Mesothelioma: A Killer in the Family

Ten years ago, I had never even heard the word. Five years ago, I abruptly learned how to say the word. Today, I still struggle to spell the word, but that did not stop it from killing two people that I loved very much. Mesothelioma crept into our family and slowly with tragic and painful consequence killed my aunt and uncle. It is hard to believe that so many people have never heard of this disease.

If you are anything like I was all those years ago, you are wondering what the word mesothelioma even means. Mesothelioma is a relatively rare form of cancer that attacks the mesothelium; a membrane that surrounds our internal organs. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 2,000 new cases of this disease are diagnosed in the United States each year and the number continues to grow. Although it is more often diagnosed in men, it can be diagnosed in either men or women at any age.

As you can imagine, if a disease is considered somewhat rare, one often wonders how it is that they or their loved ones happen to contract it. Mesothelioma is most often associated with people that work around asbestos. Asbestos has been used in a variety of settings and products throughout the years. Not only have the people that work around asbestos been impacted, but in some instances, their family members have inhaled the tiny particles when their loved ones arrived home from work with it on their clothing. This was the case with my family members. Asbestos use is much more closely monitored by the government today than it was years ago, however, it is still utilized in the United States.