Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a multiauthored book that aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the epidemiology, biology, diagnosis, and treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Edited by Drs. Bruce Robinson and Philippe Chahinian (from Perth, Australia, and New York City, respectively), the book brings together an international group of authors, most of whom are acknowledged experts on this disease. The selection of authors highlights the fact that mesothelioma, though an uncommon disease in many countries, is a considerable problem internationally. The strongest focus of the book is on the epidemiology of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Of the 20 chapters, 7 discuss the epidemiology and history of the disease in North America, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and Japan. One of these chapters chronicles how its author, Christopher Wagner, now deceased, and his colleagues established the link between exposure to asbestos and mesothelioma in South Africa circa 1960, despite initial skepticism from physicians elsewhere.

Chapters devoted to the pathology of mesothelioma and to staging and surgery, gene therapy, photodynamic therapy, molecular pathogenesis (including the role of simian virus 40), and immunotherapy are well written, generally accurate, and thorough. A chapter on the medicolegal aspects of mesothelioma is a useful and highly relevant part of the book in the light of the large volume of litigation concerning asbestos that is related to mesothelioma. In contrast, chapters on clinical and palliative care and on imaging are not so well organized and lack detail. More attention could have been given to descriptions of the clinical and radiologic presentation according to disease stage, and the discussion of the comparative merits of computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging could have been enhanced with additional illustrations.

The discussion of palliative care is cursory and would have benefited from an expert discussion of the methods of pain management. Although the role of pleuroscopy is addressed in a chapter by C. Boutin, a leader in this technique, current clinical practice in North America does not parallel this European experience, and some comment in that regard would have been beneficial. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are grouped together in a single chapter written by Chahinian, a medical oncologist. A full chapter on radiation techniques and results written by a radiation oncologist would have been worthwhile. Finally, the organization of the chapters is puzzling. Chapters on epidemiology are placed at both the beginning and the end of the book, and the progression of the chapters in between is not entirely logical. As is true of all textbooks, this book is not absolutely current because of the inherent delay between the writing of the individual chapters and publication.

lthough a decade ago this delay would not have made a difference for a book dealing with mesothelioma, today it does. Advances in biology and clinical care are now occurring at a rapid pace in this disease, and therefore some of the information presented is subtly out of date. Overall, however, this book provides an excellent review for the practicing clinician. There are few textbooks addressing mesothelioma, and this one is a welcome addition to the literature. Valerie W. Rusch, M.D.

Mesothelioma Help

Mesothelioma Overview

Mesothelial cells are a layer of specialized cells that line the body cavities, including the pleura (lining of the lung), peritoneum (lining of the abdominal cavity), and pericardium (lining of the heart). The tissue formed by these cells is called mesothelium.

The mesothelium contains both an outer and an inner layer. The inner layer surrounds the organs themselves, while the outer layer lines the body cavities The mesothelial cells themselves produce and secrete a small amount of lubricating fluid between the two layers that permits the organs to move smoothly against adjacent organs and structures.

Like other cells of the body, mesothelial cells can also grow abnormally, leading to the development of tumors. The tumors of the mesothelial cells can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). A malignant tumor of the mesothelium is called a malignant mesothelioma. Because most mesothelial tumors are cancerous, malignant mesothelioma is often simply referred to as mesothelioma. This article focuses on mesothelioma of the lining of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma).

The main risk factor for developing pleural mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is a mineral that occurs naturally as strong, flexible fibers that can be separated into thin threads and woven. Asbestos has been widely used in many industrial products, including cement, brake linings, roof shingles, flooring products, textiles, and insulation. If tiny asbestos particles float in the air, especially during the manufacturing process, they may be inhaled or swallowed.

Prior to the 1970s, enormous amounts of asbestos were used in commercial construction and shipbuilding. After the health risks of asbestos became known, production of asbestos slowed drastically in the 1970s. Governmental restrictions were placed on its use, and alternative materials became available. Despite these changes, asbestos continues to be used.

Occupations that deal with asbestos and typically associated with the onset of mesothelioma later in life include asbestos production, insulation work, heating trades, shipyard work, and construction.

