 Mesothelioma
Lawyers
Choosing
a lawyer for your asbestos or mesothelioma case is a very significant step.
Following are some ideas to keep in mind.
1.) Mesothelioma
Lawyer Legal Fees
Asbestos
legal matters vary widely. No two cases are exactly alike. Thus, a lawyer's
fee depends upon a variety of factors. Some of the factors involved are:
- The amount
of time and labor spent on your mesothelioma case. To a lawyer, time
is money. Most lawyers keep very careful records of the amount of time
they and members of their staff spend on your case. Different attorneys
rate their time differently depending upon their experience, training.
skills, and workload.
- Ability,
experience and reputation. These are important factors in determining
an asbestos lawyer's fee. If the methotheleoma lawyer is well known as
a highly competent lawyer who has settled many mesothelioma cases, his
fee is likely to be higher. Remember, the cheapest lawyer may not always
be the best. Of course, unless a lawyer takes your case on a contingent
basis, he will expect to be paid, win or lose.
- Results
can never be guaranteed. Nonetheless, some lawyers will handle a lawsuit
for money and damages on the condition that they be allowed to take a percentage
of the recovery if success is achieved. Under this contingent arrangement,
a lawyer does not collect a fee if the case is lost. The client must still
pay court costs, however.
- Office
overhead costs. Remember, when you hire an asbestos attorney, you are
hiring the entire office staff. Legal secretaries and other office help
are highly paid. Usually. from 36% to 50% of the fee helps to defray office
overhead.
2.) Choosing
a Mesothelioma lawyer
Now that
you're aware of the above fees for your mesothelioma litigation, consider
some crucial points regarding choosing your asbestos attorney.
- Mesothelioma
Cancer Network Recommendation - Have you joined any mailing list for
mesothelioma or cancer in general? If so, ask for personal recommendations.
Why did the person choose that mesothelioma lawyer? How was their personal
attention? What's their track record in settling asbestos cases? etc.etc.etc.
Lawyers depend on good client relations and word of mouth reference for
good business. However, you should not expect any type of guarantee just
because a fellow mesothelioma patient may have done well in their case
- everyone's circumstances are different, and therefore so are the results.
- Check
records - Check background, experience, disciplinary record of any
potential mesothelioma lawyer candidate. Many states currently require
all lawyers to graduate from college and law school, pass a written exam,
pass a character and fitness review, and be licensed to practice law. Also,
many lawyers take continuing legal education classes each year. You can
find out about many mesothelioma lawyers' backgrounds by checking legal
source books in your local law library or public library.
- Consider
the mesothelioma lawyer's training and experience - Ask if the lawyer
has handled similar asbestos matters, and what the outcomes were. Also
ask if the lawyer has taken any continuing legal education courses regarding
asbestos law and mesothelioma lititgation which relate to your problem.
- Consider
mesothelioma specialization - Can you uncover lawyers who concentrate
exclusively or almost exclusively in the representation of individuals
and families of individuals with mesothelioma and lung cancer? If so, this
can be very advantageous because mesothelioma is the main focus - the lawyers
won't be subjected to distrations of other legal, non-asbestos cases.
3.) Resources
for finding mesothelioma lawyers
There are
several ways for uncovering lawyers who specialize in asbestos and mesothelioma
cases. They include:
 Symptoms
of mesothelioma
The early
signs of mesothelioma are often similar to pneumonia with symptoms including
chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and a build up of fluid (shown
by a chest x-ray). The most commonly affected lung is the right, approximately
60% of the time, whilst symptoms in both lungs are rare at 5% of the time.
Mesothelioma symptoms are not limited to the above and can also include
weight loss, fever nauseu and abdomen swelling (for those affected by peritoneal
Mesothelioma).
One thing
to consider is that early symptoms of mesothelioma can be mis-diagnosed.
Part of this reason is that many of the symptoms are similar to pneumonia,
including shortness of breath, persistent cough and chest pain.
Mesothelioma
almost always originates from long-term exposure to asbestos. Asbestos
was used in many industries like:
- building
and construction industry for strengthening cement and plastics as well
as for insulation, fireproofing, and sound absorption.
- The shipbuilding
industry to insulate boilers, steampipes, and hot water pipes.
- The automotive
industry for vehicle brakeshoes and clutch pads.
