My Two Unwanted Friends, Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer.

How my life change when I learn about mesothelioma cancer, I was home playing with my grandson and I felt a mild chest pain followed by coughing a small amount of blood out of my mouth. That was just the beginning of my painful journey with a friend I never wanted and his name is peritoneal mesothelioma.

My name is Wilson A. Workman a retired construction worker from Chicago Illinois and a loving father of three gorgeous women. I currently reside in Pasadena California with my wife Monica in our retirement home. It is not the fanciest house on the curve but the little money with both make in the construction industry is pretty nice. My wife Monica worked as an electrician for many years before she retired. I in the other hand busted my behind for well over thirty years, I was working for a company that remodels the old building in Chicago and sometimes we travel across Lake Michigan as well. In all of those years of hard-worked, I never felted this horrible pain that I’m currently dealing with these days. I have accidents yeah however they were nothing more than the usual piece of the wooden floor falling in your head. I remember a time when my late friend John and I almost were run over by an out of control truck. Aside from a few more incidents, nothing kept me from bringing home food for my family.




Well after the coughing did not stop on that Tuesday morning my daughter Elisabeth have to call emergency. I was rushed to the hospital and stayed overnight awaiting some x-rays. The next morning the doctor came into the room with my daughter and he said, Mr. Wilson, I believe you have an advanced state of bronchial carcinoma. My reaction was normal and I answered doc just give me the usual medication for the flu. My daughter Elisabeth quickly dropped a tear, and she said dad it is not the flue. What the doctor means is you have terminal lung cancer.




But how I never smoked cigarettes in my life, that diagnosis cannot be correct. Never the less the doctor submitted me to some more medical texts and they all were positives for lung cancer. For over thirty years I was exposed to asbestos, arsenic, chromium and nickel carcinogens. Now I clearly remember when old man Joe never stops talking about mesothelioma risks, I never asked him what that was until now while on this hospital bed.




What a sad situation for my family but I have to be strong and fight until the very end. I asked my youngest daughter Wendy to bring me some books about mesothelioma and asbestos so that I could read more about it. Even thus my wife did not approve that I worried too much about it and that leaves it to the medical staff and the lord above. But since I always read novels and to tell you the truth being in a hospital so many days is not the best of times.




Wendy brought me a book called A Patient's Guide to Mesothelioma by Joseph W. Belluck. The book is great it helps you understand what is mesothelioma and asbestos. For the next few months, I underwent many treatments that included Radio surgery an intense and I mean intense radiation treatment that aims many beams of radiation from many angles at cancer. Wow, that was a painful few days for me and the family. I have to go under Segmental resection surgery to remove a larger portion of my lung, but not an entire lobe. As of now, I was sent home for a few months to see if the treatment work for the better but I have well deep in my mind that the lord has the best option for and my family when the times come. This blog article was written by my youngest daughter Wendy at my request to tell a little bit of my story so that others like me come forward and get tested for mesothelioma and asbestos. Don’t just accept the tragic situation search for help many law firms will assist you.




I will continue to write more about my progress shortly, thank you for taking the time to read a small chapter of my life.

Common Alternative Treatments

Given the rarity of mesothelioma, scientific research on the effects of alternative treatments, specifically for this type of cancer, is limited. However, the most common alternative treatments used by mesothelioma patients include:

Body-based Therapies: This type of treatment involves the manipulation or movement of one or more body parts to help relieve pain of the bones and joints, the circulatory and lymphatic systems of the body and the soft tissues.

Acupuncture. This is one of the most widely accepted alternative therapies for the treatment of asbestos-related cancers. A 2006 analysis of 11 studies reports that acupuncture can reduce vomiting in patients who have undergone chemotherapy. Evidence also supports that acupuncture can relieve chest pain — a symptom felt by 64 percent of pleural mesothelioma patients.

Chiropractic Care. Mesothelioma patients have reported that chiropractic care has relieved pain from headaches, tension and stress . It also relieves shortness of breath, the most common symptom of asbestos-related cancers.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) Therapy. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, this treatment involves low-voltage electrical current to relieve pain, a common symptom of asbestos-related cancers, especially around the tumor area.

