Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that’s nearly always caused by getting exposed to asbestos. In this disease, malignant cells develop in the mesothelium, a protecting lining that covers almost all of the body’s internal organs. Its commonest site is the pleura ( outer liner of the lungs and internal chest wall ), but it might also occur in the peritoneum ( the lining of the abdominal cavity ), the heart, the pericardium ( a sac that surrounds the heart ) or tunica vaginalis.

When people inhale or ingest asbestos fiber floating in the air mesothelioma exposure takes place. Asbestos being a naturally occurring useful product, is used for various products like construction materials, cement, insulation equipment etc. Before put to industrial use, asbestos is made into fine threads, which are then woven together. The material was greatly in use during the Second World War for ship building and other war period activities. The extensive use of asbestos continued till the government banned its use after discovering the relationship between asbestos exposure and contraction of Mesothelioma.

In spite of all the positive aspects, asbestos has a serious drawback. The inhaled particles can cause cancer to mesothelium, which is the protective membrane of our vital internal organs. The disease becomes noticeable only after a long duration of time, may about fifty years later. The delay in diagnosis results in the death of many patients. The disease must have assumed alarming proportions before the infection is detected.

Thousands of people have been affected by mesothelioma exposure so far. People living near places where asbestos extraction takes place, those engaged in its processing, those working in factories where asbestos is extensively used and family members of such workers who inadvertently comes into contact with the deadly particles which are brought home through cloths or hair are definitely under the risk of contracting mesothelioma. Preventive measures like wearing protective masks, changing cloths and taking a bath before leaving the workplace have been somewhat effective in preventing infection. But people who worked under asbestos filled atmosphere before these curbs came into place have no such luck. Many have lost their lives to this dreadful malady, but many others got their lives lengthened by some years by resorting to forceful curative measures.

Mesothelioma exposure causes three types of cancer, typically, pleural mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma. The pleural variety is the most common while the pericardial cancer is the rarest but the most deadly. Since the prognosis of mesothelioma is not very encouraging, it is exceedingly essential that every person who has come under asbestos exposure at some point of time undergo proper medical checkups to detect any harmful growth in the mesothelium.