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Some statistics related to Mesothelioma

• Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that affects the body cavity lining in various areas. The majority of suffers have pleural mesothelioma which affects the lining in the cavity that surrounds the lungs. Less common mesothelioma types include peritoneal (which affects the lining in the abdominal cavity), pericardial (which affects the lining surrounding the heart) and a few others that are among the rarest known cancers.

The only known cause of mesothelioma is prolonged exposure to asbestos. It is often misdiagnosed and the patient only becomes aware that they have the disease when it has become nearly untreatable. Symptoms often do not show up for 20-50 years and the mimic the symptoms of benign illnesses. Here are some statistics related to mesothelioma:

• About 2,000-3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the US, that is about nine people per million. The number is expected to rise with the advancement of techniques to diagnose the disease earlier and peak in about 2010. The numbers should then decline because fewer people were exposed after asbestos was banned in the 1980s.
• About 2,000-3,000 people die each year from mesothelioma, some cases are proved to be mesothelioma only post mortem.
• Men are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with mesothelioma (four to one) because they tended to work in factories which contained or processed asbestos.
• People who lived in the vicinity of asbestos mines or processing plants are susceptible to the illness because they may have inhaled fibers from the air.
• People who lived with someone who worked with asbestos or in buildings thick with the material are susceptible to mesothelioma because the fibers came in on clothes or through the building materials.
• About ¾ of all people who have mesothelioma are over the age of 65. It is very rare to have a patient younger than 55 and it is more common in Caucasian Americans than African Americans.
• The average survival time after diagnosis is about one year. Only about 10% of patients live five years or longer after diagnosis.
• People who smoke are 55 times more likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma because the two carcinogens in your system make you more susceptible to the formation of malignant tumors.