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Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that attacks the mesothelium, which is the lining which protects the body's internal organs. This type of cancer is synonymous with having been exposed to asbestos in the past, and the vast majority of cases are directly linked to this. The asbestos causes the cells of this lining to begin to divide and grow uncontrollable, which damage and conflict with other cells in the body which they come into contact with.

The reason that so many people were exposed to asbestos over the years is that until relatively recently, it wasn't known that asbestos was so harmful to the body, One of the main reasons for this is because of the fact that the symptoms of Mesothelioma often take many years to present themselves to the sufferer. Because of this many older buildings have some kind of asbestos inside them, where it is usually used as a fire retardant, often being combined with cement in walls.

Fortunately most modern countries have now banned all use of asbestos in construction and as a result the cases of this form of cancer should decrease dramatically in the future. Because of the fact that asbestos exposure also shortens life expectancy significantly, there have been many compensation lawsuits across the world in recent years. In the United States alone this has cost an estimated $250 billion, and is still increasing all the time. This is even more significant because of the fact that there are other countries such as Britain or Japan which have much higher levels of exposure.

When asbestos enters the body, usually after having been inhaled, it becomes imbedded into the soft tissues of the body, such as the inside of the lungs. From here they are constantly attacked by the body's natural defenses, although they cannot be digested or destroyed in this way. Because the fibers are so small and can often hang suspended in the air, it is not always easy to tell when exposure has occurred. Also because of this, the symptoms of any illness caused by this exposure usually don't even start to show for many years after the exposure has occurred.

The most common symptoms of mesothelioma include shortness of breath, coughing up blood, chest pain and fluid building up around the lungs. Although there are also more severe symptoms as the illness progresses and worsens. The diagnosis for mesothelioma is usually not good, and it is usually always fatal sooner or later. The reason for this is that the asbestos that causes the cancer is usually impossible

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