The period between asbestos exposure and the development of mesothelioma is generally 35-40 years. Usually, people who develop mesothelioma have been exposed to asbestos for a prolonged period of time; however, some people with only brief exposures have also developed mesothelioma. On the other hand, not all workers who are heavily exposed develop mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma can also occur in family members and other people living with asbestos workers. It may be a result of exposure to asbestos dust brought home on the clothing and hair of asbestos workers.

In some people with mesothelioma, no specific asbestos exposure can be found. Frequently, such people have worked in a job where the exposure was not recognized. Nevertheless, mesothelioma without asbestos exposure does occur.

How to Survive Lung Cancer

Written by a lung cancer survivor who understands what it takes to beat the odds, this book offers unparalleled hope and direction for anyone facing this illness. It is filled with specific exercises and techniques to promote healing and reverse side effects by taking a pro-active approach in helping to restore your mind, body and spirit to an optimum state of health. Endorsed by a Lung Cancer Specialist and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, this book combines what the doctors tell you with critical information they don't tell you.

Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma Treatments

Lung cancer and Mesothelioma Treatments is a comprehensive reference for lung cancer. Comprising 41 chapters and 480 pages, the book reviews chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and gene therapy and many other topics. Learn how the new gene therapies work, what chemotherapy is designed to do, how lung tumors are categorized and why they metastasize. Each form of therapy and each stage of disease has its own chapter for easy reference. Thus you can review material on radiation treatments, or stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer in a single chapter.

The book Mesothelioma Treatments is designed to help you understand a difficult subject and interact with your doctor to make meaningful choices. It examines traditional therapies as well as new drugs like Tarceva and investigational therapies, and provides numerous references and directions for further research.

Utilizing his experience as a caregiver, the author discusses the stresses and practical realities of dealing with lung cancer. There are chapters on chemotherapy side effects, insurance questions, and the pressures of caregiving. Where are support groups located, what help can you provide when someone is hospitalized, and how do you talk about a serious illness are among the questions the book tries to answer.

Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma Treatments

Diagnostic Tests of mesothelioma cases

Determining the presence of malignant pleural mesothelioma and the type of mesothelioma requires examination of tissues removed from the lung. Sometimes this can be accomplished by looking for cancer cells in the sputum or by the removal of fluid from a pleural effusion (thoracentesis) for evaluation under a microscope. More commonly however, a biopsy which is the removal of a small piece of tissue for examination under a microscope is required. While there was once a concern that needle biopsy could spread the cancer, research indicates that a needle biopsy of the pleura is a safe procedure and it detects malignant mesothelioma approximately 86% of the time.[3] A biopsy can be obtained using one or more of the following procedures.

Bronchoscopy: During a bronchoscopy, a surgeon inserts a bronchoscope (thin, lighted tube) through the nose or mouth into the trachea (windpipe) and bronchi (air passages that lead to the lung). Through this tube, the surgeon can examine the inside of the trachea, bronchi and lung and collect cells or small tissue samples.

Fine Needle Aspiration: During this procedure, a surgeon inserts a needle through the chest into the area suspected of cancer in order to remove a tissue sample for examination under the microscope.

Thoracotomy: A thoracotomy is a major surgery, which involves opening the chest in order to remove a sample of tissue.

Sputum Cytology: Sputum cytology is a procedure used to examine mucus that is coughed up from the lungs or breathing tubes. The mucus is examined under a microscope in order to detect cancer cells.

Thoracentesis: During a thoracentesis, a needle is inserted through the chest wall into the pleural space in order to remove a sample of the fluid that surrounds the lungs in order to check for the presence of cancer cells.
Staging Tests

Once cancer has been diagnosed, a careful evaluation will be made to determine how far the cancer has spread (also called stage). In order to begin evaluating and discussing treatment options with their healthcare team, patients need to know the correct stage of their cancer. The following tests may be performed to accurately stage mesothelioma:

Chest x-ray: A chest radiograph may show pleural effusions or pleural thickening.

