Pericardial Mesothelioma is a very rare form of cancer that is found in the lining of the heart. Doctors agree that it is exposure to asbestos that causes Pericardial Mesothelioma. Those who suffer from it tend to have been involved in the building and construction industry at some point in their lives as asbestos was used in great quantities up until a few years ago. Today the use of asbestos is banned as experts now realise the damaging effects that it can have on people who are exposed to it. Unfortunately however this does not help the thousands of people who used asbestos on a daily basis for much of their adult working lives. As Pericardial Mesothelioma is so rare, it is thought to be responsible for just 10% of all the cases of diagnosed mesothelioma each year.

Although it is recognised that it is exposure to asbestos that causes Pericardial Mesothelioma it is unknown as to exactly how the fibres of asbestos get into the pericardial lining. It is assumed by many doctors that when the microscopic fibres of asbestos are inhaled they go into the bloodstream and are absorbed. When this contaminated blood reaches the heart some of the fibres will adhere to the lining and remain there causing Pericardial Mesothelioma over time. As it can take time for this to happen and so it can take years and years before a person even realises that they have something wrong with them and often by this time it is too late. Statistics show that a great number of people will live with these kind of symptoms for an average of six months before they will seek the advice of a healthcare professional.

Symptoms of Pericardial Mesothelioma are problems with breathing which include being short of breath. Chest pains are also another sign of Pericardial Mesothelioma although this can be a symptom of other illnesses so further diagnostic testing has to be performed. These tests will usually take the form of biopsies of internal tissue and comprehensive scans of the patient’s body. From this an accurate diagnosis can be made as to whether a patient has Pericardial Mesothelioma or not.

As all the types of mesotheliona are so severe the outcome for a person who has Pericardial Mesothelioma is not good. Surgery is a no go area as this can significantly damage the area surrounding the tumour and cause even more problems. Instead it is important to attempt to maintain the quality of life for the patient and help them to be as comfortable as possible. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy programs can be used on some patients who have had an early diagnosis but this will not eliminate Pericardial Mesothelioma it will merely extend the life of a sufferer. In short Pericardial Mesothelioma is a deadly disease that results in fatalities and it is directly linked to exposure to asbestos in earlier life. Even with a prompt and accurate diagnosis, because of the nature of the disease, a patient will never recover from it.

Mesothelioma lawyers

Following a new Government consultation paper, those affected by conditions caused by the inhalation of asbestos could be entitled to up to £5,000.

This paper overturns a controversial ruling by the Law Lords last year, which stated that insurance companies were not liable for compensation. The “no fault†scheme has been introduced to speed up payouts to suffers of “pleural plaques†a condition that can lead to serious diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Campaigners, however, are unhappy that calls to scrap the insurance company liability ruling altogether have been firmly rejected. This has also been met with outrage by politicians such a Labour MP Michael Clapham, who said:

“The disease is caused by negligent exposure to asbestos, which causes a physiological change, and the victim should be compensated.â€

He continued:

“This is a working-class disease and there is no doubt that had it been a middle-class disease the judges would have contrived a way to pay compensation.â€

Liverpool and the Wirral are considered to be hotspots for asbestos related illness, with reported cases of conditions occurring at higher than that average national level. In total, 1150 people died from Mesothelioma across the region from 1980-2005.

Among the areas worst affected were Ellesmere Port, Neston, Halton, Knowsley and Sefton. This is due to the region’s tradition of shipbuilding and heavy industry which over the years have led to high levels of asbestos exposure.

The death toll is expected to rise over the coming years, with experts predicting that as many as 2,450 related deaths could occur each year nationwide by the year 2015

Industrial workers often suffer injuries at the workplace due to insufficient safety. Faulty equipments and machinery, unsafe working environment, can cause injuries. Any person who has been a victim of such injuries can make a claim for the losses suffered. Such people can make personal injury claim for industry work.

