What is Mesothelioma?

It's a pretty sophisticated word for cancerous asbestos disease. Upper East Side asbestos isn't a problem that is "top of mind" for most people in our area, but it should be. If you live in an old apartment building on the Upper East Side you should look into whether there is asbestos in the building.

Mesothelioma is becoming more and more common. Affecting the mesothelial cells that make up the mesothelium – the outer lining that protects the body’s major organs such as the heart, stomach and lungs – this form of cancer is a direct result of regular and unprotected exposure to asbestos. The disease takes decades to develop fully and manifest.

What are the Symptoms?

The organs most affected by mesothelioma are the lungs and the surrounding tissue. Pleural mesothelioma, which is the type affecting the lining of the lungs, is the most common variation of this cancer with symptoms which include breathing and swallowing difficulties, coughing, shortness of breath, fever and weight loss. The abdomen is another area affected by this cancer, and this variation is known as peritoneal mesothelioma. This type of mesothelioma is not as common as pleural mesothelioma. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma can include nausea and vomiting, weight loss and loss of appetite, fever, bowel obstruction and pain or swelling of the stomach area. The last variation of the cancer is pericardial mesothelioma, which is where the cancer affects the heart and the tissue surrounding it. This variation is a rare one, and symptoms can include palpitations, breathing difficulties, and persistent coughing.

How can Mesotholomia be Treated?

The most common treatments are: Surgery - where the tissue in the affected area is cut out. This may involve removing part of the organ depending on the size of the affected area; Radiation treatment - which involves the use of radiation treatment to kill off the cancerous cells in the affected area; and Chemotherapy - which is the use of drugs in the body used to kill off the cancerous cells.

Take Action!

There is no way to visually identify asbestos. Many materials that contain asbestos look just the same as materials that don't. The only way to confirm that a material is asbestos is to take samples and analyze the material in a laboratory. Therefore, it is best to treat anything that looks like it may contain asbestos as if it does until it is analyzed and proven to not contain any asbestos.