Computed tomography (CT): A CT scan may show whether there is fluid, thickening, or irregularities in the pleural. CT may also be helpful for determining whether the cancer has spread beyond the pleura into the chest wall, pericardium (sack around the heart), diaphragm (breathing muscle), or the lymph nodes.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): An MRI scan can be particularly useful to determine how extensive the cancer is and whether it can be removed with surgery. In addition to identifying the extent and whether the cancer can be removed with surgery, a special type of MRI, called contrast-enhanced MRI, is also helpful for differentiating mesothelioma from other types of cancer.4

Positron emission tomography (PET): Unlike techniques that provide anatomical images, such as X-ray, CT and MRI, PET shows chemical and physiological changes related to metabolism. This is important because these functional changes often occur before structural changes in tissues. PET images may therefore show abnormalities long before they would be revealed by X-ray, CT, or MRI. PET can sometimes distinguish between malignant and non-malignant fibrous processes in the pleura.[4]
Staging

Following a tissue diagnosis of mesothelioma, it is important to accurately determine the stage of cancer in order to begin treatment planning.

The stage describes how far the cancer has spread and each stage of cancer may be treated differently. There are many staging systems, but TNM is the most common. “T” refers to the size of the tumor, “N” to the number of lymph nodes involved, and “M” to metastasis. TNM staging measures the extent of the disease by evaluating these three aspects and assigning a stage, which is usually between 0-4. Generally, the lower the stage, the better the treatment prognosis (outcome) is.

A new international staging system for malignant pleural mesothelioma that is TNM-based was created in June 1994 at the Seventh World Conference of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.[5] There are currently six stages of malignant pleural mesothelioma: IA, IB, II, III, IV and Occult. While a higher stage number generally correlates with a worse prognosis, this system is relatively new and outcomes cannot be predicted with certainty. Determining mesothelioma stage requires obtaining a sample of lung and lymph nodes, which is typically performed during thoracentesis, and evaluating them under a microscope. Treatment details specific to disease stage may refer to the following:

Stage I-III Pleural Mesothelioma

Patients with stage I-III disease have cancer that can potentially be removed with surgery.

Stage IA: Patients with stage IA disease have cancer limited to the pleura on one side of the chest with no involvement of lymph nodes and no spread to other sites.

Stage IB: Patients with stage IB disease have cancer that has spread to the parietal pleura, including mediastinal and diaphragmatic pleura on one side of the chest and can have scattered foci of tumor also involving the visceral pleura. There is no involvement of lymph nodes or distant spread.

Stage II: Patients with stage II disease have cancer involving both parietal and visceral pleura and can have involvement of diaphragmatic muscle or extension into the lung. There can be lymph node involvement, but there is no distant spread.

Stage III: Patients with stage III cancer have locally advanced but potentially surgically resectable cancer. They have cancer involving parietal, mediastinal, diaphragmatic, and visceral pleura. They can also have spread to fascia, mediastinal fat, and soft tissue of the chest wall or involvement of the pericardium. These patients can have spread to the bronchopulmonary or hilar lymph nodes or to subcarinal or mediastinal lymph nodes, including the internal mammary nodes. They do not have spread to the opposite side of the chest or distant metastasis.

Stage IV Pleural Mesothelioma

Patients with stage IV disease have cancer that cannot be typically removed with surgery. They have spread of cancer to the mediastinal, internal mammary or supraclavicular lymph nodes on the side of the chest opposite to the original cancer. Distant metastasis can also be present.

Mesothelioma Treatments

Although science is not certain as to the exact mechanism which causes mesothelioma, it is thought that the asbestos fibers puncture the parenchyma, become lodged in the pleura, and by process of irritation create the change in the cells which causes the mesothelioma.

The chance of recovery for a person with mesothelioma depends on several factors, including:

* Size of the cancer
* Location of the cancer
* Spread of the cancer throughout the body
* Response to treatment
* Appearance of the cells under a microscope
* Age of the patient

Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious of all asbestos-related diseases. Virtually all cases of malignant mesothelioma are attributable to asbestos exposure.

If you have mesothelioma or you know someone who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, remember that time matters. The sooner you consult your doctor and get professional care the better your chances will be of dealing with this dangerous asbestos cancer. There are three traditional methods of fighting cancerous mesothelioma:

* Surgery
* Chemotherapy drugs
* Radiation therapy.

