Asbestos.com is The Mesothelioma Center’s website. It is a great source of information, with excellent, in-depth articles that are reviewed by top mesothelioma specialists.
The Mesothelioma Center has a Patient Advocate Team, which offers answers at no cost to questions about mesothelioma. These questions can be about all aspects of the disease, such as diagnosis, treatment, veteran’s assistance, legal and financial help, and emotional support.
The Mesothelioma Center has created connections with many hospitals and can connect mesothelioma patients, through their Doctor Match program, with a good doctor for their location and diagnosis. The Mesothelioma Center has also gone to many Veterans Services Organizations all over the country and has educated people there about mesothelioma and its effects on veterans, specifically Navy Veterans. Another way The Mesothelioma Center supports mesothelioma patients is through their monthly online support group and their Facebook page.
The Mesothelioma Center helps raise awareness of asbestos’ dangers and helps people with judicial choices. The Center recognizes that asbestos is mesothelioma’s main cause and that many companies kept on using it at the expense of their employees or customers. Because of this, it helps those struggling with mesothelioma, or whose loved one is struggling with mesothelioma, navigate legal options.
Asbestos.com has a lot of helpful articles. Among these is a guide for hiring an asbestos abatement professional, and information about mesothelioma, outlined here.
When should a home or building be tested for asbestos? Generally, asbestos is not harmful when left undisturbed. There are certain situations when asbestos should be tested before moving on. A few of these conditions are mentioned here, but not all. Before any remodeling, especially DIY remodeling, happens, you should test for asbestos. If you own a structure that was built before 1980, asbestos should be tested for. If any crumbled, worn down asbestos is found in the building, it should immediately be tested. Lastly, if any manmade or natural disaster should occur, the house should be tested for asbestos, because of the probable disturbance that occurred during the disaster.
Many building materials contain asbestos much more often than others. Some of these materials are roof shingles and siding; vermiculite insulation, ceiling tiles, and coatings (because vermiculite often contains asbestos); popcorn ceilings; electrical switchboard panels; drywall and cement sheets; plaster, putties, and caulking; plumbing fixtures; vinyl floor tiles, pipe, and duct coverings; and thermal boiler and fireplace insulations.
Asbestos abatement contractors are trained to deal with the deadly mineral safely. They are given and trained in how to use personal protective equipment, and they know how to prepare the area for abatement. They set up decontamination units, and have procedures they use to decontaminate the workers before they leave the worksite. They know how to dispose of asbestos, and have access to where it needs to be done.
If you suspect the presence of asbestos in an area of a building, there are steps you can take to keep you as safe as possible. Helpful measures to take to avoid disturbance is the avoid the place, and especially to keep people who would not be cautious (such as children) away. Call a licensed asbestos abatement contractor as soon as you can, and meanwhile, do not vacuum, sweep, dust, or remove any suspicious materials. While it may seem that you are helping matters by moving the mineral out of the way, it is much safer to simply avoid the space, as moving the dust disturbs it.
While the United States has certain regulations in terms of asbestos abatement, states and cities make their own, separate regulations. Some asbestos abatement companies specialize specifically in asbestos removal, while others offer other services, such as environmental services, along with offering asbestos removal.
There are three classes of asbestos work. The first is when asbestos used as insulation is removed, the removal of surfacing asbestos-containing materials occurs, and when materials suspected of containing asbestos are removed. The second class of asbestos work is when nonthermal asbestos-containing materials are removed. Some examples of these materials are floor tiles and sheeting, construction mastics, wallboards, and roofing and siding shingles. The third class of asbestos work is the repair and maintenance of any asbestos-containing material likely to be disturbed. When asbestos is removed, the work is most often in this third class of asbestos work.
Mesothelioma is a rare, incurable cancer, whose main cause is asbestos. Without treatment, the expected lifespan of a mesothelioma patient after diagnosis is 12 months. While mesothelioma is usually found on the lung’s lining, it can also be found on the lining of the abdominal cavity and of the heart. While the only way to confirm a mesothelioma diagnosis is a biopsy, other tools may be used to help form the diagnosis. These tools include a basic chest x-ray to check for abnormalities, a blood test, and staging. There are multiple ways mesothelioma is treated, and different types of mesothelioma react differently to treatments than others. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and sometimes clinical trials are all used. The symptoms of mesothelioma occur when the tumor spreads, pressing against the chest wall and abdominal cavity. The most common symptoms are chest pain and shortness of breath.
Mesothelioma develops when asbestos fibers become lodged in the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart after being inhaled. The fibers damage mesothelial cells and cause inflammation, which eventually causes mesothelioma. There are three types of mesothelioma cells: epithelioid, sarcomatoid, and biphasic. Of the three, epitheliod is the most responsive to treatment, and sarcomatoid the least. Biphasic is a mix of epithelioid and sarcomatoid and is somewhere in the middle in terms of treatability.
You can visit their websites below and find out more information about Asbestos removal and testing as well as mesothelioma and the other dangers of Asbestos. https://www.asbestos.com/about/, https://www.asbestos.com/abatement-guide/, https://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/