Natural Medicines: There are different types of natural medicines that aim to relieve pain and other symptoms associated with a mesothelioma diagnosis. Some of the top natural medicines used by mesothelioma patients which have undergone at least some level of scientific study include:

Celandine. Celandine can be used as an extract, tincture or tea to boost the immune system and inhibit tumor growth. A 1993 report from the Institute of Oncology in Ljubljana, Slovenia, explains how a women suffering from multiple metastases in the lungs, similar to pleural mesothelioma, underwent chemotherapy and celandine, resulting in complete remission.

Marshmallow Root. This is often prescribed for a persistent cough, a symptom reported by 36 percent of pleural mesothelioma patients.

Arsenicum Album. This is a homeopathic solution prepared from multiple dilutions of arsenic trioxide that is effective for soothing tight chest muscles and relaxing the bronchioles, beneficial for those suffering from chest pain.

Diseases Linked to Asbestos

Diseases Linked to Asbestos

Most asbestos-related illnesses have a long latency period. This means that the illness may not surface for as long as 10 to 50 years after asbestos exposure. The four most common diseases linked to asbestos exposure are mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural plaques.

Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that most often occurs in the thin membrane lining of the lungs, chest and abdomen. Each year, approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer causes the largest number of asbestos-related deaths. The occurrence of lung cancer in people who are or were directly involved in the mining, milling, manufacturing and use of asbestos and related products is significantly higher compared to the general population.

Asbestosis

Asbestosis is a chronic, non-cancerous respiratory disease. Asbestos fibers become lodged in the lungs and aggravate lung tissues, causing them to scar. The disease may cause cardiac failure in its advanced stages. Those suffering from asbestos-related cancers may also have asbestosis; however, asbestosis does not develop into cancer.

Pleural Plaques

Pleural plaques are bilateral areas of fibrosis present on the inner surface of the rib cage and the diaphragm that are often partly calcified. Pleural plaques by themselves are benign and cannot change into cancer. About one-third to half of those exposed to asbestos will likely develop calcified pleural plaques, though not all asbestos-exposed workers develop pleural plaques

Mesothelioma Symptoms

Mesothelioma symptoms can take up to 30 or even 40 years to appear, making a mesothelioma diagnosis very difficult to pinpoint. Nearly all the diagnosed mesothelioma cases can be linked to asbestos, which can lodge in the lining of the lungs and abdomen.

As a cancer, mesothelioma has a long latency period, meaning that the symptoms of mesothelioma typically do not appear until years after the asbestos exposure has occurred.

Navigating Diagnosis

It is often difficult to diagnose mesothelioma since its symptoms are often similar to those of other, less serious conditions.

Your doctor’s first step will likely be to collect a full medical and asbestos exposure history, along with a thorough physical examination. This might include a chest X-ray, which, if mesothelioma is present, will reveal thickening of the mesothelium or pleura.

As a follow-up, your doctor may order a CT scan or MRI, which will identify any abnormal fluid buildup around your organs. In the case of pleural mesothelioma, the most common form of the disease, your doctor will scan your lungs.

If your physician detects a large amount of fluid, he or she may drain it so he can examine the cells to see if they are malignant, or cancerous. If the cells are malignant, your doctor will likely order a biopsy to confirm the mesothelioma diagnosis. This involves removing some tissue from the inner tumor so a pathologist can look at it under a microscope.

For cancer of the abdomen, your doctor may instead perform a laparoscopy, which involves making a small opening in your abdomen and inserting a laparoscope to take tissue samples. These samples will enable your doctor to determine if your symptoms are related to mesothelioma.

We encourage you to consult your physician or the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation for questions regarding your mesothelioma diagnosis.

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Understanding Mesothelioma

From the Industrial Revolution through the 1980s, many companies used asbestos in manufacturing without significant regulation.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring, fibrous mineral which is easily separated into thin, microscopic threads. These fibers are strong, flexible, heat-resistant and do not conduct electricity. For nearly five thousand years, people have recognized the desirable properties of asbestos. Unfortunately, for nearly as long, its dangers have also been evident.

The very nature of the mineral’s thin fibers and the ease with which they are released into the air is the root of its danger. When these fibers are inhaled during an individual’s exposure to asbestos, the can become lodged in the lungs and, over time, cause serious, asbestos-related illnesses.

The first case of disease linked to asbestos was diagnosed in 1924 in the United Kingdom. Throughout to ‘30s and ‘40s, the use of asbestos continued to expand, particularly in industrial settings.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that asbestos was officially regulated in the United States.