The workplace most often becomes the place of accident. Every year, thousands of people suffer such injuries due to poor work conditions. Anyone who has suffered such type of injury can make a claim. If the accident at work has resulted due to the fault of the other person, one is entitled to make a personal injury compensation claim against the employer. The accident claims solicitors have experience in dealing with many types of accident at work claims including:

•  Manual handling accidents
•  Slip, trip and fall accidents
•  Violence by another employee
•  Faulty machinery accident

Industrial injury can also result from minor stress to severe illnesses such as asbestosis and carpal tunnel syndrome. In the past, people have also suffered such injuries due to dangers of asbestos use. Accident claims solicitors can help deal with all types of industrial illness claims including:

•  Asbestosis
•  Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
•  Vibration White Finger
•  Tinnitus or industrial deafness
•  Skin diseases such as eczema and dermatitis
•  Mesothelioma

Unfortunately, many people suffer for the fault of someone. Not many are even aware of the fact they can make a claim. If a person has suffered an industrial illness due to the employer’s negligence, one can surely make a claim. Anyone who has suffered injuries in the head can make head & brain, injury claim. These kinds of injuries can result due to a road accident, or due to sudden force of which makes person move forward while sitting in a car, etc. Seeking help from experienced solicits can help make a claim.

The solicitors can help get suitable compensation for the injuries suffered. If a person has suffered a hearing loss due to excessive noise at the workplace, a person can make hearing loss claim. A person need not suffer for the fault of someone else. A person can get compensation for the negligence of someone. If one can prove that the injury has resulted due to the fault of the other person, he or she can make a claim successfully. It must be substantiated with appropriate documents. The severity of industrial deafness/noise induced deafness can vary from one person to the other person.

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring fibrous mineral of metamorpic hydrous magnesium silicate. The term “metamorphic” is used to describe a process of extreme heat and pressure which creates specific secondary patterns of minerals with new chemical and/or physical properties.

As the primary rock is heated and recooled, silicate crystals align in long rows of mineral fibers, which easily separate into tiny shards thinner than a human hair. Asbestos fibers are not a health risk as long as they are undisturbed. However, when asbestos is undergoes natural weathering, or is mined and processed, the microscopic particles waft into the air and cause disease if they are inhaled.

Asbestosis occurs when an inhaled asbestos particle irritates the body’s natural defence mechanisms, causing inflammation and scarring which eventually restricts lung function. Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor of the membranes surrounding the heart, lungs and abdominal cavity. Asbestos can also cause cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, stomach, lung and lymphoid tissue.

Asbestos exposure can also cause non-fatal illnesses such as asbestos warts, caused when asbestos fibers are lodged in the skin, causing lumps of scar tissue to form around the irritant in the same manner as they do in the lungs to cause asbestosis; pleural plaques, discrete, sometimes calcified fibrous lesions which can be seen on X-rays but are too small to cause breathing impairment; and diffuse pleural thickening, which can cause breathing impairment if it is extensive.

Due to its fire resistant properties, asbestos has been used historically for household and industrial purposes. It has been found woven into burial cloths in ancient Egypt, and Charlemagne reportedly had a tablecloth made of asbestos which he would throw into a fire to clean.

In World War II asbestos was considered so important by the War Department that it was considered a strategic material, and many American workers were exposed in the World War II boom in shipbuilding. After the war, it was widely used in the construction industry.

In modern Western society, it was used for such diverse purposes as lamp wicks, brake shoes, oven insulation, electrical hotplate wiring and home insulation, roofing and flooring. For instance, some kinds of vermiculite used in home insulation into the 1970s contained asbestos. The EPA banned this product in 1977.

When a home owner discovers asbestos in an old home, it should not be a cause for immediate panic. If the asbestos looks intact and is not pulverised, it is best to leave it alone. However, because of legal liability, schools and businesses containing asbestos usually must undergo a costly removal process, hazardous in itself because disturbing the stable asbestos product causes fibers to fill the air. Special equipment must be used to insure that the removal process does not cause health problems where non existed before.

Most industrialised nations have reduced or banned the use of asbestos for at least 30 years and now use fiberglass or woven ceramic fiber as a substitute, but since asbestos-caused disease has a latency period of up to 50 years, patients are still presenting with these illness today. Every year in America, approximately 3000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed, and 550 deaths occurs due to asbestosis. According to the March 1991 Report of the Judicial Conference Ad Hoc Committee on Asbestos Litigation, asbestos exposure has caused the deaths of approximately 200,000 to 265,000 Americans.

