Because mesothelioma is such a rare disease, it can sometimes be difficult to find accurate and reliable about. In many cases, people are simply ignorant about the disease; Other times, people may misunderstand a fact or statistic related diseases, and it can be difficult to convince them of the reality behind it.
One of our goals in Mesothelioma Asbestos Awareness Center + is to dispel these misconceptions and provide awareness about Mesothelioma for anyone who is seeking information about this deadly disease.
With this goal in mind, we have identified five common myths and misconceptions about mesothelioma and are offering a more context about the real answers.
Myth 1: Mesothelioma is "sick old man"While it is true that, in the United States, mesothelioma affects elders in proportion greater than other demographics.
One reason for this is that mesothelioma takes many years - often decades - to form after initial exposure to asbestos.
This exposure often occurs in industrial workplaces such as factories, mines, or construction, which are mainly dominated by men.
However, the idea that mesothelioma is simply an "old man's disease" is completely untrue.
Indeed, in recent years, there has been a growing number of mesothelioma cases detected in young people - especially young women.
Many of these women heads who have worked in industrial jobs those mentioned above, and they will perform the first asbestos dust home on their clothes, exposing their children to hazardous substances.
Asbestos can also affect young people in other ways.
Most buildings constructed before 1980 and contain some form of asbestos, which means that children, adolescents and young adults can be exposed at home, school, or other buildings where they can visit.
Asbestos also occurs naturally in some areas, and this can affect children living there.
Finally, outside the US, asbestos is still used in many developing countries, where child labor laws and other regulations could easily expose young people to asbestos on a daily basis.
Myth 2: Mesothelioma is really not a rare diseaseOne of the stranger claims that people have made about mesothelioma is that it is really not a rare disease.
This fallacy is repeated often by those who may have seen the late night TV commercials or other advertising for mesothelioma, with the belief that such advertisements and commercials will be broadcast only if many people are affected.
Some of the confusion lies in determining what is a rare disease.
According to the website of Rare Disease Day, a rare disease has different definitions in Europe and the United States:
Europe: A rare disease (or disorder) affects less than 1 in 2,000 people.
USA: A rare disease (or disorder) affects fewer than 200,000 Americans at any given time.
Or by definition, then, obviously Mesothelioma is a rare disease. About 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are detected in SH.BA every year, and of those only about 5-10 percent live beyond five years, making it almost impossible to statistically number of US mesothelioma survivors to achieve ever 200,000 mark.
Myth 3: Only long-term exposure to asbestos causes mesotheliomaSome people are aware of Mesothelioma and its links to believe asbestos exposure such that exposure should occur over a period of time in order to develop mesothelioma.
These folks can be confusing long latency period of mesothelioma, and the difficulty of properly diagnosing mesothelioma with asbestos exposure initial act that caused the disease; However, it is important to note that the two events are very different.
In fact, the US Agency for Environmental Protection (EPA) has stated in no uncertain terms that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
This statement is not just an evaluation of the agency itself, but from numerous medical studies and science that have shown the risk posed by asbestos to the human body.
Although not all necessarily asbestos exposure leads to mesothelioma, there is still a strong connection between the two.
Eliminating, or at least minimize, exposure to asbestos is the single most effective thing a person can do to reduce the risk of developing the disease.
Myth 4: Mesothelioma affects only the lungsPleural mesothelioma, the type of mesothelioma that is found in the lining of the lungs, is the most common form of the disease, estimated to comprise 75 percent of all cases. However, there are other types of mesothelioma as well.
The second type of mesothelioma most common is peritoneal mesothelioma, which develops in the abdominal linings.
Researchers believe that develops peritoneal mesothelioma when inhaled or ingested asbestos travels through the lymphatic system or by any other method in the abdominal cavity.
Very rarely is pericardial mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the heart. This type accounts for less than 1% of all mesothelioma cases.
Even more rare than the above types are other forms of mesothelioma, including testicular mesothelioma (men) and well-differentiated papillary mesothelioma (women).
The mechanisms by which these forms of mesothelioma developed are not well understood, and they are extremely rare, making up only a small fraction of cases of the disease.
Myth 5: Mesothelioma victims can get millions of dollars with little effortAlthough a number of companies that manufactured asbestos products or asbestos-containing accepted their responsibility in exposing employees, customers, and others to the substance lethal, there is no guarantee that mesothelioma victims will receive compensation for their medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
For one thing, it is often difficult to determine where someone could have been exposed to asbestos.
Because asbestos was used in construction products and materials so for more than a century, finding a link between a certain exposure and the development of the disease can be very difficult to do.
Even when exposure to asbestos is known to have been caused by work product or a particular company site, that could be enough to get compensation.
Many companies asbestos have gone out of business or bankrupt, and while some of these companies were required to raise believes asbestos to pay future victims, many of these trusts are depleted of funds to the point where victims can expect to take only a small part of what may be owed - if they get anything at all.
Assuming that exposure can be identified appropriately, and the company responsible has enough money to afford to pay compensation, mesothelioma victims have to go through a battle often during legal - usually at the same time they are undergoing treatment and generally in very poor health.
But perhaps most importantly, many mesothelioma victims die before they are able to claim compensation.
Although families may be able to pursue legal action after the fact, that is little consolation for the loss of a loved one.
