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Mesothelioma Attorney Articles
How Many treatments are currently being used for victims of asbestos diseases?
Mesothelioma is touted as deadly because most of the cases are diagnosed when in the advanced stage and doctors have few options for treatment. Doctors can, however, help to relieve the patients from severe pain of mesothelioma using advanced treatments.

Surgery

Before considering surgery as one of the propositions for the treatment of malignant cancer, the health of the patient needs to be carefully evaluated. Tests are performed to check whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Evaluation of the patient’s lung and heart functions is also performed. In the case of the former, a mesothelioma surgery cannot be performed. Both the heart and lungs need to be in a properly functioning state for surgery to take place.

Surgery is of two types: aggressive surgery (long-term control) and palliative procedures (relief of symptoms). Let’s define each of them separately.

Aggressive Surgery

Aggressive surgery involves removal of the lung, the pleura, the diaphragm and the pericardium by a procedure known as extra pleural pneumonectomy. The intent of this method is to physically remove as much of the tumor as possible. It adopts a bold method to do away with the disease—hence the name is “Aggressive Surgery”. This surgery is extremely complicated and involves a high risk factor. Extra pleural pneumonectomy is usually performed on younger patients who are in good health and are in a position to tolerate the surgery.

Palliative Procedures

Palliative procedures are usually performed when the cancer is in its advanced form. These procedures are used to control the symptoms of mesothelioma rather than to cure them. Pleurectomy (also decortications) is the process to surgically remove the pleura. This method reduces the pain caused by the cancerous mass and may also prevent the recurrence of pleural effusion (fluid collection which causes tremendous breathlessness). For patients suffering from peritoneal mesothelioma, complete surgical removal of the tumor is not usually possible. In this case the surgery aims to extenuate the symptoms.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy can also be used to treat mesothelioma. This method is usually only partially successful. The efficiency of this method often increases if a combination of drugs is used along with the chemo. Some of these combinations have proved successful and new drugs are being developed for the treatment of this cancer.


Radiation Therapy

In this method the tumor is killed by using radiation doses. However, killing the tumor cells is quite difficult with radiation. It is difficult to specifically locate the malignant cells. The heart, lungs and other organs may surround the tumor, and they are at the risk of getting damaged by the radiation dosage. However, lower doses of radiation can be used to reduce the disease to a certain extent.

Dual Therapy

Both chemotherapy and radiation are used in conjunction with each other after the surgery. They both help in killing any remaining tumor cells that were not removed by surgery and may also help in relieving symptoms of the disease.

The treatment methods, which are described above, are direct ways of treating a person suffering from mesothelioma. However, doctors and researchers are always on the lookout for new ways to treat the disease. The necessity for the evolution of alternative ways to treat patients suffering from mesothelioma arises because of the complex nature of different types of cancers, and because patients respond differently to various types of medical care. 2 types of care used are Immunoagumentive Therapy (IAT) and Intraoperative Photodynamic Therapy (IPT). The goal of IAT is to strengthen the body's own immune system. The same is done by balancing four different proteins found in the blood. IPT is being used to cure early stages of mesothelioma in the chest. IPT uses special drugs and light to kill cancer cells during surgery. A drug that makes tumor cells more sensitive to light is injected into a vein several days before surgery. During surgery, a special light is used to locate the cancer.

 
Asbestos in Your Home - Don't Give Your Kids Cancer
What is Asbestos? Asbestos is a mineral fiber known for its heat resistance and strength. It is also resistant to acid. Asbestos can only positively be identified under a microscope. However, asbestos in the home and workplace is easy to identify. As asbestos ages it starts to crumble and break. The deadly fibers are then released into the air and breathed in.

What Illnesses Are Caused By Asbestos? The tiny fibers released by the asbestos penetrate deeply into the lungs and remain in the individuals lungs for the rest of their lives. Constant or regular exposure to high doses of asbestos fibers can cause scarring of the lung tissue and respiratory disease asbestosis. Exposures to low amounts of asbestos are still highly dangerous and can cause lung cancer. Direct contact with asbestos can also cause Mesothelioma – a form of cancer exclusively linked to asbestos exposure. Symptoms of asbestos exposure usually take 20 – 40 years to develop. All types of asbestos cause cancer and all types of asbestos cancers can kill. Children are especially prone to developing cancer after exposure to asbestos.

