The age of someone who is diagnosed with mesothelioma will affect life expectancy as well. A 55 year old man who is in relatively good health but discovers he has mesothelioma will probably outlive a man who is 75 years and and discovers the same kind of condition, unless the 75 year old found the asbestos-related lung cancer in the very early stages.  Logically, smokers diagnosed with mesothelioma do not have the life expectancies that non-smokers afflicted with mesothelioma have, either. However, there are ways to improve one’s life expectancy following a diagnosis of mesothelioma, regardless of the factors involved.

Although treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy will weaken a person with mesothelioma, consuming a healthy diet, getting as much exercise as possible and finding ways to reduce the stress of dealing with mesothelioma will improve one’s chances for increasing their life expectancy. However, catching the disease in its early stages is the most important factor influencing the life expectancies of mesothelioma cancer survivors. This is why it is important for an individual to know whether he or she was ever continually exposed to asbestos in the past.

Radiation therapy is commonly used to treat a wide variety of cancers and seems to work well on mesothelioma tumors by shrinking them which relieves pain and breathing difficulties. Immunotherapy is a somewhat new type of therapy which employs the use of cytokines and gene therapy. Cytokines are messenger proteins that can enhance the immune system, a vital component in successfully treating cancers and other aggressive disorders. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States has approved using photodynamic therapy for treating certain lung cancers as well as esophageal cancer but is still in the trial phase in regards to mesothelioma cancer. However, researchers consider this type of therapy promising and think it may become part of the treatment program for future mesothelioma patients.

Clinical trials are necessary to determine the efficacy and safety of drugs meant for treating debilitating disorders such as mesothelioma. With the use of volunteers, new anti-carcinogenic drugs and therapies such as photodynamic therapy can be thoroughly investigated and made available for patients suffering from a variety of diseases. With the advances being made in cancer research, scientists are constantly working on establishing new and improved treatments for mesothelioma patients.

• The first diagnosis made regarding mesothelioma and its association with exposure to asbestos came in 1964.
• There are three histologic types of mesothelioma: biphasic, epithelial and sarcomatoid
• A latency period of up to 50 years has been seen individuals exposed to asbestos
• The National Institute of health estimates that nearly 11 million people have been exposed to asbestos between 1940 and 1978.
• A stage 1 diagnosis of mesothelioma generally allows around 30 months of life for an individual following diagnosis while a stage 4 condition of mesothelioma allows for about six to seven months.
• Most people developing mesothelioma are older than 50 but younger than 70 years of age
• Approximately ten to 20 percents of mesothelioma cases affect the stomach
• PET and CT scans are the preferred types of scans physicians use when attempting to diagnose mesothelioma
• Pemetrexed and Cisplatin are the most frequently prescribed drugs for chemotherapy purposes, with two hours sessions scheduled every three weeks for patients undergoing this kind of therapy.

Symptoms of pleural (lung) mesothelioma include shortness of breath, chest pain, chronic cough and fatigue caused by persistent coughing and a weakened immune system. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma, or asbestos-related cancer found in the stomach include: accumulation of abdominal fluid (called ascites); unexplained lumps and swelling in the abdominal area and frequent stomach pain.

The only cause of this cancer is from asbestos exposure, a fibrous material created from naturally occurring minerals and used in a variety of building materials and other industrial products. Because these fibers are microscopic, they are easily inhaled and quickly insert themselves into the soft tissues surrounding the lungs. As a result, inflammation irritates the lungs, which generates conditions conducive to the proliferation of malignant cell growth. According to the Cancer Society’s website, the risk of being affected by mesothelioma increases with age, “with three out of four people diagnosed with mesothelioma being over the age of 65”. In addition, this disease appears to men four times more than women, no doubt due to the manufacturing-type jobs men used to have over 30 years ago.

A relatively new technique being experiment with for the treatment of epithelioid malignant mesothelioma is PDT, or photodynamic therapy. This therapy involves a light-activated drug that is injected in the patient’s vein. The drug has a definite tendency to target cancerous cells and collect inside the cells. After waiting a few days, a specialized red light is inserted into the chest, which stimulates the drug and promotes eradication of cancer cells. However, the drug can only be activated by this red light. The Cancer Organization site states that clinical trials are now being implemented to further develop this type of treatment for epithelioid malignant mesothelioma.

Tissue that appears abnormal will be tested by the doctor cutting a small piece and sending it to a laboratory where a biopsy will be performed. Because diagnosis of mesothelioma is sometimes difficult and patients are often the victim of misdiagnosis, anyone suspected of having asbestos-related lung cancer needs to tell the doctor of places they have worked in the past, especially if they worked for construction companies, the military or shipyards. Unless a doctor is aware of someone possibly being exposed to mesotheliomia, he may not suspect a case of this type of lung cancer because it is somewhat rare.

Imaging techniques to correctly diagnose mesothelioma are helpful because they provide detailed and accurate pictures of what is happening inside the lungs. Magnetic resonance imaging scans, or MRIs, are frequently utilized to determine how far along tumors have progressed before applying an aggressive treatment plan. MRIs are better equipped to differentiate between abnormal and normal growths as well. Positron emission tomography is probably the best kind of imaging scan to use when diagnosing mesothelioma but because of they are expensive and are not covered by many insurance companies, PET scans cannot be used all the time in a diagnosis of mesothelioma.

As an aggressive and often fatal form of cancer, mesothelioma is treatable but as yet does not have a cure. Treatment programs available are radiation therapy, chemotherapy or surgery, with some patients requiring more than one type of treatment. While these therapies do not cure asbestos-related lung cancer, they do alleviate the chronic cough and breathing difficulties associated with mesothelioma. Surgery is often needed when scarring occurs from asbestos fibers accumulating in the lungs and tumors emerge from these areas. Occasionally, an individual swallows asbestos fibers for many years which causes peritoneal mesothelioma due to fibers entering the stomach cavity.

