchase only authorized editions any mention of retail products does not constitute an endorsement by the authors or the publisher library of congress control number 2009906317 isbn 978-0-980130829 written by lambeth hochwald jennifer klem phd melissa knopper and nanette lavoie-vaughan msn apn medical illustration by pam curry medical review by lee krug md and debu tripathy md edited by lena huang designed by susan douglass layout/photo coordination by glenn zamora photography by david grace rafael maldonado wade mcintyre chris ann miller and colby ware printed in the united states of america[close]
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1 i n t ro duction chapter 1 causes 5 6 7 8 9 10 a s b es t o s a s b es t o s relat ed m es o t h eli o m a howasb es toscausesm es o t h eli omaasb es tossaf et y m es o t h eli o m a cause effec t i llu s t rat ionoth er a s b es t o s relat ed d i s ea s es s u rv ivorp ro fi le ro n a ld w i lli amsoth er caus es s v 40 ex posu re whois at ri s k eri onite ex posu re g en et i c p red isposition ra d i at i o n ex posu re c h ro nicin fla m m at i o n table of content s 11 12 chapter 2 diagnosis 15 16 17 18 symptoms diagnosis s ta gings ta g es o f m es o t h eli omai llu s t rat ionp ro gnosis chapter 3 finding a specialist 21 22 s ta rt ingyours ea rc h t rav eli ngfort reat m en t q u es t i on s to ask[close]
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23 24 s eek in gase co n d o pin io n f i nd in greferr al s weig hyouro pti o n s chapter 7 survivorship 51 52 53 55 56 recurrence long-term effects of t reat m en t emotional aspects of survivorship advoc at e p ro fi les c h ri shahn li n d a rei n s t ei n s u rv i v o rs hipp la nsamp le s u rv i v o rs hipp la nchapter 4 t r e at mentoptions 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 s ur g e ry vats tal c pleu ro d es i s pleu r e cto my de co rtic at io n extr apl e u r al pn eumon ec tomy r ad iatio n the r apy che mo the r apy in ve s ti g atio n al the ra pies r ece ntrese ar ch de velo pm en t s o ng o in g cl in ical tr i a ls r es e ar che r pr o f il e m it c hell h o chapter 8 caregiving 59 60 61 62 c a ri n g fo roth ers ta kingca re ofyou rs elf c a reg i v er p ro fi le judymoo re s et tingupaca reg i v er t ea m chapter 5 side effects copingstr at egies 37 39 40 41 42 chapter 9 p r e pa ringforendoflifes ur g e ry che m o the r apy r ad iatio n the r apy d ieta ry chan g e s phys i cal activi ty in te g r ati ve me dici n e in te g r ati ve the r apy c ha rt chapter 10 resources 65 66 67 h av ingap la n hospices erv i ce scov ered b y m ed i c a re choosingahospicep ro v i d er hospice 70 chapter 6 legalissues legisl at i o n resources index 45 47 72 leg al is sues leg is l ati o n[close]
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s introduction ince mesothelioma is a rare cancer occurring in approximately one in 150,000 people in the united states diagnosis and treatment can be a great challenge to patients and their families understanding this disease is important in making decisions about your care and treatment with the availability of many sources of mesothelioma information patients and family members may have difficulty deciding what is credible and what is not created by the staff of nationally recognized award-winning cure magazine we hope this guide will provide you with the information you need to understand mesothelioma and the journey ahead what is mesothelioma mesothelioma is a medical condition in which a tumor forms in the mesothelium a protective membrane covering internal organs the mesothelium is made up of two layers of cells one surrounding the organ itself and the other forming an outer sac between the layers 1 is a lubricating fluid that lessens friction between the membranes and permits the organs to glide smoothly against each other this is particularly important to the heart and lungs because they produce significant movement as they function mesothelioma can be either malignant cancerous[close]
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u nderstandingmesothelioma or benign non-cancerous solitary fibrous tumors or benign mesothelioma are uncommon accounting for only 10 percent of all cases because solitary fibrous tumors are contained in one location in the body it is generally easy to treat with surgery and the expected outcome for patients is excellent however this is not the case with malignant mesothelioma this disease is extremely aggressive and patients with malignant mesothelioma are expected to live on average approximately one year after diagnosis mesothelioma is defined by the site of the primary tumor pleural mesothelioma in which cancer cells are found surrounding the lungs and/or lining the chest wall is the most common type accounting for about 85 percent of malignant mesotheliomas most of the remaining cases are peritoneal or in tissues that cover the abdominal organs pericardial tissues surrounding the heart and testicular tissues surrounding the testicles mesothelioma are both exceedingly rare comprising about 1 percent of cases pleural mesothelioma differs from lung cancer the most significant difference is the locations of the cancers whereas mesothelioma is present in the surrounding lining pleura of the lungs most other lung cancers are found in the interior linings of the airways thus while smoking causes lung cancer it does not increase the risk of mesothelioma on the other hand mesothelioma has a close linkage to asbestos exposure approximately 70 percent of pleural mesothelioma patients have had some exposure to this mineral all of the mesothelioma subtypes pleural peritoneal pericardial and testicular combined equal only 2 1 percent of the total thoracic cancers in the united states most mesothelioma patients are men age 60 and older although women children and younger adults can contract the disease this demographic imbalance toward older men is due to male-dominated occupations such as mining construction and shipbuilding related to asbestos exposure also because mesothelioma can take decades to develop most patients will be older at diagnosis the geographic distribution of this disease is not uniform across the united states with the highest death rates appearing in the northeastern states along the pacific coast and in illinois florida wyoming and colorado as with the demographic imbalance the geographic distribution can also be explained by asbestos exposure the regions with the highest death rates are or were home to either factories that manufactured asbestos-containing products or shipbuilding facilities asbestos materials were commonly used as insulation in ships |[close]
