Mesothelioma is a deadly disease that affects the lungs and is a very rare type of cancer.  Rare if you have never been exposed to asbestos, that is.  Without asbestos we would be seeing less cases than we do today.  It causes the cells in the lungs to malfunction and start to reproduce at an alarming rate.  If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because I have just described the way that most cancers work.  The sad part about mesothelioma is that it is preventable in almost 75% of all cases – the problem is that you don’t know you have it until the cancer starts to spread throughout the body and infect a lot of different bodily systems.
What causes mesothelioma?  Most people who end up with this particular type of cancer are people who have worked in some job that involved being around asbestos.  Asbestos happens to be a very desirable material for construction and manufacturing.  It is extremely strong, mitigates sound well and is resistant to heat, electricity and many types of chemicals.  You can see why such a material was so highly valued in the past century or so with the explosion of mass-produced goods and the incredible construction boom of the mid 20th century.

Mesothelioma as it appears in the lungs

Unfortunately for us, asbestos has the unwanted side effect of sticking around in the lungs of people who have worked with it for many years.  Over time the small particles build up in the lungs and cause all sorts of problems – one of which is mesothelioma.  Although the most common sufferers are those who have been exposed on a constant basis, mesothelioma has been a problem for the family members and close relatives as well.  The particulate from the exposed person’s clothes can be inhaled by family members on just as regular a basis as the person who actually worked hands-on with the asbestos.

 
It has been demonstrated that the reason that asbestos causes mesothelioma is by actually damaging the inner workings of the cells in the lungs and creating cancerous cells by triggering rapid cell mutation.  Because of this physical cause, the best way to prevent mesothelioma is simply to avoid situations where you are at risk of exposure.  In this case prevention truly is worth a pound of cure because once you have that buildup in your lungs you are already at risk and there isn’t much a doctor can do to reduce the chances that you will come down with the cancer.  Of course, there are laws now prohibiting the use of asbestos in certain circumstances as well as protecting employees who work in conditions that require them to be around the substance, so if this sounds like your situation you may want to contact an attorney to make sure that all your rights have been protected and see if you are entitled to any kind of compensation for your medical expenses or preventative treatments.