Please contact your doctor as soon as possible to get more information.

Xray Pictures of Mesothelioma Cancer

Mesothelioma is a rare and fatal form of cancer that attacks the mesothelium, the protect sac lining the lungs, stomach and/ or heart. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that is directly caused by exposure to asbestos. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is an uncommon type of cancer that begins in the mesothelial cells of the pleura. The pleura is a thin membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the chest cavity. The pleura consists of a visceral surface, which covers the lungs and a parietal surface, which lines the walls of the chest cavity and covers the upper surface of the diaphragm and lungs. The two layers are one continuous sheet of tissue that contains mesothelial cells. There is normally a very small amount of watery fluid within the pleural cavity that lubricates the pleural surfaces and allows the lungs to move freely over the inner surface of the chest wall during breathing.

Types of Mesothelioma
There are different types of mesothelioma cancer, including:

1. Pleural Mesothelioma: affects the lining of the lungs (most common type of mesothelioma, accounting for nearly 70 percent of cases)
2. * Peritoneal Mesothelioma: attacks the lining of the stomach
3. * Pericardial Mesothelioama: attacks the lining of the heart (rarest form of mesothelioma cancer, only accounting for about 5 percent of cases)

Mesothelioma Symptoms
The symptoms of mesothelioma can take up to 50 years to develop after initial asbestos exposure. Although each individual case is different, the most common mesothelioma symptoms include:

1. * Shortness of breath
2. * Chronic cough
3. * Fatigue
4. * Loss of appetite
5. * Weight loss

Treatment Of mesothelioma cases

Treatment of malignant mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer in which malignant cells are found in the sac lining the chest or abdomen. Exposure to airborne asbestos particles increases one's risk of developing malignant mesothelioma. The cancer typically develops 20 to 40 years after a person's initial...

using conventional therapies in combination with radiation and or chemotherapy on stage I or II Mesothelioma have proved on average 74.6 percent successful in extending the patient's life span by five years or more [commonly known as remission][this percentage may increase or decrease depending on date of discovery / stage of malignant development] (Oncology Today, 2009). Treatment course is primarily determined by the staging or development. This is unlike traditional treatment such as surgery by itself which has proved only be 16.3 percent likely to extend a patient's life span by five years or more [commonly known as remission]. Clinical behavior of the malignancy is affected by several factors including the continuous mesothelial surface of the pleural cavity which favors local metastasis via exfoliated cells, invasion to underlying tissue and other organs within the pleural cavity, and the extremely long latency period between asbestos exposure and development of the disease.
Surgery

Surgery, by itself, has proved disappointing. However, research indicates varied success when used in combination with radiation and chemotherapy (Duke, 2008) A pleurectomy/decortication is the most common surgery, in which the lining of the chest is removed. Less common is an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), in which the lung, lining of the inside of the chest, the hemi-diaphragm
Thoracic diaphragm
In the anatomy of mammals, the thoracic diaphragm is a sheet of muscle extending across the bottom of the rib cage. The diaphragm separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity and performs an important function in respiration...

and the pericardium
Pericardium
The pericardium is a double-walled sac that contains the heart and the roots of the great vessels.-Layers:There are two layers to the pericardial sac: the fibrous pericardium and the serous pericardium...

are removed.
Radiation


For patients with localized disease, and who can tolerate a radical surgery, radiation is often given post-operatively as a consolidative treatment. The entire hemi-thorax is treated with radiation therapy, often given simultaneously with chemotherapy. This approach of using surgery followed by radiation with chemotherapy has been pioneered by the thoracic oncology team at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. Delivering radiation and chemotherapy after a radical surgery has led to extended life expectancy in selected patient populations with some patients surviving more than 5 years. As part of a curative approach to mesothelioma, radiotherapy is also commonly applied to the sites of chest drain insertion, in order to prevent growth of the tumor along the track in the chest wall.

