| Industrialization crept in fast and furious in the 1700s | | | | asbestos is carried out through a combination of |
| and after that for about 100 years the mineral | | | | processes like the medical history, x-rays, MRIs, CAT |
| asbestos was considered to be a miracle which could | | | | tissue samples, scans and biopsies. Those with regular |
| be used everywhere effectively and relatively | | | | exposure must get themselves checked regularly to |
| cheaply. It became a must-have in all buildings as | | | | catch the problem in time as the incubation period is |
| insulation and came to be used in all products that | | | | as long as 50 years. Early diagnosis plays its part here |
| could be manufactured. But the late 1800s saw | | | | too as with all other cancers. Patients diagnosed with |
| asbestos causing lung cancer in many who were | | | | mesothelioma have a bad statistic report going as |
| exposed to it. But like the fate of most unpalatable | | | | the survival rate is far from satisfactory. Some are |
| reports this one too was ignored till such time as the | | | | even given as little as 8 to 10 weeks, but those who |
| condition started getting out of control and finally | | | | use a multi treatment approach have shown a 40% |
| around 1931 the British government took note of the | | | | survival rate for 5 years at least which is as good as |
| fact that people exposed to asbestos were at a | | | | that of other cancers. The most responsive |
| great risk for lung cancer and this was followed by | | | | treatment for mesothelioma has come to light as |
| the United States in the early 1970s. Unfortunately | | | | being a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and |
| this action was too late for those who had already | | | | radiation therapy but if the detection happens at a |
| been exposed and now faced the consequences of | | | | late stage, surgery may not be an option that is |
| the disease. | | | | open anymore. |
| Exposure to asbestos has resulted in the | | | | But the world of medical research does not sleep and |
| development of pleural plaques, asbestosis, lung | | | | there are advancements being made in the field of |
| scarring, lung cancer and a particularly nasty strain | | | | chemotherapy even as we speak. February of 2004 |
| called mesothelioma. This strain is exclusive to | | | | saw the first medicine approved by the FDA called |
| asbestos and deals with the lining around the lungs | | | | Alimta produced by Eli Lilly. It was seen in the clinical |
| called the pleura. It can strike a person even after a | | | | trials that Alimta in combination with another drug |
| short exposure 10 or 20 years ago. If the person is a | | | | called Cisplatin did a lot to better the life expectancy |
| smoker, then the risk goes up 10 fold or more as | | | | of the afflicted people. For those who know that |
| compared to a non smoker who has maybe a risk 5 | | | | death is imminent a hope that their life can be |
| times greater than someone who is not exposed to | | | | extended by even a few months works wonders |
| asbestos. | | | | and allows them the freedom to hope for a cure. |
| Diagnosis of lung cancers due to exposure to | | | | |