Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is a very rare form of mesothelioma cancer that will affect the mesothelial cells of the serous membranes in the human body. The most common form of malignent mesothelioma that affects the lining of the lung is called pleural mesothelioma. We are finding that about two or three thousand new cases of malignant mesothelioma are diagnosed in North America each year.
Malignant mesothelioma generally affects the lining or the membranes of certain cavities in the human body. These particular cavities which are called the serous cavities house all certain major organs in the human body including but not limited to the heart, the lungs, the abdomen and others body parts.
The membranes that are surrounding these cavities are called the serous membranes and they serve to protect the major body organs from the friction and abrasions that occur as these organs rub against one another other during our typical daily movements like breathing and the beating of our heart.
The serous membranes derive from specialized cells called mesothelial cells. These mesothelial cells form to create the mesothelium which in turn is the major tissue layer of the serous membranes. The cancer that starts to occur in the mesothelium tissue is called mesothelioma disease.
There is an association between lung cancer & asbestos exposure and now it is very well established. In most studies of cancer there appears to be a preponderance of adenocarcinoma. Lung cancer in asbestos-exposed workers is usually thought to occur at a younger age than other types of lung cancers and these cancers are more commonly found in the lower lobes of the lungs.
There also is what is known as a "synergistic effect" between smoking & asbestos exposure thus the risk of getting lung cancer rises to dramatically high levels if the exposed person also smokes. It’s very simple that if you have been exposed to asbestos you should definitely stop smoking.
Quitting smoking may be the most important thing you do to improve your health and decrease your risk of getting mesothelioma disease.
The risk of non-cancerous asbestos-related diseases generally increases with increasing levels of exposure but this dose-response relationship is less clear for mesothelioma where even short-term occupational exposure or secondary household exposure may occur. Cigarette smoking has no relationship to mesothelioma at all. We are all exposed to asbestos in the air we breathe, however, these levels of mesothelioma are generally considered ok.
There has been no correlation drawn as to why the same set of circumstances and amounts of exposure to mesothelioma one person contracts and the person next to them does not. Nor why the more heavily mesothelioma exposed individual never contracts an asbestos-related disease but his wife will be diagnosed after washing his work clothing. Mesothelioma disease is a terrible and unfortunate one to get.