Although mesothelioma is generally resistant to curative treatment with radiotherapy alone, palliative treatment regimens are sometimes used to relieve symptoms arising from tumor growth, such as obstruction of a major blood vessel. Radiation therapy when given alone with curative intent has never been shown to improve survival from mesothelioma. The necessary radiation dose to treat mesothelioma that has not been surgically removed would be very toxic.
Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the only treatment for mesothelioma that has been proven to improve survival in randomised and controlled trials. The landmark study published in 2003 by Vogelzang and colleagues compared cisplatin
Cisplatin
Cisplatin, cisplatinum, or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum is a platinum-based chemotherapy drug used to treat various types of cancers, including sarcomas, some carcinomas , lymphomas, and germ cell tumors. It was the first member of a class of anti-cancer drugs which now also includes carboplatin...

chemotherapy alone with a combination of cisplatin and pemetrexed
Pemetrexed
Pemetrexed is a chemotherapy drug manufactured and marketed by Eli Lilly and Company. Its indications are the treatment of pleural mesothelioma as well as non-small cell lung cancer.-History:...

(brand name Alimta) chemotherapy) in patients who had not received chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma previously and were not candidates for more aggressive "curative" surgery. This trial was the first to report a survival advantage from chemotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma, showing a statistically significant improvement in median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the number separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest...

survival from 10 months in the patients treated with cisplatin alone to 13.3 months in the combination pemetrexed group in patients who received supplementation with folate and vitamin B12. Vitamin supplementation was given to most patients in the trial and pemetrexed related side effects were significantly less in patients receiving pemetrexed when they also received daily oral folate 500mcg and intramuscular vitamin B12 1000mcg every 9 weeks compared with patients receiving pemetrexed without vitamin supplementation. The objective response rate increased from 20% in the cisplatin group to 46% in the combination pemetrexed group. Some side effects such as nausea and vomiting, stomatitis
Stomatitis
Stomatitis is an inflammation of the mucous lining of any of the structures in the mouth, which may involve the cheeks, gums, tongue, lips, throat, and roof or floor of the mouth...

, and diarrhoea were more common in the combination pemetrexed group but only affected a minority of patients and overall the combination of pemetrexed and cisplatin was well tolerated when patients received vitamin supplementation; both quality of life
Quality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and political science. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of...

and lung function tests improved in the combination pemetrexed group. In February 2004, the United States Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is a Government agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, tobacco products, dietary supplements, Medication drugs, vaccines, Biopharmaceutical, blood transfusion,...

approved pemetrexed for treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. However, there are still unanswered questions about the optimal use of chemotherapy, including when to start treatment, and the optimal number of cycles to give.

Cisplatin in combination with raltitrexed
Raltitrexed
Raltitrexed is an antimetabolite drug used in cancer chemotherapy. It is an inhibitor of thymidylate synthase, and is manufactured by AstraZeneca.-Mechanism of action:...

has shown an improvement in survival similar to that reported for pemetrexed in combination with cisplatin, but raltitrexed is no longer commercially available for this indication. For patients unable to tolerate pemetrexed, cisplatin in combination with gemcitabine or vinorelbine is an alternative, or vinorelbine on its own, although a survival benefit has not been shown for these drugs. For patients in whom cisplatin cannot be used, carboplatin can be substituted but non-randomised data have shown lower response rates and high rates of haematological toxicity for carboplatin-based combinations, albeit with similar survival figures to patients receiving cisplatin.

In January 2009, the United States FDA approved using conventional therapies such as surgery in combination with radiation and or chemotherapy on stage I or II Mesothelioma after research conducted by a nationwide study by Duke University concluded an almost 50 point increase in remission rates.
Immunotherapy

Treatment regimens involving immunotherapy have yielded variable results. For example, intrapleural inoculation of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin is a vaccine against tuberculosis that is prepared from a strain of the attenuated live bovine tuberculosis bacillus, Mycobacterium bovis, that has lost its virulence in humans by being specially cultured in an artificial medium for years...

(BCG) in an attempt to boost the immune response, was found to be of no benefit to the patient (while it may benefit patients with bladder cancer
Bladder cancer
Bladder cancer refers to any of several types of malignant growths of the urinary bladder. It is a disease in which abnormal cells multiply without control in the bladder. The bladder is a hollow, muscular organ that stores urine; it is located in the pelvis...

