Mesothelioma Lawyers & Attorney Information
Mesothelioma Lawyers & Attorney Law Firm
If you are suffering from mesothelioma, or have lost a loved one to the disease, you may have the right to receive reparations from the asbestos industry that failed to adequately warn consumers of the grave risks associated with their product. A knowledgeable and understanding mesothelioma lawyer will help you fight for justice and the financial compensation to offset those spiraling medical expenses and to provide financial security for your family's future. Don't hesitate though, because the law limits how much time you have to file your claim - contact a mesothelioma lawyer today.
Workers exposed to Asbestos
If you once worked in an environment in which you were exposed to asbestos there is a strong possibility that you may develop a form of cancer known as malignant mesothelioma. Thousands of Americans are diagnosed with this condition each year. Particularly at risk are people who once worked at manufacturing plants, construction sites, assembly lines, shipyards, refineries and in the military.
Malignant mesothelioma takes decades to evolve. What usually happens is that invisible particles floating in the air are inhaled and then work themselves into protective layers around the lungs heart and vital abdominal organs. Over these decades cancer cells are generated that form deadly tumors. Most victims are unaware that this cancer may be developing in their bodies and when symptoms do surface they are so similar to flu and respiratory ailments that they frequently aren’t taken seriously until the cancer is so far advanced it is untreatable through traditional medical options.
Mesothelioma Cancer Facts
Mesothelioma is a devastating and rare form of cancer that can be only be connected to exposure to asbestos. This cancer can affect the lining around the heart, lungs, and stomach and is virtually undetectable and unnoticed until extremely advanced. It can also spread cancerous cells to healthy organs and cause even more damage. There are almost 2000 new cases of mesothelioma in the U.S. each year, and these numbers are on the rise.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been used for thousands of years for insulation, fire protection, and construction. People noticed that those who worked with asbestos usually lived much shorter lives and often died of breathing problems. What they did not know was that asbestos fibers are microscopic and have jagged, sharp edges. Inhaling or ingesting these fibers over time or in quantity affects the mesothelium, the lining that surrounds many internal organs.
Once in the body, the asbestos particles cause scar tissue to form around the organ, which prevents the lungs from moving during respiration, or the heart beating during circulation, or the gastrointestinal tract from processing food. There are few outward symptoms, and once the cancer is developed to the point where it causes symptoms there are few things doctors can do to stop it, and treatment usually concentrates on making the patient as comfortable as possible.
Although the great majority of the cases of mesothelioma usually occur in people who worked in the manufacture, use, or instillation of asbestos, it can also happen in the friends and families of these workers. Asbestos particles are so small, light, and fine that they can cling to the hair or clothes or even skin of the workers, who then brought them home where they could be inhaled or ingested by other people. These people truly are the silent victims of the asbestos epidemic.
Mesothelioma Diagnosis & Treatment Information
The early stages of mesothelioma are very difficult to diagnose, for there are few outward symptoms. It takes years and usually decades before there are any warning signs. In fact, many people do not know they have mesothelioma until informed by their doctors, and by all accounts the cancer is usually too far advanced for any treatment.
Several tests must be run if a doctor suspects a patient has mesothelioma. The early stages of mesothelioma can easily be confused with a number of unrelated and less lethal conditions. Shortness of breath or chest pains are common signs of many conditions, so consulting the patient's work and medical history are important steps in narrowing the diagnosis.
Your doctor may prescribe different tests depending on the location of the mesothelioma. For pleural mesothelioma, your doctor will want to see if there is fluid in the area around the lungs. Peritoneal, or intestinal, mesothelioma your doctor will look to see if you have lost large amounts or weight despite increased swelling or suffer from severe pain. Pericardial mesothelioma is much harder to detect, but it is also much rarer.
CAT scans and MRIs are usually needed to emphatically determine if mesothelioma has invaded an organ. Unfortunately these tests are very expensive, and many times insurance companies approve them only after they are no longer needed. Time is of the essence, because new treatments for mesothelioma are developed every day, and early detection may allow some patients to survive long enough to benefit from new drugs, therapies, or procedures.