Even more unfortunate with this type of cancer is the fact that mesothelioma is generally not diagnosed until the cancer is in an advanced stage because symptoms may not manifest themselves for up to 30 or 40 years later. In addition, mesothelioma symptoms resemble various respiratory ailments or heart conditions which may lead to a misdiagnosis from a physician who treats the cancer with ineffective medications meant for colds, flu or heart problems. Other symptoms of advanced pleural mesothelioma include difficulty swallowing, accumulation of fluid in the lungs, and neck or facial swelling caused by pressure on the superior vena cava vein, which transports blood from the heart to the upper body.

Frequently, more than one chemotherapy medication is administered to someone suffering from mesothelioma. This type of treatment is called combination therapy and involves specific drugs only given in combination with certain other drugs. Once such group of drugs given as a group are Alimta, gemcitabine and cisplatin. However, a recent drug has been discovered and approved for use in chemotherapy for patients with mesothelioma that is proving to be extremely promising. Called Pemetrexed, this anti-carcinogenic drug acts by inhibiting proteins necessary for gene synthesis. Without DNA synthesis, cancerous cells cannot mutate and reproduce. According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s website, doctors are primarily using these drugs as chemotherapy treatment for mesothelioma: Pemetrexed and Cisplatin; Pemetrexed and Carboplatin; Gemcitabine and Cisplatin and Vinorelbine as a single treatment.

Unfortunately, unwanted side effects exist for those involved in chemotherapy. While anti-cancer medication is effective in destroying carcinogenic tumors and cellular deposits, healthy cells are usually affected by the strong drugs, causing symptoms of chemotherapy such as hair loss, continuous nausea, sore throat, fatigue, weak or aching muscles and digestive issues. Side effects of chemotherapy usually stop after drugs are no longer being taken. However, relief from these unwanted symptoms may take several days to several weeks, depending on the person’s overall health and extent of cancer progression.

Initial stages of mesothelioma begin when mesothelial cells become inflamed by microscopic asbestos fibers piercing the tissues made of these cells. The normal behavior of cells is disrupted which inevitably results in changes to the DNA of the cells, a precursor condition to cancer. In addition, asbestos fibers stimulate free radical production. Free radicals are destructive molecules that also harm genetic material and provokes mutations enhancing generation of cancer cells. In addition, asbestos exposure triggers formulation of oncoproteins. These proteins actually encourage mesothelial cells to disregard cell reproduction restraints which allows them to develop into cancerous cells and tumors.

Before the 1980′s, asbestos was found in numerous manufacturing industries and their products which allowed millions of employees to be exposed to its carcinogenic fibers. Some of these items that once contained asbestos and may have caused mesothelioma include: automobile parts; attic insulation; electrical wire; HVAC duct insulation; pipe covering; floor tiles; boilers; siding; boilers; roofing shingles; pumps; valves and fireproofing materials. Asbestos was widely utilized because of its durability and affordability. For this reason, companies were reluctant to replace it with some other material and allowed workers to continue being exposed, knowing it was toxic. Asbestos has only recently been named as the primary cause of mesothelioma because of its long latency period.

According to the website Asbestos.com, a 2010 study by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and the National Cancer Institute discovered a protein that “plays a key role in the development of mesothelioma. This protein, HMGB1, was found in elevated levels of patients who had been exposed to asbestos. The researchers learned that as the result of asbestos exposure, the presence of this protein can lead to an inflammatory reaction that causes tumor growth”.

In addition, this research study found that once asbestos fibers find their way into a human body, they destroy cells by employing a form of “programmed cell necrosis”. Essentially, this means that cells literally kill themselves when infiltrated with asbestos fibers. Scientists performing this research concluded that by attempting to interfere with the interaction between HMGB1 and asbestos fibers, a reduction in the development of tumors may be possible.

Asbestos-caused cancers usually do not produce symptoms for 20, 30 even 50 years, with initial symptoms of chronic coughing and mild breathing problems affecting the individual. People who are carrying the disease may feel perfectly healthy until lesions or tumors begin spreading over the lung or stomach area. By then, the mesothelioma has advanced to later stages of the disease requiring surgery and radiation therapy.

Asbestos exposure causes all mesothelioma cancers but usually affects the lungs. However, in this type of abdominal asbestos-related cancer, asbestos fibers are both accidentally ingested and swallowed. This is how these microscopic fibers eventually become embedded in the peritoneum and give rise to peritoneal mesothelioma cancer. Pleural mesothelioma can develop into abdominal mesothelioma if it is allowed to metastasized and spread directly into the stomach and peritoneum.

Many individuals who were repeatedly exposed to “friable asbestos fibers” are often diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. This kind of asbestos was utilized in construction and industrial products generally found in naval shipyards, steel mills, aluminum plants and power plants. Friable asbestos fibers were used anywhere from 20 to 60 years ago, which means that most people diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma cancer are elderly and encounter difficulty in fighting the disease due to other health problems associated with aging.

In addition, physicians frequently misdiagnose an instance of this type of cancer because symptoms closely resemble those of abdominal disorders such as hernias or ulcers. Individuals who are older and think they may have once been exposed to asbestos should tell their doctor so that he can perform tests to rule out mesothelioma. Unfortunately, prognosis of someone ultimately diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma cancer is not good; palliative measures are always taken, however, so that the individual remains as comfortable as possible.