What Is Mesothelioma and How is it Contracted?
Mesothelomia is a rare form of lung cancer contracted from breathing in or ingesting asbestos fibers. The common source of mesothelioma is from industrial sites where the workers are subject to exposure to mesothelioma. There are several factors that make this disease dangerous. One is that the symptoms of mesothelioma are fairly common and almost indistinguishable from regular lung, cardiac, or digestive disorders, and are thus often misdiagnosed.
Another problem with mesothelioma is that the symptoms don't immediately manifest upon inhalation or ingestion of the asbestos fibers. They take anything from 20 to 50 years before becoming apparent, and even then the only way to distinguish them from the symptoms of other, less dangerous disorders is to conduct an x ray.
Aside from direct exposure to asbestos, the fibers can also be carried upon the clothes of people working around asbestos, so that anyone they come in contact with can also accidentally breath in the fibers once they become airborne.
What Are the Symptoms and Effects of Mesothelioma?
The most common symptoms of mesothelioma that hits the lungs and chest is a tight pain around the chest area, difficulty breathing, and loss of stamina. These symptoms are caused because the disease generates tumors around the fibers, and the body reacts to it by trying to generate fluids to flush out the tumors and fibers. Pressure from these fluids, along with internal wounds caused by the fibers and tumors themselves are what cause the chest pain. Naturally, the tumors also restrict breathing efficiency, hence the difficulty breathing and stamina loss.
Abdominal mesothelioma manifests as sharp abdominal pains and weight loss because of tumors in the stomach lining. Unlike lung mesothelioma, however, there is an external sign of trouble for abdominal mesothelioma, in the form of swellings in the stomach region.
The effects of mesothelioma are the same wether it hits the lung or stomach. The tumors cause internal bleeding and hemorrhage, and the fluids generated by the body to combat the cancerous growths will eventually lead to clogged arteries which can cause heart failure.
How is it Commonly Treated?
The most common effective treatment for mesothelioma is to employ heat surgery, like using a laser, in conjunction with chemotherapy. Regular surgery to remove the tumors is ineffective in combating mesothelioma, and leads to death shortly after the operation. The average life expectancy of a person after mesothelioma surgery is 5 years. The heat surgery treatment, on the other hand, is capable of localizing the tumors to remove them without damaging the surrounding healthy tissue. This, combined with chemotherapy medication, is noted to be most successful proven treatment method. Alternative mesothelioma treatments are being researched by various medical institutes to try and find even better solutions.
What Alternative Treatments Exist?
There are two main methods of alternative treatment for mesothelioma, mainly the use of nutritional supplements in conjunction with medicine and exercise, and the second being special medicines designed to boost the body's immune system to combat the tumors. Reports regarding the two methods of treatment vary from institute to institute, with some reporting success and others not. In either case, classic medical institutes still advocate heat surgery and chemotherapy, as these treatment methods are tested and proven.
Nutritional Supplements - some research institutes have begun to explore medical and nutritional supplements which have two purposes as an alternative treatment for mesothelioma. The first purpose of the supplements is to promote the growth of healthy cells and to stem the growth of the tumors. While this does nothing to remove the tumors, it can at least stall the problem and extend the lifespan of the patient. The second type of research involves medicines which will help the body naturally flush the excess fluid in the chest and/or intestinal cavities, alleviating the pain and pressure of the patient. Both of these supplements are currently still being tested and few reliable reports are available as to their effectiveness.
Immuno-augmentive Therapy - this is an alternative mesothelioma treatment that involves bolstering the body's immune system through medicine. The theory behind this alternative mesothelioma treatment is that, with enough support, the body's natural immune system will eventually be able to overcome and heal the tumors, and once they are removed the body will heal itself naturally. This has been proven moderately effective in early cases of mesothelioma, but medium to late stage cancer has yet to be conquered by this method of treatment.
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