by Amy Jo Browne

Created on: April 16, 2009

Malignant Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that happens in the cell lining of the internal organs within the human body. Three kinds of malignant mesothelioma occur within humans. The only known cause of this type of cancer is exposure to asbestos, that smoking cigarettes will aggravate it.

My father has the type that involves cell lining of the lungs called Pleural, and this makes it hard for him to breathe. This is the most common type. The other two types are peritomeal which occurs in the abdominal cavity, and pericardial which is in the cells lining the heart.

Once a patient has been diagnosed with this treatment can begin with a qualified doctor. Some patients opt for chemo treatments, which may exaggerate their symptoms. Other treatment options include radiation and surgery primarily. My father has spoken openly over at the 7 to 8 years since he was first diagnosed about chemo and surgery and does not want either of these options.

Chemotherapy is known to make patients very sick, and my father says he wishes to spend the days he has left not being sick. Patients can now also under go clinical trials, undergo new treatments or use the conventional treatments. The course of treatment will depend on the patient's state of health, and the available treatment methods.

Exposure to asbestos does not just occur in factories as it did 40 years ago when my father first was exposed to it. Many of those people who worked at Ground Zero, con Edison power plant in New Jersey as well as many other locations around the United States have been exposed to asbestos in recent years. When working around asbestos one needs to exercise extreme safety measures and wear the mask and other safety gear.

Recently my father was hospitalized, with a low O2 stat, which means he was having an unusually hard time catching his breath. He struggled with that for 12 hours on his own at home using his breathing treatments, and using inhalers. The next morning my sister went for a visit and she and my mom talked my father into going to the emergency department at the local hospital. After spending several hours in there the doctors decided to keep him, this hospitalization would make for a very long week.

When my father was in his 20s, 30s, and 40s, he worked in various foundries where he was exposed to the asbestos, which caused this malignant mesothelioma. Now that he is in his early 60s, that exposure in his younger days makes it very hard for him to breathe.

This is very common, and many of the older generation who were exposed to asbestos in their younger years began to have symptoms of this that's a type of cancer up to 40 years after they were first exposed.

As I watch my own father struggle with the malignant mesothelioma over the past two years have tried to learn what I could to help him. It is tough watching him struggle some days as he takes a breath, this once hard working man now has to relax and take it easy. He still enjoys gardening, his grandchildren and camping and he can all of these things but it just takes him a little bit longer nowadays. W

alking is hard so round property

we can often see him writing his four-wheeler for the riding lawnmower pending on the day to get where he is going. Maligant mesothelioma is a slow progressing disease but it can be treated if the patient wishes to undergo the various treatments.

For more information regarding malignant mesothelioma please consult one of the trusted websites listed below.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-T ypes/mesothelioma

http://www.mesothelioma.com/

http://www.mesothelioma.net/

www.mayoclinic.com/health/mesothelioma/DS00779

www.mesotheliomaweb.org

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