). Mesothelioma cells proved susceptible to in vitro lysis by LAK cells following activation by interleukin-2 (IL-2), but patients undergoing this particular therapy experienced major side effects. Indeed, this trial was suspended in view of the unacceptably high levels of IL-2 toxicity and the severity of side effects such as fever and cachexia. Nonetheless, other trials involving interferon alpha have proved more encouraging with 20% of patients experiencing a greater than 50% reduction in tumor mass combined with minimal side effects.
Heated Intraoperative Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

A procedure known as heated intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy was developed by Paul Sugarbaker at the Washington Cancer Institute. The surgeon removes as much of the tumor as possible followed by the direct administration of a chemotherapy agent, heated to between 40 and 48°C, in the abdomen. The fluid is perfused for 60 to 120 minutes and then drained.

This technique permits the administration of high concentrations of selected drugs into the abdominal and pelvic surfaces. Heating the chemotherapy treatment increases the penetration of the drugs into tissues. Also, heating itself damages the malignant cells more than the normal cells.
Notable people who died from mesothelioma

Mesothelioma, though rare, has had a number of notable patients. Hamilton Jordan
Hamilton Jordan
William Hamilton McWhorter Jordan was Chief of Staff to President of the United States Jimmy Carter.-Early life:...

, Chief of Staff for President Jimmy Carter and life long cancer activist, died in 2008. Australian anti-racism activist Bob Bellear
Bob Bellear
Bob Bellear was the first Indigenous Australian judge.Bob was born in the far north-east of New South Wales, and grew up near the town of Mullumbimby...

died in 2005. British science fiction writer Michael G. Coney
Michael G. Coney
Michael Greatrex Coney was a British science fiction writer who spent his last years in Canada. Born in Birmingham, England on September 28, 1932, he moved to Victoria, British Columbia in 1972...

, responsible for nearly 100 works also died in 2005. American film and television actor Paul Gleason
Paul Gleason
Paul Xavier Gleason was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Gleason was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Eleanor , a registered nurse, and George L. Gleason, a restaurateur, professional boxer, iron worker, and roofing manufacturer. Gleason was raised in Uleta, however the...

, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Principal Richard Vernon in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen film written and directed by John Hughes. The storyline follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes...

, died in 2006. Mickie Most
Mickie Most
Mickie Most, born Michael Peter Hayes , was a successful English record producer, with a string of Number One singles with his own RAK Records, and with acts such as The Animals, Herman's Hermits, Donovan, and Suzi Quatro and the Jeff Beck Group.-Early career:Most was born in Aldershot, Hampshire...

, an English record producer, died of mesothelioma in 2003. Paul Rudolph, an American architect known for his cubist building designs, died in 1997.

Bernie Banton
Bernie Banton
Bernard Douglas Banton AM was an Australian social justice campaigner. He was the widely-recognised face of the legal and political campaign to achieve compensation for the many sufferers of asbestos-related conditions, which they contracted after working for the company James Hardie.Banton...

was an Australian workers' rights activist, who fought a long battle for compensation from James Hardie
James Hardie
James Hardie Industries Ltd. is an industrial building materials company headquartered in the Netherlands and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange which specialises in fibre cement products. James Hardie manufactures and develops technologies, materials and processes for the production of...

after he contracted mesothelioma after working for that company. He claimed James Hardie knew of the dangers of asbestos before he began work with the substance making insulation for power stations. Mesothelioma eventually took his life along with his brothers and hundreds of James Hardie workers. James Hardie made an undisclosed settlement with Banton only when his mesothelioma had reached its final stages and he was expected to have no more than 48hrs to live. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the centre-left Australian Labor Party . Under Rudd's leadership, the Labor Party won the 2007 federal election on 24 November against the incumbent centre-right Liberal/National coalition government led...

mentioned Banton's extended struggle in his acceptance speech after winning the 2007 Australian federal election.

