Peritoneal Mesothelioma – Malignant Mesothelioma
Did You Know?
During the 20th century, some 30 million tons of asbestos were used in industrial sites, homes, schools, shipyards and commercial buildings in the U.S.
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that affects the mesothelial cells of the serous membranes in the body. The most common form of mesothelioma, affecting the lining of the lung, is pleural mesothelioma. Malignant Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma cases have increased during the past 20 years in response to the widespread use of asbestos in the past.
According to The National Cancer Institute, malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the sac lining of the chest (pleura), the abdomen (peritoneum), or the heart (pericardium). Most people diagnosed with mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they breathed asbestos. Asbestos may cause a variety of diseases, from non-cancerous forms such as asbestosis, to much more serious diseases such as mesothelioma. Workers exposed to asbestos in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, are coming down with these diseases decades later due to the long latency period associated with all asbestos disease.
Malignant mesothelioma takes on three forms:
- Peritoneal mesothelioma, in the peritoneum or membrane surrounding the abdomen. A rare form of peritoneal mesothelioma can also affect the male testicles, because the lining around the scrotum is an extension of the peritoneum.
- Pericardial mesothelioma, in the perdicardium or lining surrounding the heart.
- Pleural mesothelioma, which is the most common form of malignant mesothelioma and affects the lining of the lung cavity.
Malignant mesothelioma occurs in the thin layer of tissue that covers the majority of your internal organs (mesothelium). About 3,000 to 4,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the United States each year. Men are more likely to develop mesothelioma than are women. About 4,000 People die from Mesothelioma every year, the rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
- It is estimated that 27.5 million Americans were exposed to asbestos between 1940 and 1979.
- Mesothelioma has a latency period of 20 to 50 years after the first exposure to asbestos.
- It is estimated that there will be about 250,000 cases of Mesothelioma before 2020.
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