Asbestos use peaked in the United States in 1973, when 1 million tons of the material were used. The EPA attempted to institute a complete legal ban on the use of asbestos products in 1989; however, this ban was largely eviscerated by the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991, and some restricted use of asbestos, albeit in fewer products than before, resumed. Therefore, even today some workers are being exposed to this toxic material.

Asbestos is a serious continuing concern to the Environmental Protection Agency, and their website has detailed information on asbestos and its removal.

Concerns about the health risks of asbestos exposure date back to 1898, when the Chief Inspector of Factories of the United Kingdom reported to Parliament in his Annual Report about the “evil effects of asbestos dust”. He noted that the “sharp, glass like nature of the particles” when allowed to remain suspended in the air, “have been found to be injurious, as might have been expected”. In 1906 a British Parliamentary Commission confirmed the first cases of asbestos-related deaths in British factories and called for improved ventilation and other safety measures. In 1918 an American insurance company produced a study showing premature deaths in the asbestos industry in the United States and in 1926 the Massachusetts Industrial Accidents Board processed the first successful claim by a sick asbestos worker.

Today, lawsuits claiming compensation for asbestos-related illnesses are a growth industry in the legal profession. An internet search of “mesothelioma lawyer” yields 1,910,000 results. The original manufacturers of asbestos products have long since been driven into Chapter 11 bankruptcy; plaintiffs have now turned to suing corporations with peripheral connections to asbestos products. More than 70 American corporations have filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in due to asbestos liability claims.

Since the 1970’s, approximately 6% of all lawsuits filed in American courts have been asbestos-related. The lawsuits now facing the courts have been described as “an elephantine mass” by the US Supreme Court, and are expected to cost between 200 to 275 billion dollars to settle. Asbestos liability is one of the largest issues facing the global insurance industry today.

Most epidemiological studies expected the number of lawsuits to peak in the 1990s, but this has not occurred, either because of the long latency period of asbestos-related diseases, or because legal action is becoming more popular among asbestos-exposed members of the public due to high-profile legal cases and widespread advertising by attorneys who specialize in such cases.

Many complaints have been made by representatives of industries facing lawsuits and the insurance companies who will be expected to pay them that the asbestos-lawsuit industry is rife with fraud, with less that half of all payouts reaching the plaintiffs. Aggressive, ambulance-chasing lawyers are said to exaggerate medical disability and coach clients on their testimony.

The group of plaintiffs includes not only ill people, but also those who have merely have a history of asbestos exposure and want compensation for potential future health risks. According to the American Academy of Acturaries Mass Tort Work Group, more than 100 million Americans have been exposed to asbestos in their workplace during the past century.

Pleural mesothelioma is the form of mesothelioma that affects the linings of the lung which is also called the pleura. People often mistake pleural mesothelioma to be a kind of lung cancer. Mesothelioma is a malignance that affects the protective membrane surrounding the lungs and not the organ itself. Of course with advanced stages, it does affect the functioning of the organ but it is not the same as lung cancer. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common kind of mesothelioma that victims experience. The other two kinds are peritoneal mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma – in the first it affects the lining of the abdomen and in the second it affects the lining of the chest.

Pleural mesothelioma is sometimes referred to as asbestos lung cancer which is not absolutely incorrect since in most cases of mesothelioma, it stems from the unprotected exposure of an individual to extreme amounts of asbestos. Still it should be remembered that a cancer which does not originate in the lung cannot be called as a form of lung cancer. It is a different issue if it develops into a further stage and affects the organ. Pleural mesothelioma as stated before happens due to inhaling asbestos fibers which sediment along the lining of the lungs and over a considerable period of time begins to show symptoms and cause problems to the individual which eventually gets diagnosed as a malignant disease – namely pleural mesothelioma.

