Sunday, July 19, 2009

Mesothelioma

re now available to determine whether mesothelioma is present in the body, before a person is aware of any symptoms. This is an amazing breakthrough and perhaps the first step towards curing the disease before it becomes terminal. Recently mesothelioma was cured in a mouse and attempts to give it back to the mouse were unsuccessful. This too is exciting stuff and holds a glimmer of hope for us all.

I have witnessed first hand the devastation of mesothelioma. My husband was a strong and virile man who rarely had a sick day in his life. Suddenly at the age of 52 he became short of breath and was subsequently diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. He had lived in the asbestos mining town of Wittenoom in Western Australia for a few short months at the age of seven. The asbestos dust he inhaled then, took forty five years to become lethal. I still find this hard to believe.

Despite his prognosis of three to nine months, Brian survived for two years. He was 54 years old when he died.

Summary:
Without warning, a healthy individual suddenly becomes short of breath, x-rays reveal fluid on the lungs and the night mare begins. Questions are asked and you answer, Yes, I was exposed to asbestos dust ...


Keywords:
cancer, lung, mesothelioma, pain, symptoms, pain control, palliative care, courage, love, terminal diagnosis, terminal disease, prognosis, quality of life, asbestos, asbestos disease, asbestos death