What Causes Mesothelioma in Thousands of People?


What Causes Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a form of dangerous cancer with low life expectancy of the patient. It is not curable, although treatments are able to slow the growth. It is found that mesothelioma is linked with years of asbestos exposure. This guess comes from the fact that about eight out of ten patients who experience this illness have prolonged exposure to asbestos fibers.

How does asbestos cause this malignant cancer, though? The asbestos fibers can get pretty small. When someone is breathing (or even swallowing) in an asbestos heavy environment, there is a big chance for those fibers to be inhaled. Since the fibers (inorganic materials) have sharp edges, human’s organ becomes damaged overtime. Some people are going to develop this rare cancer if they also have other risk factors.

Risk Factors of Mesothelioma


1.    Living Place

One risk factor that causes mesothelioma is working and/or living in an environment contaminated by asbestos. This natural material is often found in buildings, such as: insulation, water system, and roof. Someone who lives or works in asbestos-laden environment inhales the small fiber particles into their body for years. The organs (mainly lung and pleura) will get scarred as time goes by due to the sharpness of fiber particles.

2.    Smoking

Another risk factor that will lead to mesothelioma is smoking. Asbestos is not the only determining factor. Oftentimes, mesothelioma patients are also reported to have smoking habit. Smoking weakens one’s lung so that it is unable to get rid of foreign particles (in this case, asbestos fibers) easily. The fibers accumulate in the organ and disrupt the system.

3.    Health Record

Somebody without stellar health record has bigger chance to develop mesothelioma when being exposed to asbestos. It is related to the body’s ability in processing the asbestos. In some cases, mesothelioma is also a side effect of cancer treatment. This happens particularly with radiation treatment. Radiation may cause damage to one’s DNA cells and lead to development of mesothelioma.

Palliative Treatments for Mesothelioma

Although this cancer is not yet curable, some palliative treatments can be done to alleviate patient’s discomfort and bring up the quality of life. One popular palliative care for the patient is relaxation. Patient will be learning proper technique to breathe so that their muscles will be able to relax and less tensed.

Another palliative care that is often done to patient is diet change. A dietitian is going to supervise the whole process. Patient will have to change their diet pattern and intake into something that is more suitable to their need.