Since the
early 1940s, millions of Americans have been exposed to asbestos dust,
including many of the 4.5 million people who worked in shipyards during
World War II. Illness from asbestos dust has been recognized in workers
exposed in shipbuilding trades, asbestos mining and milling, manufacturing
of asbestos products, insulation work in the construction and building
trades, brake repair, and a variety of other trades. Demolition workers,
drywall removers, and firefighters also may be exposed to asbestos dust.
Pleural
Mesothelioma symptoms - sometimes resembling viral pneumonia, pleural
mesothelioma patients may be plagued with:
- shortness
of breath
- chest pain
- a persistent
cough.
On the other
hand, some patients show no symptoms at all. The onset of pleural mesothelioma
is usually very slow, the most common presenting symptom is persistent
pain localized in the chest. Sometimes the pain is accompanied by severe
difficulty breathing, because fluid has gathered in the pleural space.
This is known as pleural effusion. Cough, weight loss and fever are not
uncommon as well.
Peritoneal
Mesothelioma symptoms - can include:
- swelling
- pain due
to accumulation of fluid in the abdomen cavity
- weight loss
- mass in
the abdomen
Other symptoms
of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting
abnormalities, anemia (a lowered red blood cell count), and fever.
Pericardial
Mesothelioma symptoms - The most infrequent form of this rare asbestos-linked
cancer, individuals with pericardial mesothelioma have cancerous growths
in tissues surrounding the heart. The early symptoms indicating pericardial
mesothelioma include:
- chest pain
- dyspnea
- cough
- palpitations
Dyspnea is
defined as abnormal or uncomfortable breathing in the context of what is
normal for a person according to his or her level of fitness and exertional
threshold for breathlessness.
These are
some of the symptoms of mesothelioma. Symptoms are one thing...but what
if it becomes malignant? It's time to
Turn now
to Chapter 2 - Malignant Mesothelioma.
 Malignant
Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma
is not always malignant - it can be benign as well. Benign mesothelioma
is usually a localized tumor that affects men more frequently than women.
The tumor may grow to a large size and compress the lung or other surrounding
body organs.
Malignant
mesothelioma can be treated in the following ways:
- Surgery
(taking out the cancer)
- Radiation
therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer
cells)
- Chemotherapy
(using drugs to fight the cancer)
These options
are discussed more thoroughly on the Mesothelioma
Treatment page.
Current clinical
trials regarding malignant mesothelioma include:
Additionally,
consider perusing the mailing list at the MESOTHELIOMA
(Cancer) Support & Information.
 Pleural
Mesothelioma
Pleural mesothelioma
is the mesothelima that deals with the lungs. Two types exist:
- Malignant
(cancerous)
- Benign (not)
Benign mesothelioma
can often be removed surgically, are generally not life-threatening, and
are not usually related to asbestos exposure.
Pleural mesothelioma
can occur because of a long-term exposure to Asbestos. "Asbestos"
refers to a family of magnesium-silicate mineral fibers that have been
commonly used for insulation and in the shipbuilding and construction industries.
Interestingly, a history of asbestos exposure is found in 80 percent of
patients who present with mesothelioma.
Other factors
that may contribute towards pleural mesothelioma include:
- chronic
lung infections
- tuberculous
pleuritis
- radiation
(Thorotrast)
- exposure
to the simian virus 40 (SV40) or mineral fibers (Zeolite).
Although
tobacco smoking has not been associated with the development of mesotheliomas,
the combination of smoking and asbestos exposure greatly increases the
risk of lung cancer.
The condition
itself is a cancer of the cells that make up the pleura or lining around
the outside of the lungs and inside of the ribs. Its only known cause in
the U.S. is previous exposure to asbestos fibers, including chrysotile,
amosite or crocidolite. This exposure is likely to have happened twenty
or more years before the disease becomes evident, since it takes many years
for the disease to "incubate." It is the most common type of
mesothelioma, accounting for about 75% of all cases.
The first
step in verifying pleural mesothelioma usually is a chest x-ray or CT scan.
The next step is a bronchoscopy - this involves a viewing scope which the
doctors use to look inside the lungs.
The actual
diagnosis itself usually requires removing and analyzing a piece of tissue
through a biopsy. This could be a needle biopsy, an open biopsy, or through
a tube with a camera (thoracoscopy or chest scope.) The tissue sample is
tested by a pathologist.
Fluid build-up
from the pleural effusion can generally be seen on a chest x-ray and heard
during a physical examination. This is important because there are also
benign pleural effusions and other tumors that have a similar appearance
to mesothelioma such as pneumonia.