Pleural mesothelioma often shows multiple tumours which grow along the outise surface of the lining of the lungs. Normally, the outer lining is more affected than the inner lining. In records, it has been noted that the right lung has a slight more chance of contracting pleural mesothelioma than the left lung and this is because the right lung is biologically larger and thus offers a bigger pleural surface than the left one. Also it has been observed that the lungs on the lower side contain more tumours than those on the upper side and this is often credited to the force of gravity which causes the asbestos fibers to settle down in a certain way.

As patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma only in its later stages, the size of the tumours is usually very large and if they are left undiagnosed they eventually cause complete blockage of the lungs. These tumours if left unattended can also begin to affect other organs of the body including the abdomen and heart as well as the circulatory system. However not all tumours that grow in the pleura are related to pleural mesothelioma.

The symptoms of pleural mesothelioma are difficult to spot as they are like those that we experience for very simple diseases. These include shortness of breath, chest pains, cough, sudden weight loss etc. But if you suspect there are chances that you might be suffering from pleural mesothelioma because you have been subject to inhaling asbestos at some point of time in your life, visit a doctor immediately and get yourself thoroughly checked because there are major chances that you might be suffering from mesothelioma and not even be aware of it.

Though not directly exposed to asbestos in high concentrations, family and friends of workers who are heavily exposed are at some risk, as evidence shows. This contamination can come from the clothing of a someone who works with asbestos, living near an asbestos mine, plant or other location, breathing the air in those locations where asbestos exists is large quantities, drinking liquids that have been exposed to asbestos, eating foods grown in dirt or otherwise ingesting dirt that has been exposed to asbestos. Ultimately, exposing your family and friends to asbestos might cause one or more of them to develop mesothelioma many years later.

Exposure of Children

Asbestos fibers can be found in dirt and water supplies near workplaces that mine asbestos or use it extensively in industry. Children are known to drink more fluid per body size, and eat more dirt than adults. Children may ingest dirt by eating it directly, eating foods with dirty hands, or eating food that was dropped on the ground. Children’s lung structure is different than adults, and their fragile respiratory and digestive systems may be more susceptible to inhaled or ingested asbestos particles than an adult’s. Since mesothelioma does not show up until many years after the first exposure, 20 to 50 years by most estimates, it is difficult to estimate whether children are at greater risk than adults, though it is reasonable to consider this possibility.

Resources, Income and Health Care Benefits

If you become unable to work before reaching retirement age, you and your family will suffer the loss of your income and health benefits. Treatment for mesothelioma is expensive, so, even if you qualify for social security disability (SSD) and Medicare coverage, you will go many months, possibly years without income or Medicare coverage before your social security disability is approved, and another 25 months before you are eligible for Medicare.

If your social security disability application is approved, your income will be less than half what you are accustomed to earning, and Medicare does not cover all costs. You will have to pay insurance premiums for Medicare part A, B, (or C) and D, further reducing your usable income.

If you have not worked 40 quarters by the time you become disabled, you will not qualify for social security disability, but might qualify for supplemental security disability insurance (SSDI), and state Medicaid. SSDI is a significantly smaller income than SSD, and Medicaid is usually more limited medical coverage than Medicare, though there is no premium.

Quality of Life and Relationships

In addition to exposing family and friends to contamination from which they might later suffer health consequences, their lives, as well as these relationships, will be affected by your illness.

• If your wife was not formerly employed, she may need to go to work

• She will not be as available to care for you

• If your wife was already working, your income will be reduced to what she can bring in

• You are likely to have medical expenses that are not covered, even by Medicare

• You may need additional help with activities of daily living, such as dressing, fixing meals, taking medications, picking up prescriptions, traveling to the doctor, and more

• You may not be able to play with your children or grandchildren, or enjoy the company of friends and family as others your age might do

• You may find that fewer of them visit for social reasons

• Many friends, as well as some family members, will drift away, not knowing how to relate to you anymore

If you are fortunate enough to have good friends, they will likely be willing to help you, but your relationships will change along with your activities. Mesothelioma will cause your life will change in every way possible.

As Mesothelioma is a relatively uncommon disease, there are very few dedicated treatment centers in the US and in other places of the world. This limits the choice of mesothelioma victims in finding centers for specialized and specific help for their condition.

