Records indicate mesothelioma has killed more than 43,000 Americans since 1979, distressing thousands of families. This disease is a form of cancer that affects the protective lining of most of the body’s internal organs. It is caused by exposure to asbestos, a flexible, fibrous mineral commonly used in several industrial products.

Most people affected by this form of cancer are those who have direct exposure to the material, in the mines and in companies producing asbestos products. But this does not limit the scope of victims. Families of these workers are also exposed to the deadly mineral brought home by the workers through the clothing and skin.

Manufacturing companies producing asbestos products are aware of the hazardous effects of asbestos, and yet they continually make these products, marketing them to the public without informing them about the health risks. In other words, they employed deception in order to maintain the high profit brought by their products.

If you or someone dear to you is afflicted with this devastating disease, you have a right to seek reparation and claim compensation from liable companies by pursuing mesothelioma litigation.

Types of Mesothelioma Lawsuits

Mesothelioma lawsuits are categorized into two sections, and the first one is called a personal injury lawsuit. In this type of lawsuit, the person diagnosed with mesothelioma is living and is filing the lawsuit as a plaintiff in his own individual capacity. The second is called a wrongful death lawsuit, where a person who has died as a result of the disease is represented by a spouse or a relative.

In the first category, time is the most important element. The attorney should be able to gather all the necessary information in a few sessions. One or two depositions from the plaintiff will be produced, and then the attorney handles everything until the case begins trial.

In the second type of case, the most important part is finding persons who used to work with the deceased. They will be able to provide work history and product exposure testimony the deceased would have provided were he still living. Sometimes the witness is required to give a deposition, after which the lawyer takes over until trial begins.

The Trial/Settlement In most lawsuits, the cases are settled before the courthouse steps are ever reached. The company usually prefers offers a settlement or a pay-out. But in cases where the company holds out or the plaintiff refuses settlement, the case proceeds to be heard in court. Here the jury is one of the most important elements that affect the case. When there are multiple defendants, different defendants will usually settle at different stages, with others holding out till the end. The jury’s rendering of the verdict does not mean the end of the legal process. The plaintiff or the defendant may still file for an appeal. Sometimes, cases are settled during this stage. The Payment of Compensation Settlement amounts vary from case to case, region to region and country to country. And out of this amount, the mesothelioma Lawyer takes the attorney’s fees, usually 30 %–40% of the total. The remainder amount then goes to the plaintiff.

Settlement payments in mesothelioma litigation generally takes place months after the settlement is agreed to. Some take a couple of years before they receive the settlement payments, and still some don’t get paid at all. This happens when the defendants file for bankruptcy.

If you think you have a claim in this area, what you need to do is to find a good mesothelioma Attorney in your place as soon as possible because every state has a statute of limitations. If you do not act within the prescribed time period for filing the case, you lose all chances for compensation.

My wife's bout with ductal breast cancer led me to theorize that this epidemic may have a simple common denominator and that some simple oversight in the general population could be a contributing factor.

A plastic surgeon had removed fluid buildup from her ducts months AFTER her surgery. I wondered if its possible that this accumulation of fluid is the cause of many of these types of cancers and if a plan to regularly DRAIN these ducts could prevent ductal cancer. It is the same idea as toxic materials in the colon being a possible cause for colon cancer and another application of the addage that "CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS". It is easy to grasp that just keeping all of our "plumbing" clean could contribute to avoiding many illnesses.

I also found out that this is not such a far fetched proposition. I had read that Dr. Susan Love was an advocate of giving chemotherapy right into a women's ducts as a treatment for ductal cancer. But this is again after the fact and I believe that the PRIORITY should be prevention. I also learned that there is a procedure called "LAVAGE" where fluid from the ducts is tested for early signes of cancer but that this is a rarely used procedure and is not yet suggested as a possible part of a system of regular maintenance.

It seems logical to extend these protocols to their next level and investigate a program of maintenance involving the REGULAR draining and pumping of the fluid from a women's breast ducts could help to prevent ductal breast cancer.

If you learn to recognize what the breast cancer symptoms are, you empower yourself to find out what's going on with your body. You might find out it's not cancer. You've lessened the burden of worry because you recognized a possible symptom, and bravely forged ahead to get diagnosed.

If you do you have cancer, you have a much better chance reaching the goal of recovery and long-term survival than if you'd put it off.

If you can learn to identify symptoms you can often help friends and family by giving the extremely valuable gift of early detection and diagnosis.