What Products Contain Asbestos? - Floor Tiles - Ceiling Tiles - Sprayed on Textures Ceilings - Wrapping for Pipes - Boiler Insulation - Fire Proofing - Roof Tiles - Roof Tar - Heaters – Gas & Electric, Etc.


What To Do If You Suspect You Are In Contact With Asbestos Should you discover or suspect that you have asbestos in any part of your home or business you need to make a decision based on the amount of exposure and the condition of the asbestos. The most important factor is the general condition of the asbestos. If it is crumbling or broken it must be removed immediately as it will be releasing deadly asbestos fibers into the surrounding area. You must not remove the asbestos yourself. The asbestos needs to be removed and disposed of by a properly qualified and protected individual. Call your local government office or council immediately and seek advice on recognized companies that can remove the asbestos safely. If you are a home owner or a tenant you must make arrangements immediately to have the asbestos encapsulated or removed. You are liable for any person who develops cancer as a result of exposure in your home.

 
Causes of Mesothelioma
 Mesothelioma is the growth of malignant cells in the mesothelium, the thin membrane covering the body's internal organs. This mesothelium lining covers the pleural, peritoneal and pericardial cavities. Pleura is a membrane covering the lungs and it is the most common location where mesothelioma cancer occurs, also known as pleural mesothelioma. Peritoneum, the protective covering that lines the abdominal cavity may also develop malignant tumors and cause peritoneal mesothelioma.

 

Mesothelioma is one of the rarest cancers in the world that is caused only by exposure to asbestos. Its exposure can be direct, by inhalation of asbestos or indirect exposure in which the asbestos particles are inhaled from the clothing, hair, equipment or other articles that were previously exposed to asbestos.

Causes of Mesothelioma
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that is mined in different parts of the world due to its wide utility in various industries. However, it is a deadly carcinogen too and a major cause of mesothelioma and asbestosis.

Asbestos fibers are known to cause cancer of the mesothelium. Asbestos is the fibrous form of several minerals and hydrous silicates of magnesium found under ground. There are 3 types of asbestos, the blue one, the white one and the brown one. Of all these 3 types, the blue one is also called amphibole, long and thin in structure, is more carcinogenic than white or chrysolite asbestos or the brown one known as amosite.

However, in some cases the brown asbestos has also been found to cause mesothelioma. And it is for this reason that people exposed to asbestos even for a short period are vulnerable to the disease.

Pleural Mesothelioma
Asbestos fibers are very fine and easily make their way to the lungs where they settle down in the parenchyma of the lung and penetrate the pleura that later develops malignant mesothelial plaques.

Pleura, which anchors lungs to the chest cavity, is itself a double-layered membrane. The inner layer, called visceral pleura, surrounds the lungs while the outer one, known as parietal pleura, forms the lining of the pleural or chest cavity. The two pleural layers are filled with a fluid that helps them to slide over each other as we breathe. As the disease progresses, the delicate pleural membranes thicken and press the lungs. A fluid secreted by the malignant cells, pleural effusion, may also collect between visceral and parietal pleurae that causes problems in breathing and other complications.

Peritoneum Mesothelioma
The asbestos fibers may also cause cancer in the peritoneum, known as peritoneal mesothelioma. This leads to thickening of the membranes surrounding abdominal organs and collection of a fluid, ascites in the abdominal cavity making it swell.

Though it is yet not clear how peritoneal mesothelioma develops, it is believed that from lungs, the asbestos fibers are transported to abdomen and its organs by the lymphatic system or they may be deposited in the gut through saliva contaminated by the asbestos fibers.

Pericardial Mesothelioma
This is the rarest type of mesothelioma cancer that comprises of only 5% of all the mesothelioma cases. Like other types of mesothelioma cancer, pericardial mesothelioma is also caused by the inhalation of asbestos dust and fibers. The lining of the chest cavity which protects the heart is known as pericardium. It is provided with a natural fluid or mucous that provides continuous lubrication to the heart so that it can work properly and perform its functions.

It is a very deadly disease that destroys the tissues around the heart and diminishes the survival chances of the patient. As the asbestos particles settle further into the lining of the chest or pericardial, the cancer spreads in the body. It destroys the heart tissues and muscles that is very hazardous to life and proves fatal for the patient.

 
Cancer is an Energy
Einstein, a genius scientist of the 20th century, and central to the new energy physics, stated that ‘a problem cannot be solved by the same mind set that created it’. Cancer is a case in point. Cancer is a disease that stems partly from the products of the mechanistic, anthropomorphic and exploitative philosophy at the heart of our culture, which we tend to ignore. Its effective treatment demands that we see ourselves in a different light and act accordingly.

