Mesothelioma Information

Most people know what lung cancer is. After all, it is the third most common cancer in the UK. According to Cancer Research UK, around 48,500 people receive a diagnosis of lung cancer every year.

Another cancer that affects the lungs is perhaps much less widely known, although there is more awareness surrounding mesothelioma now than ten years ago.

Whereas smoking is statistically the single leading cause of lung cancer in the UK, the only known cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos fibres.

Smoking is still legal, but asbestos was banned over twenty years ago. The most dangerous forms of asbestos, blue and brown, have been prohibited for more than forty years.

Yet, mesothelioma was responsible for 2369 deaths in 2019. Whilst this was a slightly lower figure than it has been over the past few years, it still means that almost two hundred people a month are dying from a disease solely caused by a fibrous material that is no longer used.

If you cannot find the information that you are looking for, simply contact us using this form or by calling us on 0800 987 8809. We will be only too pleased to try and help you.

Protecting health. Enhancing awareness. Working towards a safer future.

What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer. It usually starts in the lining that protects some body organs. Layers of tissue covering the lungs (the pleura) are most commonly affected, although less frequently, it starts in the lower part of the stomach (the peritoneum). Many cases are diagnosed at a very late stage as symptoms appear late in the disease development. Sadly, mesothelioma is almost always fatal, and it is often within twelve months of the onset of symptoms that the sufferer dies.

How do you contract mesothelioma?

People are at most risk of getting mesothelioma when they inhale a considerable amount of asbestos over time. Asbestos particles are tiny fibres that attach themselves to the lungs or the stomach (less often). Once lodged they remain there, causing lung irritation and scarring. A process starts that will, in later life, result in the person getting mesothelioma.

What groups of people are most at risk of getting mesothelioma?

1. People who worked closely with asbestos or carried out their workplace duties near others who worked with it are at a high risk of getting an asbestos-related disease, such as mesothelioma. Most at danger are those whose jobs involved manual labour, such as:

• Laggers.
• Electricians.
• Joiners.
• Engineers.
• Car mechanics.
• Trawlermen.
• Painters.
• Power station workers.
• Those in the building trade.
• Dockers.
• Shipyard workers.
• Firefighters.
• Miners.
• Railway engineer workers.
• Boilermakers.

The list above does not cover every ‘at risk’ occupation. The common denominator ‘is working with or near asbestos that was being worked on or worked with’.

Asbestos is mostly only dangerous when being worked with – torn, sawn, cut or drilled. The other time it is dangerous is when it decays or gets damaged by accident. When asbestos fibres become airborne, they present the most significant risk of exposure.

2. Those who washed their family’s work clothes are at risk of getting mesothelioma. When asbestos use was in its heyday, most homes washed laundry by hand.

There are two types of asbestos exposure: primary and secondary exposure. ‘Primary’ exposure occurs when a person suffers asbestos exposure through working with asbestos.

Secondary exposure happens when someone gets exposed to asbestos, despite not working with it directly.

Washing asbestos-dust-covered work clothes by hand caused fibres to become airborne, thus exposing the person doing the washing to asbestos. Week after week, perhaps over many years, is sufficient to cause asbestos disease.

It is a terrible quirk of fate that the only asbestos-related disease caused by secondary exposure is mesothelioma, the deadliest of them all.

How long does it take before the symptoms of mesothelioma appear?

There is a period of between twenty and fifty years between exposure to asbestos and developing asbestos symptoms called the ‘latency period’. During this time, the disease is latent, meaning it exists but is still developing.

Can a single exposure to asbestos cause mesothelioma?

Whilst there is no safe amount of asbestos exposure, one single exposure is unlikely to be enough to cause mesothelioma.

The reverse situation is more likely, because mesothelioma is ‘dose related’, meaning that it takes a heavy dose of asbestos exposure to cause the disease. By ‘heavy dose’, we mean either hefty exposure to asbestos over a year or consistent exposure to asbestos over several years.

What are the early warning signs of mesothelioma?

Symptoms of mesothelioma may only start to appear shortly before diagnosis. Where mesothelioma affects the lungs, symptoms include:

• Breathlessness.
• Chest and/or back pain.
• Persistent coughing.
• Feeling extremely tired.
• Weight loss that has no other known cause.
• Loss of appetite.
• Sweating heavily.
• Swelling in the face and/or arms.
• Difficulty swallowing, as if there is a lump in the throat.

With mesothelioma of the stomach, symptoms may be slightly different, and they include:

• Stomach pain.
• Swelling around the abdomen.
• Being sick.
• Suffering from constipation, or conversely, diarrhoea.

How is mesothelioma diagnosed?

The first step must come from you (or your family member if they have symptoms). When taken in isolation, the first signs of mesothelioma can sometimes get dismissed as something trivial.

Here’s a list of the steps you need to take to determine if you have mesothelioma.

