The Seriousness Of Mesothelioma
The threat of mesothelioma is spreading like wildfire in today’s times. The important thing to understand about the disease is that it can either be malignant which means that it is cancerous or benign which is non cancerous. The disease is called so because it affects the mesothelium. Hence it is important to understand what mesothelium is first.
Mesothelium is actually a layer of tissue in our bodies. It is lined with certain special cells that are known as mesothelial cells. The most prominent places where these cells are to be found in the body are the chest cavity, heart cavity, abdominal cavity and the surface of other vital organs.
The mesothelial in different parts of the body have different names. Hence if mesothelioma affects a certain part of the body it is referred to by that name only. The most commonly diagnosed form of mesothelioma is pleural mesothelioma which takes place in the chest cavity. Then you have peritoneum mesothelioma which affects the abdominal cavity and pericardium which affects the heart cavity.
The tissue layer known as mesothelium has a very specific purpose for the functioning of the body. It actually produces a fluid that serves as lubrication for the smooth movement of the organs. The mesothelium present in the lungs for example allows the lungs to move with ease while the process of respiration is going on. Without this lubrication the breathing process would have been extremely painful or impossible.
Mesothelioma Statistics
The malignant or cancerous form of mesothelioma is quite rare. In fact it is probably one of the rarest forms of cancers diagnosed. The estimates show that around 3000 people are diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma on a yearly basis. The rate of mesothelioma did increase in the period before the nineties but has since then stabilized and possibly it has even experienced a decline.
The situation in European countries however, seems to be quite the opposite as they have experienced an increase in the number of people suffering from the cancer. It is generally the elderly people who have crossed the age of 65 that are prone to developing this kind of cancer. It has also been observed that malignant mesothelioma is more likely to affect men than women. Caucasian nationalities are more prone to the cancer than African and American. Although this form of cancer is rare it still poses a great threat to the individual suffering from the symptoms.