What is Mesothelioma?

What is mesothelioma? Facts and myths of this very current diseases.There is general misconception that mesothelioma is a form of lung cancer. This is actually a cancer of the protective membrane around the lungs, the ribs, known as mesothelium. Membrane that covers most of the organs of the body, but it is the layer around the lungs are most often become cancerous.

Unlike lung cancer, mesothelioma is not caused by smoking. Large number of cases linked to exposure to small-typically in various building materials, especially asbestos insulation that is used airborne mineral fragments. The only known cause of mesothelioma asbestos fibers are inhaled. Asbestos is closely linked with other life threatening and severely debilitating diseases, including cancer and asbestosis, see, and less severe disease, affecting the lining of the lungs, such as pleural fibrosis, pleural plaques and benign pleural effusions.

Manufacturers of building materials is also aware of the risks of exposure to asbestos on board, since the mid-1930s, but the warnings and safety measures can be initiated only in 1960, and is dangerously inadequate. Finally, the use of asbestos in construction was banned in the United States in the mid-1970s, and more stringent measures have been taken to protect workers in the renovation or demolition sites where asbestos is present.