Mesothelioma (Incidence) - Essay Example

active export oriented asbestos industry and the people involved in both mining and construction are exposed to this material thereby increasing predisposition to suffer from mesothelioma. The incidence of mesothelioma in Canada has increased steadily as seen from the figures collected over a period of twenty years starting from 1984 where the cases diagnosed have more than doubled, as persons exposed to asbestos from 1970 onwards are being reported as positive for the disease (Marrett et al, 2008).

The disease develops gradually and sometimes it takes as long as thirty years to manifest after the first exposure of a person to asbestos. Although more common in men than women, family and other persons living in close contact with asbestos workers are more likely to suffer from this disease. A person usually gets exposed to asbestos particles when they are suspended in the air during mining and milling operations. It has been well known in the past too that in addition to forming deposits in the lungs of factory workers, asbestos is responsible for precipitating cancers of the pharyngeal, gastric and the colorectal regions.

Concurrent smoking can worsen the situation in such people. This is the reason due to which many developed countries of the world have stopped working with asbestos completely. But as long as workers are engaged in demolition, renovation and construction activities involving the use of asbestos, the risk of developing mesothelioma will always be present. In Canada, although adequate precautions have been put in place for the workers involved in the asbestos industries, the risk will continue to be there as long as this industry exists.

As lungs are the major tissue involved, the disease manifests itself by symptoms of dyspnea or respiratory distress and pain in the chest wall (Marrett et al, 2008). Pleural effusion or discharges from the lungs and rarely ascites or accumulation of serous fluid in the peritoneal cavity are the accompanying