Truths About Asbestos Lung Cancer

The ratio of people suffering from lung cancer is continuously increasing and this is indicating a great danger, which is coming towards us! Though this disease can be caused due to many reasons such as smoking, exposure to harmful elements, one of the main reasons is exposure to asbestos. The asbestos form of the illness is mainly found in the people who are exposed to the asbestos fibers.

Information You Need To Know This disease is also recognized as ‘Mesothelioma’. As these asbestos fibers can remain in the body for a long period of time, the cancer symptoms can show after the decades of asbestos intake. So it is hard to diagnose, as it normally does not show any symptoms in early stages. Also these symptoms are very common so it takes time to diagnose and detect this disease. Common symptoms of Mesothelioma are upset stomach, difficult breathing, constant cough, chest pain, weight loss and rust- colored phlegm.

Even though, it mostly starts in the lining of the bronchi and windpipe divides, it can also start in the trachea, alveoli or bronchioles. There are mainly two types of this illness namely small cell and non-small cell. In small cell, the diseased cells are small and round whereas in non-small cell, the diseased cells are larger. But it is also possible to have mixed diseased cells, which is called as mixed small cell/large cell.

The main reason of the asbestos lung cancer is exposure to asbestos. As these fibers are really dangerous, use of this material has been banned in the 1970’s. But still people are exposed to the asbestos through mines, shipbuildings, factory and railroad etc. It is also found in the schools in America in 10-15 %. Asbestos, which is present in the finished products like walls, tiles, pipes etc, does not make any harm to the health until it is not damaged to release the asbestos fibers into the air. As this fiber is free and inhaled, there is always risk of suffering with the disease

Treatments For The Asbestos Lung Cancer As asbestos lung cancer does not show any specific symptoms, it is very hard to diagnose. Also the symptoms shown in this form of the illness are so common that one can easily misdiagnose them. While for the treatment of this type of cancer, there are many options like surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and Immunotherapy. There is also one new option available named as photodynamic therapy.

Surgery is main method and treatment for controlling the illness. The surgery is of three types namely palliative surgery, pleurectomy surgery and extrapleuralc pneumonectomy. The surgery can be combined with the other treatments, if needed.

So if you are greatly exposed to the asbestos fiber and are suffering from one of the above symptoms, consult your doctor immediately. Remember there are many treatments available. Just fight with the disease!

Also read our article about Cancer Diagnostics