Steve McQueen was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma on December 22, 1979. He was not offered surgery or chemotherapy because doctors felt the cancer was too advanced. McQueen sought alternative treatments from clinics in Mexico. He died of a heart attack on November 7, 1980, in Juárez, Mexico, following cancer surgery. He may have been exposed to asbestos while serving with the U.S. Marines as a young adult—asbestos was then commonly used to insulate ships' piping—or from its use as an insulating material in car racing suits. (It is also reported that he worked in a shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...

during World War II, where he might have been exposed to asbestos. )

United States Congressman Bruce Vento
Bruce Vento
Bruce Frank Vento , American politician, was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 until his death in 2000, in the 95th, 96th, 97th, 98th, 99th, 100th, 101st, 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, and 106th congresses, representing .Vento was born in Saint...

died of mesothelioma in 2000. The Bruce Vento Hopebuilder is awarded yearly by his wife at the MARF
Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is a non-profit organization that funds mesothelioma research, provides services to patients, educates the public, and advocates in Washington, DC for governmental funding for mesothelioma research...

Symposium to persons or organizations who have done the most to support mesothelioma research and advocacy.

After a long period of untreated illness and pain, rock and roll musician and songwriter Warren Zevon
Warren Zevon
Zevon redirects here. For his son Jordan, see Jordan ZevonWarren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his strange, sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical...

was diagnosed with inoperable mesothelioma in the fall of 2002. Refusing treatments he believed might incapacitate him, Zevon focused his energies on recording his final album The Wind
The Wind (album)
The Wind is the last studio album by American singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, released in 2003. Zevon began recording the album shortly after he was diagnosed with inoperable mesothelioma, and it was released just two weeks before his death on September 7 2003 .The album was awarded the Grammy...

including the song "Keep Me in Your Heart," which speaks of his failing breath. Zevon died at his home in Los Angeles, California, on September 7, 2003.

Christie Hennessy
Christie Hennessy
Christie Hennessy was an Irish folk singer-songwriter.- Early life :...

, the influential Irish singer-songwriter, died of mesothelioma in 2007, and had stridently refused to accept the prognosis in the weeks before his death. His mesothelioma has been attributed to his younger years spent working on building sites in London
London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...

.

Bob Miner
Bob Miner
Bob Miner co-founded Software Development Labs in August 1977 with Larry Ellison, and Ed Oates. Software Development Labs later became Oracle Corporation.If Larry Ellison was the brain behind Oracle, Bob Miner was its heart...

, one of the founders of Software Development Labs, the forerunner of Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation specializes in developing and marketing enterprise software products — particularly database management systems. Through organic growth and a number of high-profile acquisitions, Oracle enlarged its share of the software market...

died of mesothelioma in 1994.

Scottish Labour MP John William MacDougall died of mesothelioma on August 13, 2008, after fighting the disease for two years.

Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

journalist and news presenter, Peter Leonard
Peter Leonard
Peter Antony Leonard was an Australian journalist and newsreader. He was born in Yass, New South Wales, the son of a Greek immigrant father who died when Peter was 17. He was educated at Yass Primary School then at Canberra Grammar School as a boarder...

also succumbed to the condition on 23 September 2008.

Terrence McCann
Terrence McCann
Terrence John McCann was an American wrestler who won the Gold Medal in the bantamweight division of freestyle wrestling at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, and later helped found the United States Wrestling Federation...

Olympic gold medalist and longtime Executive Director of Toastmasters, died of mesothelioma on June 7, 2006 at his home in Dana Point, California.

Surgical Treatment for mesothelioma

Surgery is commonly used in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed. Depending on how far the cancer has spread, a lung also may be removed (pneumonectomy). The following are some of the most commonly used surgical treatments of mesothelioma:


Pleurodesis


Pleurodesis is a treatment administered through a thoracoscopy or existing chest tube. Pleurodesis creates inflammation effectively eliminating the pleural space. The elimination of this space then inhibits the accumulation of a pleural effusion. Generally used when the pleural effusion is symptomatic. Talc is used most commonly and effectively for this procedure, thus it is often referred to as "talcing" or as a patient having been "talced."


Pleurectomy

Surgery to remove part of the chest (pleura) or abdomen lining (peritoneum) and some of the tissue surrounding it. This procedure is performed for a variety of disorders including pleural effusion, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and trauma.