The spread
of the tumor over the lung pleura will thicken it, reducing the flexibility
of the pleura and encasing the lungs in an increasingly restrictive space.
This makes breathing more difficult. At first a person with mesothelioma
may be breathless only when he or she exercises, but as lung function drops,
he or she can become short of breath even while resting.
The tumor
spreads by direct invasion of surrounding tissue. As it spreads inward
it can compress the lungs. As the tumor spreads outward it can invade the
chest wall and ribs, and this can be extremely painful.
Currently
we do not know exactly how and why asbestos fibers cause mesothelial cells
to become abnormal (malignant or cancerous.) Many clinical studies are
dedicated to this.
As of yet,
there is no known cure for malignant mesothelioma. The prognosis depends
on various factors, including the size and stage of the tumor, the extent
of the tumor, the cell type, and whether or not the tumor responds to treatment.
More resources
regarding plural mesothelioma are found at:
Additionally,
consider perusing The
Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma with Gene Modified Cancer Cells.
Pleural Mesothelioma
is the most common version of the cancer. But how is it really diagnosed?
It's time now for:
Mesothelioma
Diagnosis
As mentioned
in other pages, mesothelioma can be missed because its early symptoms can
resemble other illnesses such as pneumonia. Thus, a biopsy is generally
required to diagnose mesothelioma. Remember, mesothelioma or asbestos cancer
is a type of lung cancer, so a doctor should be seen if an individual has
- shortness
of breath
- pain in
the chest
- pain or
swelling in the abdomen
- a new cough
- a bloody
cough or a change in an existing cough
- pneumonia
- rib, shoulder
or bone pain
- hoarseness
- loss of
appetite and weight
- facial swelling
- headaches
If there
are symptoms, the doctor may order an x-ray of the chest or abdomen as
so:
To obtain
the final diagnosis, the patient might undergo:
- Chest
X-ray and CT scan. The X-ray gives a good picture of the chest cavity,
but a CT scan is also done because it shows the lung mass, lymph nodes
and the rest of the chest cavity in greater detail. These help evaluate
the extent of a lung mass and suggest the likelihood of cancer, but they
do not confirm the diagnosis of lung cancer. Confirmation requires a biopsy.
- MRI
(magnetic resonance imaging) test. This tool may be part of the evaluation
for a lung mass; however, it does not visualize the lung well.
- PET
(positron emission tomography) scan. This relatively new nuclear medicine
technique may be helpful in evaluating and staging a lung mass. If a lung
mass "lights up" on the PET scan, it usually indicates lung cancer.
If the mass does not light up, cancer is not likely to be present. The
test also evaluates the entire body to determine whether cancer has spread
to lymph nodes or other areas of the body.
Additionally,
the doctor may look inside the chest cavity with a special instrument called
a thoracoscope. A cut will be made through the chest wall and the thoracoscope
will be put into the chest between two ribs. This test, called thoracoscopy,
is usually done in the hospital. If tissue that is not normal is found,
the doctor will need to cut out a small piece (that's the biopsy) and have
it looked at under a microscope to see if there are any cancer cells.
If malignant
mesothelima is diagnosed, most likely it will be one of two varieties:
Localized
malignant mesothelioma:
- Stage I:
The cancer is found in the lining of the chest cavity near the lung and
heart or in the diaphragm or the lung.
Advanced
malignant mesothelioma:
- Stage II:
The cancer has spread beyond the lining of the chest to lymph nodes in
the chest.
- Stage III:
Cancer has spread into the chest wall, center of the chest, heart, through
the diaphragm, or abdominal lining, and in some cases into nearby lymph
nodes.
- Stage IV:
Cancer has spread to distant organs or tissues.
More online
resources for mesothelioma diagnosis can be found at:
Current
Therapy for Mesothelioma
The
role of Immunohistochemistry in the Differential Diagnosis of Soft-tissue
Tumors
Malignant
transformation of a well-differentiated peritoneal papillary mesothelioma
Malignant
transformation of "benign" cystic mesothelioma of the peritoneum
Diagnosing
Lung Cancer
Diagnosing
the lung cancer of mesothelioma is one thing. What are the treatment options?