 

Medicine is extremely slow to move from a mechanistic and physical philosophy to a more energetic model, like the Gaian paradigm that values all life forms as connected. A philosophy of medicine that is over-reliant on logic and limited mainly to drugs and surgery is fundamentally flawed. Acts of logic always rely on analysis, that is breaking down a ‘whole’ into its constituent parts, and examining each minutely. Reductionist approaches fail to see the connectivity and relatedness of all things. As a result this philosophy is offering us ‘cures’ to cancer that are often as dangerous and destructive as the disease itself.

Nobel prize-winner Carlo Rubbia maintains that only a billionth of the world is actually made of matter and the rest is made of energy. The new sciences are challenging the way we perceive the world and as a result the way we relate to our bodies. Dr. K. Scott-Mumby, author of Virtual Medicine and an allergy specialist in the UK writes:

Science is proving that we exist as regulated and informed energy. Disease can now be redefined as a disruption, cessation or distortion in the information and energy fields. It’s time for medical practitioners to join the party.

Classical science has reached the end of what it can explain in reductionist terms. Issues such as whether light is a particle or a wave, or whether or not water has a memory (an issue central to the ‘proof’ of homeopathy), are moving modern science to a quantum level that deals with fields of energy. Medical science is still stuck in a very physical universe, where the objective is to ‘excise the lump’ almost regardless of where it came from and individual conditions of the patient and their experiences.

New sciences such as the chaos theories point a way forward into handling the complexities of whole systems that work together, in synergy. Unfortunately our medical systems and practices are still too often based on philosophy formulated in medieval times.

Because all interventions in a medical process have to been ‘proven’ as workable (using scientific double-blind testing methods), before doctors will recognize their validity (if they then do the research), medical science mostly marginalizes or ignores healing alternatives that can provide only ‘anecdotal evidence’. Multiple simultaneous treatments of different types and ‘levels’ tuned for one patient are un-testable by a reductionist philosophy and therefore ignored by mainstream medicine. In addition to this, regulatory pressures force researchers and companies to test their drugs on patients with advanced cancer - when the disease is much more difficult to treat and when the chances of success are modest - this means that potentially useful treatments are discarded as worthless.

Traditional research methodology, or ‘quantitative research’ is central to science and other methodologies are not usually acceptable. ‘Qualitative research’ is equally, if not more important at the present time in reference to cancer. Other medical systems, such as Chinese or Ayurvedic medicine, Homeopathy or Naturopathy use far subtler tools in both diagnosis and treatment. They are based on seeing the patient as a whole being and often use multiple interventions on several levels, simultaneously in the treatment of disease. Because they work at the level of an individual patient, and from a different philosophy of medicine, it is almost impossible to analyze them with the tools of reductionist science.

Our present rash of immune attacking diseases calls for a different kind of response than just drugs and surgery. A new medicine that combines established scientific excellence with traditional, alternative and natural treatments is needed. One that recognizes humans as feeling, vibrant, energetic, spiritual beings as well as physical and mental. There are dramatic developments in the treatment of cancer using energy systems, but information on this is actually suppressed. There is a movement toward an integrated medicine as more orthodox practitioners are starting to join in, led mostly by their patients.

From an energy point of view, when the human body is weak or unbalanced it oscillates at different frequencies than when it is healthy. This less harmonious frequency shows a state of cellular, energetic imbalance in the body. The physical body that is weakened in this way often needs help to shift to the needed frequency, which strengthens the immune system.

Some experienced medical doctors can make an intuitive diagnosis based on experience and can sometimes tell in a second or so what ails their patient. Posture, skin condition, nail, teeth and tongue all give clues, but experienced doctors may also intuitively pick up clues about their patients from energy and vibrational levels in a similar way to a gardener tending plants or a wild animal hunting its prey.

But modern doctors simply do not have the time for the level of attention given in many complementary and alternative therapies. This is one of the reasons alternatives are more popular than ever. Professional detachment is an essential part of the doctors’ repertoire and it protects them in part from the huge amount of need they encounter in day to day work.

Given the track record of orthodox medical science into whole person medicine, it may well be another 200 years or so before it is able to assimilate the new quantum sciences in relation to the human body. For those people with cancer now, there are a deliberately limited range of options available from orthodox medicine.

 
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View Facts for Cancer Treatment from the National Cancer Institute. See information on investigational drugs and new treatments and therapies.

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