Pleurectomy/decortication

Surgery to remove part of the chest (pleura) or abdomen lining (peritoneum) and as much for the tumor mass as possible. This procedure may be performed to reduce pain caused by the tumor mass or to prevent the recurrence of pleural effusion. For peritoneal mesothelioma, surgery is generally aimed at relieving symptoms, such as recurrent ascites or bowel obstruction. As with pleural mesothelioma, complete surgical removal of the entire tumor is unlikely.
Pneumonectomy (new-mo-NEK-to-me)

Surgery to remove a lung.
Extrapleural pneumonectomy (or EPP)

Surgery to remove the pleura, diaphragm, pericardium, and entire lung involved with the tumor.

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the lining around the lungs, heart, and abdominal cavities - called the mesothelium - which is primarily caused by chronic exposure to asbestos or asbestos related products. As asbestos fibers enter the body, either by breathing or swallowing, they cause normally healthy cells to mutate into cancer.

This exposure can come directly, such as working in an asbestos processing center, or indirectly by inhalation of residual asbestos particles remaining on clothing or building materials. Studies show that exposure as short as one year can cause a variety of asbestos-related illnesses, including mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma Treatments

Five major approaches to mesothelioma treatments are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, palliative therapy, and biological therapy. Each method may be used alone, but often they are coordinated in combined programs to improve the overall treatment result. The extent of any treatment is always dependant upon a patient’s physical health condition, their age, the location and stages of mesothelioma (degree) of the disease, and the extent of asbestos exposure.


Surgery - Mesothelioma Treatment

Surgery - Patients diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma can be considered possible candidates for a surgical procedure known as pneumonectomy. This is the surgical excision (removal) of the diseased lung and, if need be, any affected parts of the surrounding diaphragm. In reality, pneumonectomy is considered a high-risk procedure and eligibility is dependant upon the patient’s present state of health and extent of asbestos cancer exposure.



Radiation - Mesothelioma Treatment

Radiation Treatment - Radiation therapy is the mesothelioma treatment of disease using either an external source of high-energy rays (x-rays or gamma rays) or internally implanted radioactive substances. These rays and substances are effective in destroying tissue and stopping the growth of malignant cells. In contrast to chemotherapy, radiation therapy is targeted towards a specific area and can treat the affected area without exposing the surrounding healthy tissue. Radiation can be used as a combination treatment along with surgery, or can be used alone to combat mesothelioma cancer. As with most treatments, a high dose of radiation can cause health complications.



Chemotherapy - Mesothelioma Treatment

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs in the cancer treatment. Standard chemotherapy treatments are either administered in the form of pills or injected medication, and may be used alone or in combination with surgery and irradiation. In chemotherapy, drugs are given according to a written protocol, or plan, that details exactly how the drugs will be given. Once these drugs are distributed in the body, however, both tumor cells and normal tissue cells are susceptible to their lethal effects, often making the patient very ill. Usually drug therapy is continued until the patient achieves a remission, which is the absence of all signs of disease. Common side effects of chemotherapy include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding, weight loss, hair loss, and overall physical fatigue.



Palliative Therapy - Mesothelioma Treatment

Palliative therapy is a relieving, but not curative method by which to treat and control the symptoms of mesothelioma cancer. During such therapy, a needle is used to drain and suction excess fluid from the affected tissue. Generally, post-palliative drugs are administered to the patient in order to prevent further accumulation of fluids.
Biological - Mesothelioma Treatment

Biological Treatment - A more recent approach to cancer treatment, including treatment of mesothelioma cancer, is the use of the body’s own defense mechanisms to fight tumor cells. Medical experts are exploring how elements of the immune system can be restored, enhanced, mimicked, and manipulated to destroy cancerous cells. Substances produced by normal cells that either directly block tumor growth or stimulate the immune system and other body defenses are called biological response modifiers. Examples of these substances are interferon (made by lymphocytes which are important in immune response), monoclonal antibodies (derived from mouse cells and capable of binding to human tumors in an immune response), colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) that stimulate blood forming cells, and interleukins that stimulate the immune system.