Mesothelioma – What is it and how is it diagnosed?

Mesothelioma is a very rare kind of cancer that affects the mesothelium, which itself is the protective shield casing most of the body organs. The primary cause of this disease is exposure to asbestos and the most common organ affected is the pleura of the lungs. Though it is generally assumed that smoking which often causes lung cancer may also be causing mesothelioma, it has been proved that smoking has no role to play in the development of mesothelioma.

The symptoms may not be noticed till about 25 to 30 years after the asbestos exposure, but they can be very disturbing. Typical symptoms are accumulation of fluid in the lungs leading to breathing problems, coughing and pain in the chest. Besides pleural mesothelioma, another condition called peritoneal mesothelioma which is a condition affecting the peritoneum can cause abrupt weight loss, anemia and a high level of clotting. If this is not treated on time, it can progress upwards and result in the neck getting swollen apart from the patient experiencing difficulty in swallowing.

It is often difficult to immediately diagnose this cancer as the patient may exhibit symptoms common to other disorders and it does require investigation at the right time to identify mesothelioma. If a patient has had prior exposure to asbestos, specific chest and lung X-rays are taken to identify any pleural thickening that may have occurred. In that event, a CAT scan as well as an MRI is advised to detect any growth tissues in the pleura and if that is also positive, a biopsy is done to ascertain the presence of any cancerous cells in the pleural fluid. As far as peritoneal mesothelioma is concerned, only a laparoscopy can detect any cancerous cells in the abdomen.

Once diagnosis is complete, the examining doctor identifies the stage of cancer and this is again categorized as localized if it is just restricted to the surface of the membrane and advanced if it has managed to make further inroads into the body.

History of Mesothelioma

The onset of the 20^th century saw hectic building activity at construction sites, ship yards, rail yards. Asbestos fibers were used as a major component and its production was also stepped up to meet the ever increasing demand. Mankind got exposed to asbestos in its early years of development and very soon, incidents of lung cancer also came to be reported. However, the condition of mesothelioma is believed to have its origins at places where wastes from mine extraction containing a lot of asbestos fibers were used as dumping material to envelop playgrounds and other open spaces. It was around this time that people who had practically no chance of getting exposed to asbestos fibers started developing symptoms of this disease. Though many officials were aware of the potential dangerous effects of asbestos mining much earlier, the activity continued and was formally brought to a close only in 1966.

During those times, mines were permitted to operate without basic safeguards and the concept of hygienic and safe work practices were relatively unknown. Due to this lack of adequate safety nets, many workmen began experiencing symptoms of mesothelioma on a yearly basis. What was more worrying was the fact that many cases that were diagnosed were of people who got it through the secondary route, having not been exposed to asbestos directly.

Mesothelioma saw its first case at an Australian mine and that worker had been working in that mine for about three years. Things then began to deteriorate rapidly as people inhabiting the town where asbestos mining was being carried out started exhibiting symptoms and this continued well into the 1970s, when the Australian Government took a long pending decision to shut it down. Unfortunately, the damage had been done and many people had fallen prey to this dangerous disease.

The tragedy just highlights the fact that if proper safeguards in the working environment had been implemented at that time, history would have had a different story to tell.

Go for Non-Recourse Mesothelioma Lawsuit Funding

When you are a plaintiff in a Mesothelioma lawsuit, you should be aware that you qualify for funds, treated as loans against the probable proceeds that you will eventually get at the end of the lawsuit. This is referred to as the Mesothelioma lawsuit loan program or litigation loan. Contrary to the condition of normal loans having to be paid off in full, this loan is a non recourse advance and the plaintiff need not pay it back till the time the lawsuit is settled or the plaintiff has won.The question is who can file such a lawsuit to procure such a benefit?

A Mesothelioma lawsuit is initiated by a person afflicted with the disease or by members of his family if he is deceased. A family member can also initiate a lawsuit if he has contacted the disease through the secondary route. You must be aware that these lawsuits move very slowly and usually the defendants engage the services of reputed lawyers, with the result even if you are on the right side of the law, these lawyers can deploy time delaying tactics using loop holes in the law and drag the case with the intention to frustrate you. You really need to be very persevering to win legal battles and it is in such a scenario that the non recourse mesothelioma funding can help you a lot. After all, you as a patient may have some medical bills to settle apart from the legal fees and since this is ready cash, you will be able to meet those expenses without any problem.

The process itself is a simple one involving just three steps:

1. Wanted: Dead or Alive film You need to submit an application and there is no processing fee charged.

2. This application is then faxed to the Mesothelioma loan disbursing company for processing and approval.

3. The amount sought is then credited to your account.

As mentioned above, you need not pay back this amount if you do not win the case.