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Showing posts with label Mesothelioma Risk Factors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mesothelioma Risk Factors. Show all posts

July 19, 2008

What are the Dangers of Asbestos Removal?

Many people decide to buy and remodel old houses, but give no thought to the existence of asbestos in these buildings. This is a dangerous material and you should call an asbestos removal company to eliminate it from your home.

Before we go into the dangers of the removal of asbestos, let us define what asbestos is. Asbestos is a combination of different minerals that occur in nature and take on the form of fibers. Generally speaking there are two types of asbestos, chrysotile and amphibole. They differ from each other somewhat. Amphibole has straight fibers that take on the appearance of small needles. Chrysotile is the type of asbestos that is
used, or has been used in commercial applications. The mining of this material started in the late 1800s, but was not widely used in construction until the 1940s and used way up into the late 1980s. It was known for its benefits like:

Heat resistance
Fire resistance
and, Chemical resistance.
Because of these benefits it was used widely in the construction industry. It had many uses. It was used in the roofing, to strengthen cement, in insulation material, as a fireproof material and even for soundproofing. It was also used in ceiling and floor tiles, in adhesives, and different types of paints.

Problems began to arise when people became exposed to asbestos over long periods of time. It was found that the mineral began to cause some serious health problems. It soon became known that exposure to asbestos caused Asbestosis.  This is the accumulation of asbestos in the lungs and a cause of fibrosis Mesothelioma, a type of cancer that affects the membranes around the lungs. As a result of these problems asbestos is not used in the construction industry today, and yet, it was used until the mid 1980's, and so continues to be a problem, because of the need for asbestos removal.

People at risk of illness due to asbestos exposure are:

People that work with asbestos, especially in regards to the construction industry,

People that work in the asbestos removal fields. Especially those who deal with its direct
removal,

People that do building renovation. Especially if they come into contact with older constructions that have
asbestos in them,

People in the shipping industry that work in ship renovation,

The people that work in this industry and the people they come into contact with including not only their families, but also their friends are at risk of acquiring different health problems due to being exposed to asbestos.

The people they come into contact with are also affected because particles of asbestos can,t be seen by the naked eye and they can be on the persons' clothes, hair or body. Health problems caused by Asbestos may not show up for many years. In fact, they may not appear until some 40 years later.

Because asbestos is such a dangerous material, it should always be removed from a specialist in asbestos removal. Obviously, they have the safety equipment and tools to do the job safely, without putting anyone at risk of contracting such a terrible disease.

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July 1, 2008

Link to us

In our desire to become the definite resource for Mesothelioma Patients on the internet, here are resources available to help you with your research.

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
http://www.aacr.org/
Contains information on AACR membership, meetings, journals, and conferences.

American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
http://www.asco.org/
Contains cancer information for patients, including information on treatment, support groups and other resources. Health Professionals information includes ASCO policies, meetings, and publications.

Association of Community Cancer Centers
http://www.accc-cancer.org/
This web site features in-depth profiles of ACCC member hospital cancer programs, legislative updates, reimbursement information, standards for cancer programs and patient management guidelines.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
http://www.cdc.gov/
Publications, travelers' health information, statistics, training, employment, and other information from the CDC.

Clinical Care Options for Oncology
http://www.healthcg.com/oncology
Oncology resources including continuing education for health care professionals sponsored by Healthcare Communications Group.

Electronic Journal of Oncology
http://ejo.univ-lyon1.fr
This exclusively on-line journal contains peer-reviewed original publications in the fields of oncology and hematology.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
http://www.fda.gov/fdahomepage.html
Information about the FDA, including information on medical devices, biologics, drugs, and drug regulation.

The Genetics of Cancer
http://www.cancergenetics.org
This site provides both clinical and basic information through a series of case studies, with links to an extensive web of basic genetic information.

Internet Grateful Med
http://igm.nlm.nih.gov/
Provides free access to MEDLINE, AIDSLINE, Bioethicsline, ChemID, Toxline and other National Library of Medicine databases. It also provides links to PubMed (MEDLINE and Pre-MEDLINE) and MEDLINEplus for consumer health information.

Intercultural Cancer Council
http://icc.bcm.tmc.edu/home.htm
This website is designed to serve the minority and medically underserved communities with cancer-related information and programs.

Kansas City Clinical Oncology Program
http://www.www.kccop.org/
The mission of the Kansas City Clinical Oncology Program is to provide clinical trial information to patients and physicians, and to recruit patients in the Kansas City area to these trials. This site provides treatment summaries, eligibility criteria, and risk assessments for each treatment/prevention trial offered.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
http://nccam.nih.gov/
NCCAM facilitates and supports basic and applied research of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities. It sponsors training for researchers and disseminates information on CAM therapies to practitioners and the public.


National Guideline Clearinghouse
http://www.guideline.gov/FRAMESETS/search_fs.asp?view=disease
This website contains evidence-based clinical practice guidelines developed by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) in partnership with the American Medical Association.

