What is a risk?
Risk is defined as the distress of the variation of one or more results of upcoming events from their anticipated assessment. It is a combination of the likelihood of an incidence of a perilous event or exposure and the rigorousness of injury or ill health that can be caused by the certain incident. In short, risk is the term used to mean a happening that possibly will cause damage in the future.
What is mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma, more specifically known as malignant mesothelioma, is a rare type of cancer that builds up in the protective lining -the so called mesothelium - which embeds numerous of the body's internal organs. It is typically caused by the exposure to the hazardous substance asbestos.
What are the risk factors of mesothelioma?
The prime risk factor of developing this health condition is asbestos exposure. People working around asbestos fibers are among those with the highest possibility of being diagnosed with mesothelioma. Seventy to eighty percent of all diagnoses articulated that they had contact to asbestos. The rationale behind this statistic is based on incidents when a worker while taking out old asbestos insulation or during the mining process, the asbestos may have broken up into smaller pieces and spread out to the air as carcinogenic dust. If the dust was breathed in or swallowed, the asbestos fibers may lodge in the stomach or in the lungs, which can result into the origination of mesothelioma or other asbestos related diseases. Mesothelioma risk is thought to be greater for people who are in frequent contact with asbestos over a long period of time. It may take 30 to 40 years or even more for mesothelioma to develop as a result of asbestos exposure.
Other Potential Mesothelioma Risk Factors:
- Direct asbestos exposure. A person who has a direct contact to asbestos fibers at home or at work will possibly have an increased risk of getting mesothelioma.
- Residing with somebody who is exposed to asbestos. A person who works with asbestos can take the fibers that were attached to their skin and clothes back home to their residences. These fibers may put other family members at home at danger of getting sick. A person who works with asbestos must shower thoroughly to wash out the asbestos fibers and take off their working apparel before going home.
- Cigarette smoking. The threat of mesothelioma is greatly increased for smokers who were exposed to asbestos.
- SV40. A number of studies indicate an association between simian virus 40 (SV40) and mesothelioma. This is a disease initially started in monkeys. It is still a point of debate, and more investigation is considered necessary to find out whether SV40 adds to the peril of mesothelioma.
- Radiation. Several investigations suggest the development of mesothelioma caused by the radioactive material thorium dioxide, which was utilized in association with X-rays to make diagnoses of a variety of health conditions from 1920s up to 1950s. After numerous studies, thorium dioxide was acknowledged as a cancer cause and is not anymore use for that purpose.
The author Tony Ulrich was diagnosed with kidney cancer in October of 2009. In his research on what his cancer could have been caused by, he came across with data that suggests a strong link to environmental toxics, such as asbestos. Please visit his Kidney Cancer and Mesothelioma Risk Factor website for more details.
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