Most major hospitals however have highly specialized general oncology{cancer} departments where mesothelioma victims can get the necessary treatment for their disease.

Cancer treatment centers elicit different emotions in many people. The presence of so many critically ill people searching desperately for a cure can cause fear and depression, while others draw inspiration from the devotion of so many professionals working for a common cause or the courage of terminally ill people fighting their terrible conditions. In reality, these impressions vary greatly from individual to individual depending on their previous experiences

Clearly, the disposition of the person suffering from this deadly disease will greatly affect the opinion they draw from these centers.

Cancer centers usually provide a number of different services. They provide specialized treatment and management for the different types of mesothelioma cancer, they also provide spiritual, emotional, and legal counseling for the patients and their families. Cancer is responsible for a variety of ancillary conditions, and many of the patients need help coping with the side effects of treatment, or require advice on how to plan their estates.

Treating cancer in a medical center often provides the best hope for victims of mesothelioma, but the expense of travel, lodging, and treatment often prohibit many victims from pursuing adequate treatment. To this end, consulting a lawyer about potential action against the negligent parties responsible for your condition can provide the means to seek such treatment. Victims of mesothelioma know time is of the essence, but more so when you consider your state has limits on the amount of time you have to press your claim. Don’t risk losing more than you already have. Contact an attorney without delay.

Mesothelioma is the commonest primary tumor of the pleura. There are two main types;
1] the localized mesothelioma{bening and malignant types}
2] the diffuse malignant mesothelioma

Causes
There is a strong correlation between asbestos exposure and the development of mesothelioma, although a history of exposure is not always obtainable in patients who have mesothelioma. There are 2 types of asbestos fibers based on crystalline structure; a-serpentine {chrysolite} and b-amphibole. Included within the amphibole are amosite, tremolte, crocidolite and anthophyllite. The most harmful is the crocidolite or better known as blue asbestos.

Localised Bening Mesothelioma

These characteristically arise from the inner layer of the pleura
Symptoms and signs;
-chest pain
-shortness of breath
-most of the times there are no symptoms {asymptomatic}, these tumors are usually discovered on routine chest x-ray
-hypoglycemia {low blood sugar} is sometimes associated

Treatment
Surgery is the main stay of treatment, the tumor is removed by the surgeon and recurrence is rare and when it happens transition to malignant form of tumor should be suspected.

Localized Malignant Mesothelioma
Symptoms and Signs;
-chest pain
-cough
-fever
-shortness of breath
Treatment
Surgery is also the treatment of choice, although prognosis is very poor

Diffuse Malignant Mesothelioma
This type of mesothelioma can arise form any part of the pleura and often extend into the peritoneum as well as into the ribs and chest wall {peritoneal mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma}. It also spreads commonly to the liver, brain and adrenal glands. Histologically malignant mesothelioma have both fibrous {sarcomatous mesothelioma} and epithelial {papillary} components.

Investigations
-CT scan of the chest is extremely useful in diagnosing the extent of the tumor.
-Needle biopsy {the surgeon inserts a special needle into the pleura to take samples of the tumor which is taken to the laboratory to see under the microscope} of the pleura is a must.
-Pleural fluid is aspirated and taken to the lab for microscopic examination.
Staging of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
-Stage 1:Involvement of ipsilateral pleura and lungs {affecting just one lung either left or right lung}
-Stage 2-Involvement of chest wall, mediastinum {structure at the middle of the heart}, pericardium or contralateral {opposite side} pleura
-Stage 3-Distant blood spread into other organs eg brain, adrenals

Treatment
Treatment is discouragingly ineffective and survival rarely longer than 2 years with an average of 10-14 months. In selected cases with stage 1 a radical surgery-pleuropneumonectomy may be effective, but long term survival is rare. Primary radiation therapy may be used also. Combination chemotherapy using either single agent or combination protocols have also been used but the outcome remains dismal.

We now know that asbestos is a killer, and those suffering from asbestos-related diseases have been entitled to compensation claims for their illnesses for a number of years. More recently, those who have been affected through secondary exposure to asbestos have discovered they may be able to claim for compensation, as well.