It's time now for:
 Mesothelioma
Treatment
Mesothelioma
is almost always fatal, but steps can be taken to prolong life. So far,
treatment options include:
Surgery
- Depending on how far the cancer has progressed, it may be necessary
to remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue
around either. In more advanced cases, a doctor may have to remove one
of the patient's lungs, part of the diaphragm, or the pericardium.
Draining
fluid from the lungs, abdomen or pericardium is another surgical procedure.
This treatment is used to ease a patient's pain or discomfort, and sometimes
to prevent fluid from building up again, but it is not a cure for the disease.
Chemotherapy
- This is the use of drugs for treating cancer. The drugs can be ingested
in pill form or they can be injected by needle into a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy
therapy is systemic therapy, which means that the drug enters the bloodstream
and circulates throughout the body (through the whole system) to reach
and destroy the cancer cells.
Several anti-cancer
drugs have been used to treat mesothelioma. The drug most effective when
given alone is doxorubicin or Adriamycin. Cisplatin, gemcitabine, methotrexate,
vinorelbine, and capecitabine are other drugs that can be given as well.
Often anti-cancer
drugs are combined in their dosage to try to increase their effectiveness
(drug cocktail). Combinations of drugs used in the treatment of mesothelioma
include:
- cisplatin,
mitomycin, and vinblastine
- cisplatin
and doxorubicin
- cisplatin,
cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin
- cisplatin
and gemcitabine
- methotrexate
and vincristine
Other drugs
such as paclitaxel and irinotecan are currently being studied to determine
their effectiveness in treating mesothelioma.
Chemotherapy
drugs kill cancer cells but also damage some normal cells. Therefore, your
doctor will pay careful attention to avoiding or minimizing side effects,
which depend on the specific drugs, the amount taken, and the length of
treatment. Temporary side effects might include nausea and vomiting, loss
of appetite, loss of hair, and mouth sores.
Radiation
Therapy -
Radiation
therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.
The radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation),
or from putting materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes
in the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation). Factors
which can limit the application of this treatment include the volume of
the tumor and how near it is to vital organs. The side effects can be severe.
In addition
to traditional treatments, new mesothelioma cancer treatments are continually
being tested through medical research studies. These treatments are called
clinical trials, and they help researchers determine whether new treatments
are safe and effective for general use, while giving patients with few
treatment options an opportunity to try new treatments.
More scientific
updates can be found at:
Long-term
collaboration yields fighting compound
Ten
Best Readings On Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma
Open-Label
Study of ALIMTA (pemetrexed) Alone or In Combination With Cisplatin for
Patients With Malignant Mesothelioma
How
a common protein becomes a cancer killer
Earliest
known facts about asbestos
Improving
Our Management of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma
Having mesothelioma
is one thing, dealing with it is quite another. It's time now to get plugged
into the support network of mesothelioma survivors and cancer mailing lists
that are online. Turn now to:
 Mesothelioma
Support
Every illness
is a hero's journey. And when patients has mesothelioma, they have to realize
they're not alone. The Internet provides a wealth of cancer coping resources
they and their families can use. These include:
Healthboards
discussing lung cancer
Lung
Cancer message boards
People
living with cancer forums
Living
With Cancer
CancerQuilt
Look
good Feel Better
Oncolink
Association
of Cancer Online Resources
Mesothelioma
support network
NCCS:
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
Our
Story: Johnny L. and Kimberlee Joy Hough
Mesothelioma
Applied Research Foundation
Again, you're
not alone. There are also networks specifically for cancer survivors as
well. Turn now to:
 Cancer
Survivors
Peope have
beaten cancer - there are several sites that pull together many of these
resources. They include:
Cancer
Survivors Network Stories
Personal
Cancer Stories
Support
for Survivors and Patients
Contributed
Inspirational Cancer Stories
Mesothelioma
Patient Profiles
Personal
Stories about Mesothelioma
Easing
Cancer Pain - Personal Stories
Cancer
Guide Patient Stories
Cancer
Treatment Centers of America Cancer Patient Stories
I urge you
to check out the above stories and networks if you know of a cancer patient
or are dealing with cancer yourself.
 Mesothelioma
Resources
There are
many mesothelioma, asbestos and cancer resources on the Internet. Please
benefit from the following.
Personal
Pages * Cancer Organizations
* Cancer Prevention
Childhood
Cancers * Alternative
Treatments * Cancer Research
Asbestos
I hope you
have found this mesothelioma resources ebook of use! Please feel free to
share it with your friends and colleagues.
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