Clinical Trials at MD Anderson
http://clinicaltrials.org/
This site provides information about clinical trials and studies of new and experimental treatments, therapy, drugs, research, education, prevention, and medicine for cancer at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Society of Surgical Oncology
http://www.surgonc.org
Contains information on practice guidelines, training programs, meetings, abstracts, and publications to promote optimal standards for the multimodal care of surgical patients with cancer.

Washington-Alaska Cancer Pain Initiative
http://www.fhcrc.org/cipr/wacpi/
The WACPI is the local arm of a national nonprofit coalition of volunteer health care providers dedicated to the effective treatment of cancer pain through drug and non-drug methods.

Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.os.dhhs.gov/

The Department of Health and Human Services Web site links to other pertinent government Web sites.
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/faclist.html

HospitalWeb
http://neuro-www.mgh.harvard.edu/hospitalweb.shtml
A growing collection of links to hospital servers on the Web.

Cancer Imaging Research
http://www.bccrc.ca/ci/
This site contains current research in early cancer detection for breast cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer and skin cancer.

Radiation and Health Physics-University of Michigan
http://www.umich.edu/~radinfo

Tobacco Related Disease Research Program
http://www.ucop.edu/srphome/trdrp/welcome.html
This program supports innovative and creative research that will reduce the human and economic cost of tobacco-related diseases.

Cancer News on the Net
http://www.cancernews.com/
This site features original articles on many types of cancer. Cancer News also links to sites that contain patient information on cancer.
http://www.cancerguide.org/

Cansearch: A Guide to Cancer Resources on the Internet
http://www.cansearch.org/canserch/canserch.htm
Cansearch is produced by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) to provide survivors and patients with a step-by-step guide to the many cancer resources found on the web.

Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cancer/
This is an education site on general cancer prevention that includes a newsletter and recent articles and reports.

Intercultural Cancer Council
http://icc.bcm.tmc.edu/home.htm
This website is designed to serve the minority and medically underserved communities with cancer-related information and programs.

The Mesothelioma Center
http://www.mesotheliomacenter.org/
Hope, help, and support for mesothelioma patients and their families

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
http://nccam.nih.gov/
NCCAM facilitates and supports basic and applied research of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities. It sponsors training for researchers and disseminates information on CAM therapies to practitioners and the public.

NOAH: New York Online Access to Health
http://www.noah.cuny.edu/
Offers a wide selection of cancer information, much of it available in Spanish and English.

Office of Minority Health Resource Center
http://www.omhrc.gov/
A service of the Office of Minority Health, this site contains information on a variety of subjects that affect the health of minorities, including cancer.

OncoLink
http://oncolink.upenn.edu/
Sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, OncoLink offers a comprehensive, well organized source of cancer information for patients and health professionals.
http://www.aerie.com/nohicweb/campaign

R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation
http://www.blochcancer.org
This site is designed for newly diagnosed cancer patients. The focus of the Bloch Cancer Foundation is to help all cancer patients to successfully conquer their disease.

The White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
The White House Web site links to all other US government sites.

Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.os.dhhs.gov/
The Department of Health and Human Services Web site links to other government Web sites.

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Who is at risk for Mesothelioma?

Initially mesothelioma mainly affected:

* thermal insulation engineers
* shipyard workers
* asbestos manufacturing workers
* persons who assembled gas masks during the war

However, recent cases show that:

* building workers
* plumbers
* gas fitters
* carpenters
* electricians

are now the largest high-risk group for contracting Mesothelioma.

Some people who come across asbestos while doing home remodeling projects (such as getting rid of an old boiler), are also at risk for contracting Mesothelioma. Some other people have a lower risk of mesothelioma, if they have come into contact with asbestos, but not directly in their work. For example:

* People working in places where other workers are handling asbestos
* People who have washed worker's overalls
* People who lived and played near asbestos factories when they were children

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June 30, 2008

What the the Risk Factors of Mesothelioma?

Working with asbestos is the major risk factor for mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is now known to occur in those who are genetically pre-disposed to it. A history of asbestos exposure exists in almost all cases. However, mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos. In rare cases, mesothelioma has also been associated with irradiation, intrapleural thorium dioxide (Thorotrast), and inhalation of other fibrous silicates, such as erionite.

Asbestos is the name of a group of minerals that occur naturally as masses of strong, flexible fibers that can be separated into thin threads and woven. Asbestos has been widely used in many industrial products, including cement, brake linings, roof shingles, flooring products, textiles, and insulation. If tiny asbestos particles float in the air, especially during the manufacturing process, they may be inhaled or swallowed, and can cause serious health problems. In addition to mesothelioma, exposure to asbestos increases the risk of lung cancer, asbestosis (a noncancerous, chronic lung ailment), and other cancers, such as those of the larynx and kidney.

The combination of smoking and asbestos exposure significantly increases a person's risk of developing cancer of the airways (lung cancer, bronchial carcinoma). The Kent brand of cigarettes used asbestos in its filters for the first few years of production in the 1950s and some cases of mesothelioma have resulted. Smoking modern cigarettes does not appear to increase the risk of mesothelioma.

Some studies suggest that simian virus 40 (SV40) may act as a cofactor in the development of mesothelioma.[6]

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