The Breast Lump

If you perform self-breast exam, eventually you'll find a lump. Is it a lump, or just normal "lumpiness," many little benign lumps in both breasts? Breast lumps that suddenly occur need to be checked. Usually the smaller the lump, the better. The size of the lump may determine prognosis.

If a lump is found to be cancerous, what are the most common diagnoses? It could be a precancerous lump, such as ductal carcinoma in situ and less commonly, lobular carcinoma in situ.

The common types are invasive ductal carcinoma (about 80% of invasive cases), and invasive lobular carcinoma.

A Few Other Breast Cancer Symptoms

Dimpling of breast skin ("orange peel" appearance) is a symptom. Dimpling is caused by edema that surrounds a cancerous lump, which pulls on the skin.

Swollen or painful lymph nodes in the armpits or just above the collar bone signal possible cancer. Retracted, enlarged, scaly or itchy nipple, or even spontaneous change in sensation of the nipple may also be a sign.

Nipple discharge, especially on one side and bloody, yellowish or green, is a symptom in 4% of the patients with this symptom. Most women do have some kind of normal nipple discharge if the breasts are squeezed.

Constant pain on one side is sometimes a sign of breast cancer. Cyclical pain on both sides, caused by hormonal flux, is not a sign.

Asymmetry can be a symptom of cancer.

Breast skin redness, warmth and/or swelling can mimic non-cancerous infections or may be a sign of inflammatory breast cancer. If the infection doesn't get better after a round of antibiotics, see your doctor.

In men, any breast lump, pain, or other change should be checked by a doctor.

Bone pain, significant weight loss, swelling of one arm, or ulceration of skin may be symptoms of advanced cancer, or may signify another condition. Diagnosis is essential.

Who Do I Ask?

Ask your family doctor. Your doctor may send you to a surgeon for biopsy, or if no lump is present, an oncologist.

What if you don't have any symptoms? You must use the most current screening recommendations for your age.

With breast cancer, knowledge is power. The earlier you recognize a symptom and get diagnosed, the better.

You have undoubted run across many of the breast cancer awareness days and sessions that appear around the country sporadically. These are usually put on by a local group, a church, or sponsored by the American Cancer Society to promote breast cancer awareness in the community.

You might be wondering why your breast cancer awareness level should be raised and what benefit that represents for you, but all you need to do is look at the statistics about the reported cases of breast cancer. The reported cases of breast cancer has been rising steadily year after year, and for the coming year, the American Cancer Society estimates that there will be more than 200,000 diagnosed cases. Even scarier is that they also estimate that more than 40,000 of those cases of breast cancer will die from it.

Here is an even scarier fact for you -- did you know that breast cancer is not limited to women? Yes it is true. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 1600 cases of breast cancer in MEN this year, and that about 400 of them will die. So are you starting to see where breast cancer awareness is starting to be important to you and your health? With statistics like this, it is no wonder that they want to promote breast cancer awareness as much as possible.

Many people do not take this disease seriously, even despite these statistics. Although it is difficult to believe, there are many people who have not had a checkup or medical exam in the past 4, 5, or 10 years or more. How can you possibly take your health seriously if you do not have regular checkups and exams from your doctor or medical professional? One way is of course to raise your breast cancer awareness level since that is a disease where there is currently not a known cure.

Your best option for fighting breast cancer is to get early detection and early diagnosis. When breast cancer is detected early, your chances of being able to cope with it, to fight it, and via treatments like chemo, there are many documented cases of people who have beat it. But if it had not been detected and diagnosed early, those would almost certainly be different stories with radically different outcomes. What about those people who have not had a medical examination in the past 4 or 5 years? If they have developed breast cancer in that timeframe, it will certainly not be considered an early diagnosis and could even mean another fatality from breast cancer.

You need to become knowledgeable about the typical symptoms of breast cancer, and if you detect any of those symptoms at home, you should schedule a checkup with your doctor as soon as possible. For women of ages 18 to about 40, you should plan to schedule a checkup with your doctor once about every 2-3 years. For women over 40, that checkup should be not less than annually. Although breast cancer has not conclusively been determined to be hereditary, you might want to consider having checkups even more often is there is a history of cancer in your family tree. Keeping these statistics in mind, your level of breast cancer awareness should be raised where these regular checkups should be at the forefront of your mind.

Raise your breast cancer awareness levels and get those checkups. Be aware of the symptoms and if you see any of them, be sure to get an exam soon. Remember, the best chances for beating breast cancer are early detection and early diagnosis.