Cold, Hard, FACTS about Cancer: Spotlight Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelial tissue which the New Oxford American Dictionary says is the epithelium that lines the pleurae, peritoneum, and pericardium, and can effect the lungs, chest, and abdomen. Mesothelioma is associated especially with exposure to asbestos which is a heat-resistant fibrous silicate mineral that can be woven into fabrics, and is used in fire-resistant and insulating materials such as break linings, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary. There are also various types of asbestos including white, brown and blue. Asbestos was often used in the past to insulate buildings.

It took countless research to prove without a doubt that mesothelioma is a deadly cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. The United States government did not acknowledge mesothelioma as a authentic cause of death until 1989. After this, the commercial use of asbestos was banned.

Fortunately, there are opportunities for people who have acquired cancer because of asbestos to get legal and financial retribution for their medical bills and suffering, but this is a hard and drawn out process. Mesothelioma patients and their families can not go to court or battle this system alone. They must get at skilled mesothelioma lawyer to go to bat for them against those liable.

Even now, 19 years after the commercial use of asbestos was banned, there are still 1,000s of new cases of mesothelioma each year. Although statistics indicate that awareness of this debilitating disease is growing, there is still much to be done in equipping people with the knowledge that will one day help cross mesothelioma off the list of acquirable diseases.