A rare type of cancer that causes damage to the thin membranes known as mesothelium that line certain organs and parts of the body, mesothelioma is a result of exposure to asbestos. People who worked in shipyards, construction, asbestos mining or other occupations that exposed them to the effects of this mineral are at risk of developing the disease. It usually comes with a poor prognosis and is vastly underreported in many nations.
Size
An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 individuals are diagnosed with various forms of mesothelioma each year in the United States. In a span of three years, from 1999 through 2001, the National Center for Health Statistics documented almost 7,500 deaths from the cancer. The rate of mesothelioma cases is 9 for every 1 million people, making it a very rare type of cancer compared to other forms.
Time Frame
It can sometimes take as long as 50 years for symptoms of mesothelioma to become obvious. The average age of a mesothelioma patient is between 50 and 70 and it affects men as much as five times more than women, due mostly to the fact that men worked in such jobs as shipbuilders, mechanics, and construction where they were exposed to the asbestos fibers that cause the disease. The rate of reported cases is expected to rise as those who suffered this exposure before asbestos was banned for many uses begin to come down with it.
Identification
Other mesothelioma death rate numbers compiled by the Center for Health Statistics reveal that people in management and administrative positions make up 7.6 percent of mesothelioma deaths. Amazingly, housewives are next at 6.8 percent of deaths attributed to mesothelioma, mostly as a result of being exposed to asbestos secondhand--washing clothes covered with it, for example. Pipe fitters, plumbers and janitors are at 3 percent, with supervisors and carpenters making up 3 percent of those who perished from the condition.
Considerations
Mesothelioma deaths in the U.S. will grow, with as many as 60,000 by the year 2030. Around the world there are 10,000 new mesothelioma patients, a number that is skewed because it is misdiagnosed or not reported at all in a good many nations that have heavy asbestos use and have not banned it in many products.
Types
There are three main types of mesothelioma. The lining of the lungs is attacked by pleural mesothelioma. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer of the abdominal lining. Pericardial mesothelioma is a disease of the heart's lining. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common form of this cancer, while pericardial mesothelioma is easily the rarest, with as few as 10 percent of instances of the disease involving this type.
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