Mesothelioma Asbestos - Peritoneal Mesothelioma
Asbestos: Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the "mesothelial" cells that make up various membranes in a person's chest or abdominal cavity. This includes the pleura that encases the lungs. The pleura facilitates lung movement during breathing without motion sensation or nerve irritation inside the chest.
Mesothelioma is not lung cancer, although it frequently causes respiratory problems as the tumor grows and spreads along the surface of internal organs along serosal membranes. When it develops, mesothelioma is almost always caused by asbestos. There is some evidence that the virus SV40 may also be a factor in the disease in some people. It is not caused by smoking of any kind.
Mesothelioma most often occurs in two areas, forming extremely serious malignant tumors:
- Pleural Mesothelioma: pleural mesothelioma cancer is a cancer of the pleura, the membrane that lines the lungs and the chest cavity, and
- Peritoneal Mesothelioma: peritoneal mesothelioma cancer is a cancer of the peritoneum, which is the serosal membrane lining of the abdomen.
- Pericardial mesothelioma: pericardial mesothelioma cancer is a cancer of the pericardium, or heart sac.
Each year in the United States, about 2500 people discover that they have mesothelioma, and almost every one of them remembers being exposed to asbestos. Almost all cases of mesothelioma are linked to asbestos exposure. It usually takes between 10 and 40 years to develop mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos, so asbestos is especially dangerous to children. The younger the person is at the time of asbestos exposure, the higher their risk for developing mesothelioma.