I've been asked by the lovely Heather Von St. James (pictured above, with her daughter Lily) to be a part of Mesothelioma Awareness Campaign, so here are the basics:) For more information, visit Heather's Blog .
People most likely to contract mesothelioma are those who worked with asbestos, or even being around someone whose been exposed to the dust and/or fibers. So if your loved one worked with asbestos and you washed their clothes, you're at risk (I did NOT know this!).
Signs and Symptoms:
-Chest pain
-Fluid surrounding the lung(s)
-Shortness of breath
-Fatigue
-Wheezing, hoarseness, or persistent cough
-Blood in sputum*
Mesothelioma can be a difficult malignancy to diagnose because the symptoms of the disease closely resemble other respiratory conditions (I suffer from mild asthma, and since cold weather triggers it, I may have up to 4 symptoms noted above), and because the pathology can be very difficult to distinguish from lung cancer tumors.**
*taken from Wikipedia
**taken from Jack West, MD, http://www.mesolthelioma.com
The lesson here is, make regular yearly doctor visits, and if you suspect you've been exposed to asbestos, and are experiencing the above symptoms ALL THE TIME, please consult your physician.
National Mesothelioma Awareness Day is Sept 26th.
Another excellent source:
2 comments:
What a gorgeous picture! Thanks for sharing the information, Molly.
:) Thanks for stopping by Liz:)
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