PRLog (Press Release) – Dec 07, 2011 –
For most of the twentieth century and throughout many manufacturing, engineering and construction industries of the UK, it was often the policy for company employers to restrict asbestos awareness to the dangers of breathing-in of the mineral fibre dust, which led to countless thousands of workers not realising they were at risk of succumbing to the fatal mesothelioma cancer or other asbestosis diseases.
Asbestos fibres permanently embed in the lung or stomach linings and a long gestation period of between 15 to 50 years elapses from the period of initial exposure and the appearance of mesothelioma or asbestosis symptoms. Almost invariably, a confirmed diagnosis occurs at a very late stage of the spread of the disease.
Consequently, a range of asbestosis treatments, including combinations of radiation therapy, biopsy and surgery, may have minimal effect on remaining life expectancy, which is usually between 4 – 18 months. There is a three year limit from the point of confirmed diagnosis for entering a mesothelioma compensation claim through a qualified asbestosis lawyer.
Determining the point to which mesothelioma disease has progressed is called ‘staging’. Planning an effective course of treatment based on the ‘stage’ mesothelioma has reached uses imaging studies such as x-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans.
There are four staging systems, namely, the TNM Staging System, the Butchart Staging System, and the Brigham Staging System. Since pleural mesothelioma occurs most frequently and is the most researched form of asbestos-related cancer, it is the only type of mesothelioma for which a standard staging classification exists.
The TNM staging system assigns categories and numbers to determine the overall stages of mesothelioma based on T for tumour size and how far it has spread to nearby organs, N for the spread to lymph nodes and M for metastasis or the extent of spread to other (distant) body organs.
The Butchart System is the oldest of all staging systems still currently being used by many specialists and is based on the magnitude of the primary tumour mass by dividing malignant mesothelioma into four stages.
The Brigham Staging System also uses four stages to determine if the mesothelioma can be treated or removed by surgery and is also based on whether or not the body’s lymph nodes are involved.
The four mesothelioma stages are described differently by the various staging systems:
Stage 1
TNM : The spread is confined to the outer layer of the lung either side of the pleura but has not spread to either the lymph nodes nor other parts of the body.
Butchart : Cancer is in the right or left pleura and may affect the diaphragm on that side.
Brigham : The mesothelioma is resectable and has not affected any lymph nodes.
Stage 2
TNM : The cancer has grown into (i) the outermost lung lining, (ii) into the lung, or the diaphragm, either side of the pleura but still has not grown into the lymph nodes or other parts of the body.
Butchart : Mesothelioma has affected the diaphragm and moved into peritoneum. Chest nodes in areas other than the chest may also be affected
Brigham : Mesotheliopma is resectable, but lymph nodes are affected
Stage 3
TNM : Mesothelioma may or may not have spread from the lining of the chest into the outermost lung lining, into the lung, the diaphragm and has grown into lymph nodes in the chest, on the same side as the primary tumour, and it has not metastasized to other parts of the body.
Butchart : Mesothelioma has affected the diaphragm and moved into peritoneum. Chest nodes in areas other than the chest may also be affected.
Brigham : Mesothelioma is unresectable and it has spread into chest wall, or heart, through the diaphragm, or into the abdominal cavity. It may or may not have affected lymph nodes beyond the chest.
Stage 4
TNM : Mesothelioma has spread into the chest wall, either ribs or muscle, through the diaphragm, into any organ, into the spine, to the other side of the chest, through lining of the heart lining or into the heart or oesophagus. The cancer may or may not have spread to lymph nodes in any part of the body, and it has not spread to other parts of the body, or the tumor may be of any size and has spread to lymph nodes or other tissues or parts of the body.
Butchart : The cancer has spread to other parts of the body, or to the bloodstream.
Brigham : The disease has metastasized into other parts of the body.
Visit http://www.asbestosvictimadvice.com for more information and advice.
