Mesothelioma FAQ

Mesothelioma is a very rare and deadly form of cancer that is caused solely by exposure to the mineral asbestos. Mesothelioma affects the cells that line the organs of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma), heart (pericardial mesothelioma), or abdominal organs (peritoneal mesothelioma).

Pleural mesothelioma affects the cells that line the lungs (pleura), not the lungs themselves. In many cases, however, treatments for mesothelioma and for lung cancer can involve similar courses of chemotherapy, radiation, and drugs. Mesothelioma can also affect the cells that surround the heart and the cells that line the abdominal organs, though most cases of the disease are, in fact, pleural (lung) mesothelioma.

No. While mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos, it is a very rare disease. Only about 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year, though most of us come into contact with asbestos at some point in our lives.

While asbestos has been banned for most uses in the United States for decades, there are still a number of ways people can come into contact with the toxic mineral. Many Navy ships have a high content of asbestos, as do older buildings such as schools and houses. Asbestos was once commonly used in insulation, flooring, roofing, and a number of other components of buildings.

If you suspect that there is asbestos in your home, do not touch it. Contact an expert to inspect the area. If asbestos is found, do not try to remove it yourself: there are specially trained asbestos remediation experts who will get rid of the toxic mineral in a safe manner.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos disease, or if you have lost a family member to an asbestos-related illness, you have the right to pursue compensation for your damages in a mesothelioma or asbestos exposure lawsuit.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, even if you aren’t aware of how or when you were exposed to asbestos, you have the right to file suit to hold the parties responsible for your exposure accountable. Our experienced mesothelioma lawyers have the knowledge and resources our clients can count on to find out who is to blame for their asbestos exposure. Common defendants in mesothelioma and asbestos exposure lawsuits include:

• Landlords
• Asbestos mining companies
• Leasing agents
• Companies that make products containing asbestos
• Construction companies and contractors
• Mining companies
• Shipbuilders
• Railroads

A statute of limitations is the amount of time a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit. Once a statute of limitations expires, the plaintiff no longer has the right to file a mesothelioma lawsuit. Mesothelioma lawsuit statutes of limitation vary according to state, but most states have a two year statute of limitations on these types of lawsuits. This generally means that plaintiffs have two years to file suit after a mesothelioma diagnosis, and that the family members of deceased mesothelioma patients lose their right to file suit two years after the date of that person’s death. A mesothelioma lawsuit attorney from our firm will be happy to help you learn about the statute of limitations for mesothelioma lawsuit in your state.

Mesothelioma treatment can be very expensive, and we understand that many families can’t afford to pay up-front for mesothelioma legal support. At Arentz Law Group, P.C., our mesothelioma lawyers work strictly on a contingency fee basis. This means that we don’t bill our clients for even a penny unless they recover money as a result of their lawsuits. In most cases, our fees are a pre-determined percentage of the amount of money recovered by our clients.

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of mesothelioma lawsuits don’t go to trial. In most cases, a plea bargain or mesothelioma lawsuit settlement is reached. While plaintiffs have the right to decide whether to proceed to a trial after receiving a settlement offer, this happens very rarely.

Most states allow surviving spouses or children of mesothelioma patients to carry on their claims as wrongful death lawsuits in their own names. In most cases, a mesothelioma lawsuit claim is considered a piece of property, which means that most mesothelioma patients are able to leave instructions in their wills about who will receive their mesothelioma lawsuit compensation if they die before the claim is settled. Each state also has “interstate succession laws” which determines who owns a mesothelioma lawsuit claim if it is not specified in a patient’s will.

Except in extremely rare cases, it is not possible to file a mesothelioma lawsuit against a branch of the military because the federal government has sovereign immunity. However, it is often possible for individuals who were exposed to asbestos while serving our country to recover compensation from the companies that manufactured the asbestos products responsible for a service member’s mesothelioma diagnosis.

Mesothelioma prognosis is often the chief concern of a patient when he or she is first diagnosed with this very rare form of cancer. Mesothelioma is a very aggressive disease and its long latency period means that it is often not diagnosed until the cancer has reached an advanced stage. Sadly, this means that the average mesothelioma prognosis is not favorable: most patients survive only a year or two after they are diagnosed. Still, doctors and scientists are always researching and testing new mesothelioma treatments in clinical trials, so there is good reason to hope that the mesothelioma prognosis won’t be so grim in the years to come.

Of course, each patient is unique, so there is no surefire way to predict his or her true mesothelioma prognosis. Still, doctors are able to evaluate a number of factors to establish an estimate of each patient’s life expectancy. Issues taken into account when formulating a mesothelioma prognosis include:

 

Health of the Patient

A patient’s overall health is a key factor doctors weigh when establishing that patient’s mesothelioma prognosis. Obviously, a patient is in good general health will be able to fight cancer most effectively. However, since the vast majority of mesothelioma patients are already of an advanced age when they are diagnosed, many patients have pre-existing conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes which could adversely affect their life expectancies.

 

Type of Mesothelioma

Depending on the tissues involved, doctors classify mesothelioma into three types: epithelial, sarcomatoid, and mixed. About one-half of all mesothelioma cases are epithelial mesothelioma, and these patients tend to have a better survival rate than patients with the other two types.

 

Stage

To establish a mesothelioma prognosis, doctors must take into account the stage to which a patient’s cancer has progressed. Treatment is most effective at the earliest stages of mesothelioma. Unfortunately, mesothelioma has a very long latency period, which means that it often does not present with symptoms that lead to a positive diagnosis until it has reached Stage 3 or 4 and this makes treatment much less effective.

 

Location

The three forms of mesothelioma, pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial mesothelioma refer to the part of the body where the cancer originates. Most patients (up to 80%) have pleural mesothelioma, which originates in the lungs. These patients have the best survival rate, followed by patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. Patients who have pericardial mesothelioma often live only six to eight months after diagnosis.

 

Metastasis                 

In many cases, a patient’s mesothelioma is not diagnosed until the cancer has metastasized, or spread, to other parts of the body. The degree to which a patient’s cancer has metastasized has a direct relationship to his or her prognosis.

Recent data from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs shows that more than 25 veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces are currently living in the United States. Unfortunately, the bravery and dedicated service of these individuals put them at the highest risk for asbestos exposure of all occupations in the United States, which has caused the veterans of our country to be the group of Americans most likely to develop the rare and fatal cancer known as mesothelioma.

 

Asbestos was widely used by every branch of the U.S. military because it is cheap, very durable, and exceptionally resistant to high temperatures, and it was not until the 1970s that the use of asbestos for military applications began to be phased out. Currently, the sector of the American population most at risk for developing mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases are veterans who served between 1940 and 1970. Mesothelioma has a very long latency period, and most mesothelioma patients don’t begin to present with symptoms until up to 50 years after being exposed to asbestos. Thus, as more veterans who served prior to the 1970s age, the number of veterans with mesothelioma is expected to increase in the coming years.