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u nderstandingmesothelioma causes of m e sothelioma w hile asbestos is far and away the most common cause of mesothelioma there are theories of other causes of the disease such as viruses radiation exposure and genetic predisposition asbestos also causes other thoracic diseases some with symptoms similar to mesothelioma 4[close]
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asbestos asbestos exposure is the most common cause of mesothelioma six minerals all of which are present in nature as bundles of fibrous crystals comprise asbestos the favorable properties of these crystals heat and chemical resistance strength flexibility and low electrical conductivity make them useful in numerous residential and commercial applications such as roofing materials ship insulation pipe insulation and acoustic ceiling tiles these are just some of the 3,000 estimated products manufactured during the peak of asbestos usage in the late 1960s and early 1970s three types of asbestos are commonly used in the united states chrysotile or white asbestos is the most widely used because its fibers are curled a property that makes it less likely to fragment than the other asbestos types this is an important fact because if asbestos is easily crushed it remains airborne longer which increases the likelihood of inhaling the fibers that cause mesothelioma the other two types crocidolite blue asbestos and amosite brown asbestos are typically used in limited specialized applications due to their needlelike structure which makes them highly susceptible to fragmenting 5 asbestos-related mesothelioma asbestos is catergorized as a carcinogen a substance that causes cancer by the u.s department of health and human services the u.s environmental protection agency and the international agency for research on cancer studies have shown that asbestos exposure may increase the risk of mesothelioma and lung cancer although asbestos-related mesothelioma is most often attributed to occupational asbestos exposure this is not always the case there are also cases of asbestos-induced mesothelioma in women who laundered the work clothes of their husbands who were exposed to asbestos and cases of other environmental exposures generally it takes 20 to 40 years or more for mesothelioma to develop following asbestos exposure the association between asbestos exposure and both pleural and peritoneal mesotheliomas has been well established since pericardial and testicular mesotheliomas are rare their linkage to asbestos exposure is unclear how asbestos causes mesothelioma the exact means by which asbestos causes cancer has not yet been fully determined but it is known when[close]
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u nderstandingmesothelioma asbestos is inhaled about two-thirds of the fibers are eliminated from the body by coughing or swallowing the remaining fibers travel through the airways and some may reach the alveoli the tiny air sacs in the lungs although the method by which asbestos fibers arrive at the mesothelium is not certain it is likely that this journey takes years a belief that fits with the extended period of time necessary to develop mesothelioma one theory is that the shape of the fibers affects the ability to cause mesothelioma this theory proposes that longer fibers are too big to be eliminated through the actions of certain immune system cells called macrophages mesothelial cells may take in asbestos fibers and the presence of fibers inside the cells can interfere with chromosomal division that takes place as cells reproduce this interference may be the cause of the chromosomal abnormalities that are frequently documented in mesothelioma cells asbestos fibers can also initiate numerous cellular events including the generation of free radicals the initiation of inflammation and other signals of cellular distress taken together these processes likely induce a number of genetic changes which ultimately lead to the development of mesothelioma asbestos safety it has never been established if there are any safe levels of asbestos exposure currently the acceptable level of asbestos exposure requiring no protective gear has been set by the occupational safety and health administration at 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter of air per eight-hour day this standard covers only those 6 mesothelioma cause effect a while asbestos a has been proven to cause more than 80 percent of mesothelioma cases a dna virus known as sv40 b has also been implicated b causes positron emission tomography pet scan of a patient with stage 4 mesothelioma showing disease in the superior part of the lung orange arrows and a metastatic lesion in the abdomen green arrow diagnostic[close]
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c hapter 1 causes 1 the mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the body s internal organs including the lungs it is composed of two layers one that immediately surrounds the organ and another that forms a sac around it the mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid that is released between the layers allowing moving organs such as the heart and lungs to slide easily against bordering structures lymph nodes trachea pleura [includes parietal and visceral layers visceral layer parietal layer chest wall sternum ribs lung heart pericardium tumor 2 the mesothelium that surrounds the lungs liver diaphragm and lines the wall of the chest cavity is called the pleura in its early stage mesothelioma is contained within the pleura 3 as the cancer becomes more advanced it can spread from the chest lining into the outer lining of the lung into the diaphragm or into the lung and other areas illustration by pam curry 7[close]
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u nderstandingmesothelioma diagnosi s d iagnosing mesothelioma can be a complicated process symptoms are vague and many tests may be needed to reach a proper diagnosis once a final diagnosis is made the stage of the disease will be determined and a course of treatment can be decided 14[close]
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