Mesothelioma Treatment Help
Cancer is unquestionably a difficult to disease to treat, and mesothelioma might be one of the most difficult cancers. Surviving and overcoming cancer depends on early detection, aggressive treatment, and proper symptom control, but unfortunately mesothelioma offers none of these situations. Mesothelioma takes years to develop, provides few outward symptoms, and mortality usually occurs between six and 12 months after presentation and is 100% fatal within five years of diagnosis.
Because mesothelioma tumors are usually decades old by the time they affect the body, conventional treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy have little affect. Most times these procedures are undertaken to relieve the worst of the symptoms of the disease, but some doctors believe that the side affects of these treatments are in fact worse than the condition they intend to treat. Surgical removal of the infected organ or organ lining is somewhat effective in halting progression of the cancer, but ultimately even this drastic solution has rather negligible effects.
New treatments such as photodynamic therapy, immunotherapy, and gene therapy provide hope for patients with mesothelioma, these treatments are still in the development stage and are sadly far beyond the means of current victims of mesothelioma victims.
Mesothelioma & Asbestos Exposure
Mesothelioma is one of the most deadly forms of cancer known today - an incurable disease that claims the lives of over 10,000 victims in the United States each year. While medical science continues to developed miraculous technology that prolongs many of the lives ravaged by this insidious condition, a cure is still out of reach and the prognosis is always fatal. Tragically, there is usually little time left after a mesothelioma diagnosis, and physicians are left with few options except to help alleviate physical suffering and ensure that a victim's final days are as comfortable and pain-free as possible.
Cancer can attack any system or organ in the body, and very often shows few external symptoms until it is too late. Another lethal aspect of cancer is comes from the nature of cancerous cells to spread to healthy surrounding tissues or travel through the circulatory or lymphatic systems. This combination of factors has made cancers like mesothelioma the single greatest threat to health around the globe.
Mesothelioma is a particularly destructive cancer, for decades pass between exposure to the asbestos and appearance of cancerous symptoms. Further complicating mesothelioma treatment is the malignant nature of the cancer, for once symptoms surface, current therapeutic treatments are usually no longer effective and post-diagnosis survival rates typically range from four months to a year.
There is only one known cause of mesothelioma: exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral used for centuries in insulation, clothing, and fire-resistant materials. Ancients praised this versatile material, but also decried the lethal nature of the small fibers easily inhaled by anyone who used it. It was not until the 20th century that X-Rays, computed axial tomography (CAT) scans, and magnetic resonance imagery (MRI) revealed the extensive damage caused by these microscopic fibers. Even though advances are made every day in modern times, medical science is still only beginning to provide adequate treatment for mesothelioma.
Responsibility for deadly asbestos exposure is primarily due to the proliferation of asbestos related materials combined with the negligence of the injury to properly warn their employees and consumers about the dangers of their products. For years the asbestos industry concealed or minimized the potential dangers their products posed in the name of profits, fearing lawsuits and diminished demand would ruin their businesses. Ultimately, this deception and negligence virtually destroyed the industry and nearly bankrupted several prominent insurance companies responsible for protecting asbestos companies against potential lawsuits.
Other Mesothelioma & Lung Cancer Information
Few cancers attract as much media attention as mesothelioma. Billion dollar lawsuits, corporate cover-ups, government collusion, these are the things on which the media thrives. Also, the personal side of these very impersonal affairs is just as important, for so many millions of Americans have been exposed to asbestos that virtually everyone knows or will know someone who has had their life ruined by this tragic condition. Perhaps that person is you.
Mesothelioma is often at the forefront of legal and medical news. Understanding and treating the condition has become the focus of a number of determined medical professionals, while the government of the United States has sought to limit the amount of financial responsibility of many asbestos companies. Staying abreast of the constantly changing world of breakthrough treatments, legal developments, and the latest in mesothelioma support groups gives victims of this horrible disease hope for a brighter tomorrow.
