Guest Blogger - Asbestos related cancer

Hi all, 2 posts in one day......what ever next! Lol!

The following is an article written to promote awareness of Mesothelioma.
I would like to stress that I have not written it, but believe that it is important that every one is aware.
Please feel free to comment, and I will ensure that the comments get to where they would be of most benefit to you and to Mike Postorino, who contacted me. The website details will be posted below.


Mesothelioma Is a Rare Cancer, Too
Mesothelioma is not as rare as the cancer that Carol is fighting, but it often misunderstood.
An estimated 2,500 people a year in the United States are diagnosed with mesothelioma, one of the only cancers that can be attributed solely to man-made exposure.
The disease usually develops in one of three places: the thin layer of cells that surround the chest, the abdomen or the heart. Regardless of location, though, it is caused by the same thing: inhaling microscopic asbestos fibers.
These fibers lodge in the mesothelium membrane and, over time, slowly begin causing havoc.
Mesothelioma and other related diseases like asbestos-induced lung cancer and asbestosis typically strike men more often than women. That's because asbestos-related diseases are considered occupational illnesses; asbestos exposure is more common in blue-collard work environments that are historically linked to male workers.
Women, however, can get mesothelioma the same way, and they can get it through secondary exposure. (There are documented cases of wives getting the disease because they spent years handling and washing asbestos-laden work clothes of their husbands.)
Several famous people have succumbed to forms of mesothelioma, including actor Steve McQueen, musician Warren Zevon and Hall of Fame football player Merlin Olsen in 2011.
Although the long-term prognosis for people with mesothelioma is usually poor, there are exceptions. In fact, there are survivors who have lived five, 10 and even 15 years after diagnosis. Their stories are ones of hope.
Ruth Phillips has been living with mesothelioma in Georgia for 12 years, relying on alternative treatments. Alexis Kidd is a five-year mesothelioma survivor and still riding her scooter to work each day.
Mesothelioma also is part of Rare Disease Day – which began in Europe – and is celebrated on the last day of February each year, bringing recognition of rare diseases as a global health challenge.
It is a grassroots advocacy day that has grown in popularity. The idea is to promote rare medical conditions in hopes of sparking research, better therapies and more understanding.
The awareness has prompted more public outcry against the use of asbestos, which was once so prevalent in industrialized countries. Today it is banned in more than 50 countries, including much of Europe, and its use has been reduced dramatically.
It is not banned in the United States.
Mesothelioma advancements have come slowly but surely, and the treatments have progressed in the last decade. Much of the advancement has come because of heightened awareness to the disease.
Bio: Tim Povtak is a senior writer for the Mesothelioma Center. Prior to that, he was an award-winning newspaper reporter.

For further details, contact
asbestos.com
or
mpostorino@asbestos.com