Mesothelioma
is caused by receiving asbestos, which is increasingly being found, and may be a
public health problem.
Pleural cancer (Mesothelioma or Malignant
mesothelioma) is a rare but life-threatening type of cancer that occurs in the
pleura.
This type of cancer is often the result of prolonged
inhalation of asbestos. Most patients with this disease usually receive
asbestos from work, such as in a shipyard.
What is pleural cancer?
Mesothelium is the term for the epithelium that covers the
organs and gaps of the body, protecting the organs and reducing injuries that
occur during the movement. Apart from the lungs, this tissue can also be found
at asbestos mine car garage or construction site.
Peritoneum is a membrane that covers the abdomen.
Pericardium is a membrane that covers the heart.
Tunica vaginalis testis is a membrane that covers the
internal reproductive organs of males.
Tunica serosa uteri covers female internal reproductive
organs.
Mesothelioma is a cancer that can occur with all mesothelium
tissue, but is most often found in the pleura.
Pleural cancer: risk factors from asbestos
When inhaling asbestos into the lungs, it cannot be
excreted., but will stay in the lungs. When receiving asbestos for a long time,
it will begin to accumulate in the lower lungs. Before being surrounded inside
the pleura over time, it can cause cancer especially when there are other
motivating factors Genetic or smoking history.
Dr. Timothy Winton, Associate Professor of Surgery and Head
of Thoracic Surgery, University of Alberta Hospital in Canada explained that
"Asbestos causes irritation of the pleura, and cause inflammation. The
response to inflammation and changes in the lungs and pleura can cause cancer
to change.
One of the
things that must be missed for this disease is the time before the disease
occurs. It has been found that it may take nearly 50 years since the start of
asbestos exposure to cancer. But when cancer often severe and can spread
outside the pleura to other mesothelium tissues.
The average survival time of this disease is between 4-18
months and about 10% of patients can live more than 5 years after diagnosis. In
some patients with slow-growing pleural cancer, may live up to 20 years, but
rare.
Pleural cancer: importance in the public health system
Pleural cancer is a rare disease. By finding about
2,000-3000 new patients per year in the United States. However, in other
countries, there is a growing number of patients with pleural cancer.
Dr. Winton said: "Asbestos has been used for a long
time and the time between asbestos exposure and disease occurrence is quite
long, causing the number of patients around the world to gradually steadily
increasing until the next 20-30 years, as there are a large number of workers
around the world who have received asbestos from working in industrial areas
that must be closely monitored. "
If you think you have received asbestos, you should inform the
doctor and check the body regularly. Because detection from the early stages is
very important to the treatment as with other types of cancer.