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral which is toxic to humans. Inhaling it can lead to a number of serious health problems, including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Asbestos is soft, pliable and able to withstand heat, electricity and chemical damage, all properties which led to its widespread use in building and manufacturing from the late 19th century until the mid-1980s. It was at this time that it became widely acknowledged that asbestos was a dangerous substance, and many uses of asbestos have been banned ever since.

When is asbestos hazardous?

Although many buildings still have asbestos within them, simply being in close proximity to the substance is not dangerous. You can live in a house which contains asbestos without ever being affected by it, provided the asbestos dust and fibres are not released into the air and inhaled. However, anyone dismantling buildings which contain asbestos must take precautions so as not to inhale the fibres.

Asbestos exposure is most deadly when the fibres are inhaled regularly over a long period of time, for example, through working with asbestos or as a result of living in close proximity to an asbestos mine.

Asbestos compensation claims

Asbestos has been used habitually for many years, mostly by people unaware of its dangers. Because lots of these people were effectively put in danger at work by their employer, many affected by asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma (asbestos-related cancer) are now claiming for compensation, and have been doing so since 1972.

Because symptoms of asbestos-related illnesses may not appear until many years after the initial exposure, asbestos claims can be backdated by years or even decades.

Secondary exposure to asbestos

More recently, the medical profession has come to realise that it is not just those who have been exposed to asbestos at work that could become ill. Their friends and family may also be affected, if they regularly came into contact with them while they still had asbestos on their work clothes.

Often, the partners or relatives of those who have worked with asbestos on a daily basis have inhaled the substance each day while washing their work outfits or overalls. Many claims have been filed by women who were made sick in this way, and interviews with the victims showed that they would usually shake out the clothes before they washed them, thereby releasing more of the dust and fibres into the air they were breathing.

Can you claim compensation?

If you believe you could have been affected by secondary exposure to asbestos, look out for symptoms such as coughing, chest pains and shortness of breath, as these can all be linked to asbestos-related diseases. Anyone suffering from secondary asbestos exposure, where the exposure was not their fault, has the right to claim asbestosis compensation for their suffering and for any medical expenses incurred.

The Mesothelioma cancer that affects your abdominal cavity is precisely known as the Peritoneal Mesothelioma cancer or Abdominal Mesothelioma cancer. Peritoneum is basically the envelope that covers your abdominal region including the intestines and the stomach. The cancerous cells initially grow in this region and then affect the abdomen directly. The person suffering from the peritoneal cancer will never get well because no possible treatment can yet recover him completely. You cannot apprehend the death’s approach. It may come anytime.

How does the asbestos dust get into the body?

According to the Medical Science there are two probably ways for the asbestos dust to get inside your abdominal outline of Mesothelium or peritoneum. The first process is related to ingestion that happens when a person works in a surrounding filled with asbestos dust for a long period. Also through the process of respiration, asbestos dust reaches your lungs and from that location through the lymph nodes the dust passes down to the abdominal lining.

Conventional treatment procedures

Surgical method of treatment is applied when tumors have grown around the peritoneum. Otherwise the radiation therapy is very helpful in removing the cancerous cells and keeping your body out of pain.

Another important treatment procedure is chemotherapy. Here the medicine called anti-carcinogen is directly inserted in the body with the help of the needle to kill the cancerous cells. But chemotherapy has an effect on the healthy cells too.

Modern treatment procedures

In the recent times a few other cancer treatments have been researched and they are being widely used even in treating Peritoneal Mesothelioma. The new therapeutic technique known as the Intraopeartive Photodynamic therapy has a promising side to heal the cancer patient quicker and with positive effects. The therapy is done through some special kind of drugs and by using light rays to destroy the cells affected by cancer.

Another such modern therapy to heal the cancer patient is popularly known as the Immunotherapy. Here the whole emphasis is put on the enhancing of the body’s immunity so that the bosy can make its own resistance against the spreading of the cancer cells.

The third new treatment method is the gene therapy where a genetic reformation is being brought up to make corrections in those genes that are leading to the spread of Mesothelioma in the body.

All these novel treatment procedures are giving better results but still the ultimate curable treatment has to be researched.