1. Mesothelioma: Mesothelioma is a highly aggressive and rare form of cancer usually of the lining of the lung (pleural). Mesothelioma can also occur in the lining of the heart (pericardial) and abdominal cavity (peritoneal). The only known cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. Even if you are unaware of any exposure to asbestos, it is almost certain that asbestos caused the cancer.
The onset of mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos can take anywhere from 15 - 45 years. The first symptom is usually a constant pain in the chest and is accompanied by shortness of breath, or pain or swelling in the abdomen. Other symptoms include persistent coughing, coughing blood, fatigue and significant weight loss. The doctor may order an x-ray of the chest or abdomen. The doctor may look inside the chest cavity with a special instrument called a thoracoscope. A cut will be made through the chest wall and the thoracoscope will be put into the chest between two ribs. This test is called thoracoscopy and is usually done in the hospital. The doctor may also look inside the abdomen with a peritoneoscope and this procedure is called a peritoneoscopy. The peritoneoscope is put into an opening made in the abdomen. This test is also done in the hospital. If tissue is not found to be normal, the doctor will perform a biopsy. The biopsy will be done during the thoracoscopy or peritoneoscopy and the doctor will cut out a small piece of tissue and have it looked at under a microscope to see if there are any cancer cells. A person's life span is typically 12 - 24 months after diagnosis, but it depends on the size of the cancer, where it is, how far it has spread, how it responds to treatment, the health of the patient, etc. Mesothelioma advances in 4 stages:Stage I - the tumor is limited to the area of the lining of the lung and usually limited to only one side of the chest.Stage II - the tumor extends to other organs within the chest cavity, such as the heart or lymph nodes in the chest.Stage III - the tumor expands to the other side of the chest or it spreads into the abdominal organs. The lymph nodes outside the chest are affected.Stage IV - the cancer spreads to different parts of the body far outside the chest area like the liver, brain, or bone.

What is Asbestos and Why is it Harmful?
Asbestos is the generic name given to a group of fibrous minerals mined from the earth including: amosite, chrysotile, tremolite, crocidolite, etc. These readily available and inexpensive minerals can be separated into fibers that are strong, durable, chemical, heat and fire resistant and are an excellent insulator. The fibers are long, thin and flexible so that they can be easily woven into materials that were used during the entire 20th Century throughout all industrial complexes as well as commercial and residential buildings. Asbestos has been used in all of the following products: wallboard, wall coverings, roofing, shingles, siding, cement boards, cement sheets, paper, millboard, textiles, felts, cloth, blankets, sheet packing/gasket material, gaskets, mechanical packing, yarn, tape, rope, insulating/finishing cements, electrical products (wire, boards, cable, etc.), plasters, joint compounds, fireproofing materials, waterproofing materials, protective clothing, pipe covering, block insulation, friction materials, refractory products, cement pipe, plastic pipe, conduit, floor tile, adhesives, glue, paint, mechanical equipment (boilers, turbines, furnaces, dryers, compressors, pumps, valves, digesters, etc.) and raw asbestos fiber.
Asbestos fibers are tasteless and odorless. The fibers causing disease in humans are invisible and aerodynamic; thus allowing them to be deposited in the deepest sections of your lung. Typically, with persons exposed in occupational settings, airborne asbestos fibers quickly overwhelm the lungs and begin causing disease by lodging themselves in lung tissue. After many years, the scarred tissue reduces the elasticity of the lung resulting in asbestosis, a restrictive breathing disorder. Of course, the most significant danger from exposure to asbestos is cancer, particularly mesothelioma. Mesothelioma results from fibers actually going all the way through your lungs to the lining of the lungs.

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