Posts Tagged ‘mesothelioma’
Alimta
Chemotherapy has been used to treat mesothelioma for many years. Mesothelioma is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. Chemotherapy has not been as successful in treating mesothelioma as it has been in treating other forms of cancer. There are quite a few chemotherapy drugs that have been in use, but recently there have been some promising drugs designed that have shown particular promise in treating mesothelioma. One of the stands outs in these chemotherapy drugs is Alimta. Alimta is a chemotherapy drug that was approved in 2005 by the Food and Drug Administration for use in chemotherapy treatment. Alimta was approved in the treatment of mesothelioma and has been a breakthrough drug in the treatment of mesothelioma. Alimta works as an anti-folate. What an anti-folate drug does is target the production of folic acid. Anti-folate drugs such as Alimta act during DNA and RNA synthesis. Alimta inhibits the replication of cells specifically during a particular phase in cell replication. By doing this, Alimta can target more rapidly replicating cells, which tend to be the malignant cancerous cells, thus inhibiting the further spread of the cancer. There are many side effects that come along with the drug, as with most chemotherapy drugs. Alimta has been shown to have adverse effects on the bone marrow, hair, and skin of patients that have been treated with it. To date there is no cure for mesothelioma, but with drugs like Alimta, those diagnosed have longer lives and a better quality than without such treatments.
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Asbestos exposure in ships
There are a great many ways to utilize the desirable properties of asbestos. Asbestos has a resistance to heat and fire and can be molded and manufactured into many different products for useful application. The Navy made use of asbestos in many different applications on their ships. Every ship from a Navy destroyer to cruisers and aircraft carriers at one time used some asbestos containing product. Asbestos is the number one cause of mesothelioma, which has caused a great deal of veterans to have been afflicted with mesothelioma, a terrible form of cancer. There have also been a great deal of other asbestos related illnesses reported in the past due to the exposure to asbestos on old Navy ships. The Navy used asbestos in many different forms. Boiler and engine rooms tended to have a high exposure risk to the mesothelioma causing material. The Navy also used asbestos based adhesives, valves containing asbestos, and even cables and gaskets that contained asbestos. Navy submarines also had a great deal of risk in the crew being exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos. As the Navy renovated and demolished ships, workers in the shipyards were also exposed to asbestos, perhaps at an even greater risk due to the dust and debris that is breathed in during a typical demolition. The Navy has since renovated their fleet to greatly reduce the risk of asbestos exposure, curbing the rate of seamen diagnosed with mesothelioma. It is a costly and difficult undertaking to update the world’s largest navy in order to safely reduce asbestos exposure to a ships crew, but this was most certainly a necessary task.
Mesothelioma
Since mesothelioma can take decades to manifest symptoms, it is important to know if you have been exposed to asbestos during your lifetime and be prescreened for the disease if you think you might have been. Getting prescreened for mesothelioma can help come up with a diagnosis even before symptoms surface. The sooner you are diagnose, the better rate of survival you will have. People who have been prescreened and treated for mesothelioma before they experienced symptoms have been able to live for several years after diagnosis, while those who do not receive treatment early on generally have a life expectancy no longer than 18 months. Most people who have been exposed to asbestos came in contact with the toxic material on the job. It is up the previous or current employers to inform employees that they may have been exposed to asbestos. Also, you can contact past employers to inquire as to whether your position would have put you at risk for asbestos exposure. The sooner you are diagnosed with mesothelioma, the sooner you can file a claim for having been made to work in unsafe conditions. Winning a lawsuit is highly contingent on filing a suit as soon as you find out that you have mesothelioma. Being prescreened and filing a suit right away can help to provide some financial support for the medical bills you will be acquiring and it’s best to do so while your still healthy enough to put forth the time and energy .
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