Mesothelioma is a malignant neoplasm, cancer, that affects the mesothelium. Commonly it effects the tissue surrounding the lining of the lungs and ore often occurs in older people and men. In this video learn more about this cancer.
Avoid occupational hazards
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Justin C. K. Davis, M.D. is one of San Francisco's finest house call specialist physicians, and has been providing house calls and office visits to the Bay Area since 2005. His practice is built upon a philosophy of excellent customer service and excellent patient care.
JUSTIN C.K. DAVIS, M.D.: Hi. My name is Dr. Justin Davis, and today I will be describing to you a condition known as mesothelioma. Now what exactly is mesothelioma? Well mesothelioma is a kind of malignant neoplasm or cancer that affects the mesothelium. The mesothelium is a thin lining that surrounds most of the internal organs of the body. Now we divide mesothelioma into different subtypes depending upon which organ of the body is affected. The most common type of mesothelioma is the one that affects the tissue surrounding the lining of the lungs. Mesothelioma only occurs in about 2 to 3000 people in the United States a year although its prevalence is increasing slightly every year and it also is more likely to occur in men than in women. We do not know exactly why this is but it maybe due to occupational hazards that men are more likely to encounter than woman. It also tends to occur in older people usually over the age of 65 years old. Now we do not know in most cases what causes mesothelioma, what we do know for the most common type, mesothelioma around the lungs, the most common cause of that is exposure to asbestos that is why so many homes are checked for asbestos and there are special ways of getting rid of it. What are the symptoms of mesothelioma? The symptoms are variable depending upon what part of the body is affected. So for example, you can imagine if you have mesothelioma surrounding the lungs then you will probably have difficulty with your lungs perhaps chest pain, difficulty breathing, chronic cough or coughing up blood. Other parts of the body will have different kinds of symptoms if a different organ or part of the body is affected. What can you do to prevent this? Well, certainly avoid occupational hazards such as certain kinds of toxic chemicals particularly asbestos; otherwise, we do not really know what you can do but it is always a good idea to avoid toxins such as cigarette smoke, other environmental toxins, pesticides and it is important to have a healthy lifestyle and a good diet. So if you have any symptoms that you think could be associated with mesothelioma such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, some kind of pain that just would not go away, whatever it is, whether or not it is mesothelioma, it is always a very good idea to let a doctor know right away.
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