1. Make an appointment to visit your GP to discuss the symptoms you have been experiencing.
2. If you know that you worked with asbestos or came into contact with it regularly through other circumstances (such as washing work clothes covered in asbestos). Make sure your doctor is aware of this.
3. Should your doctor suspect you have mesothelioma, you will probably undergo a chest x-ray. The results demonstrated by the x-ray will be returned to your GP.
4. You will be referred to a lung cancer specialist at a rapid access clinic, a specialist clinic at your hospital designated to deal with urgent cancer cases.
5. A chest x-ray will reveal fluid in your lungs if you have mesothelioma. A fluid build-up of this kind is known as a ‘pleural effusion’.
6. Further tests may follow, including a CT scan. This type of scan gives a more detailed picture of what is happening inside your body and the organs.
7. For confirmation you have mesothelioma, you will usually undergo a biopsy. This procedure usually involves taking a tissue sample or fluid, depending on what the doctors deem most appropriate to your case.

The sample taken during the biopsy will be sent to a laboratory for tests. The results of the biopsy will determine whether or not you have mesothelioma.

Your consultant will discuss the results with you and the types of treatment available to you.

What are the four stages of pleural mesothelioma?

• Stage 1 – early signs of tumour growth. Cancer hasn’t spread from the lungs.
• Stage 2 – mesothelioma has spread to lymph nodes near the lungs.
• Stage 3 – there’s been a further spread of cancer into tissue and organs.
• Stage 4 – mesothelioma has spread to more distant parts of the body.

During stages one and two, the focus is on providing the mesothelioma patient with treatment to extend life expectancy.

In stage three, patients will no longer have the option of surgery. The aim of treatment now is to manage symptoms and slow the progress of the disease.

By stage four, the focus is on relieving symptoms and giving the patient some quality of life.

What are the most common treatments for pleural mesothelioma?

• Chemotherapy (Chemo) is a type of medicine that kills cancer cells and attempts to stop them from reproducing and prevent them from growing and spreading to other parts of the body. Chemo is administered intravenously (into a vein) or in tablet form and is sometimes used in conjunction with different treatment types.
• Surgery may be an option for mesothelioma patients who are otherwise fit and in good shape. Radical surgery aims to increase life expectancy to remove the mesothelioma altogether. Radical surgery is highly invasive.

Less invasive surgery is a treatment option to control symptoms.

It is not common for surgery to be offered to treat mesothelioma.

• Radiotherapy aims to kill cancerous cells while not harming healthy ones. It is provided in short, sharp sessions using powerful x-rays to attack the cancerous cells. The main aim of radiotherapy is symptom relief, and it can be used in conjunction with other types of treatment, particularly during clinical trials.
• Palliative care involves treatments given to alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life known as ‘palliative care’. Towards the end of a mesothelioma patient’s life, palliative care is critical in providing the patient with the best quality of life possible.

Is immunotherapy a cure for mesothelioma?

Finding a drug that will cure cancers, including mesothelioma, is like trying to find the golden nugget of drugs. Sometimes, mesothelioma patients are invited to undergo drug trials in the hope of finding that elusive cure.

One form of treatment that has withstood rigorous testing is immunotherapy. This treatment uses drugs to encourage the mesothelioma patient’s immune system to recognise cancer cells and destroy them. Whereas chemo destroys both cancerous and healthy cells, immunotherapy kills cancerous cells but leaves the healthy ones alone.

One particular type of drug, known by its brand name of Keytruda (as opposed to the name of the kind of drug, Pembrolizumab), has had proven positive results.

However, undergoing a Keytruda treatment programme is vastly expensive, running into high, five-figure sums. Thankfully, during the Covid pandemic of 2020, the National Institute for Health Care and Excellence, NICE, announced that all mesothelioma patients would be eligible to receive immunotherapy irrespective of their financial circumstances. A review of the funding by NICE will take place at the end of March 2022.

Immunotherapy in its present form is not a cure for mesothelioma. Instead, it helps extend life expectancy. Whether it ever develops to take the final, giant step forward to becoming a cure for mesothelioma remains to be seen.

What is the life expectancy of someone who is diagnosed with mesothelioma?

Because it takes so long after asbestos exposure to be diagnosed with mesothelioma, the life expectancy for most asbestos victims is not a long one.

Mesothelioma has been developing in the body long before symptoms appear.

Once diagnosed, the average life expectancy for someone with mesothelioma is between twelve to twenty-one months.

Solicitor for Mesothelioma Claims

The Asbestos Awareness website is created and managed by the experienced personal injury solicitors at Bridge McFarland LLP. We have a team dedicated to supporting clients through their mesothelioma claims as a result of asbestos exposure. We understand the overwhelming and emotional nature of being faced with such diagnosis and support all clients and their loved ones with compassion and respect.

Asbestos Awareness is dedicated to informing, educating, and supporting people in relation to asbestos-related diseases.

For further information, or to speak to a member of our experienced medical personal injury solicitors, please call 0800 987 8809. Alternatively, you can fill in this contact form.

To discuss making an asbestos compensation claim, please complete the form below to receive an email or a phone call from us.