Tumors of the mesothelium can be either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Since malignant mesothelioma is much more common than benign mesothelioma it is often simply called mesothelioma. Characteristics of a malignant tumor are that it has the ability to spread to other parts of the body, making it much more dangerous.

Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious of all asbestos-related diseases. Although uncommon, mesothelioma is no longer considered rare. Mesothelioma is a cancer that is particulary difficult for doctors to diagnose and one that does not respond well to therapy.

Millions of people were exposed to asbestos in the 1960s, when asbestos use was just beginning to hit its highest point and the dangers were not yet known to the general public. Because many workers exposed to asbestos fibers in the 1960s were in their 20s and 30s, these people are now being diagnosed with asbestosis and mesothelioma in record numbers.

• "For every teacher who's exposed, how many children are there?"Rowen said: "I was responsible for building in my secondary school and I know first-hand that management of asbestos is not up to scratch.
• "There's a long latency period and children are more vulnerable if they are exposed early in their lives when their lungs are still developing.
• Bousted said: "Our asbestos register has over 500 members who know they have been exposed to asbestos but we believe that's a drop in the ocean and there will be many, many more teachers exposed who just don't know it."The campaigners want the government to carry out immediate air sampling of 100 schools in England and Wales, built at different times, to see whether asbestos is present.
• Building Schools for the Future doesn't automatically remove asbestos and local authorities aren't treating it seriously.
• They will also argue for an independent public body to be set up to look into and advise on asbestos in schools.
• According to Cancer Research UK, just over 2,100 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma, which is virtually untreatable, in the UK each year.
• Three-quarters of schools in England and Wales contain asbestos, and nearly 300 teachers and lecturers have died of mesothelioma – a cancer related to asbestos exposure – since 1980.
• Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, who is leading a joint campaign of all the teaching unions, said: "We've known about this issue for a while and have been campaigning for the last two years but it's really coming together now."She will join Paul Rowen, Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale, a former deputy headteacher who has raised the issue in parliament, and asbestos expert and campaigner Michael Lees, whose wife died of mesothelioma in 2000, to urge Brown to carry out a national audit of asbestos in schools.

Source From : Call to tackle asbestos in schools

• Mr Stansfield said: "Pleural plaques are basically a marker that someone has been affected by asbestos.
• "There is no perfect option for dealing with this issue, but pleural plaques are a serious condition and doing nothing is simply not an option." Mr Stansfield said: "People are still getting diagnosed with this and are being told they have an asbestos-related condition.
• His duties included getting in between pipes to remove old asbestos lagging but he was given no protection or ventilation.
• Sufferers of conditions such as mesothelioma are able to apply for compensation but in many cases become seriously ill before they get a chance.
• "I have met people who used to work in major industry and there is a good chance they used to work next to someone who has died of mesothelioma.

Source From : Hope for workers scarred by asbestos

• People must know that wearing a face mask is no protection against asbestos fibres.
• Startlingly, asbestos is present in the majority of houses and buildings across the borough, it was so widely used.
• For Tameside Council to then claim that asbestos poses 'little or no risk' to students and staff means that Tameside council must have complete confidence in asbestos management in every school – of any type and ownership - and in every nursery school.
• If undisturbed asbestos poses little risk, but campaigners say that even sticking drawing-pins into walls can release deadly fibres into the air.
• In addition the HSE identified that hidden asbestos packed around metal girders and in walls in many schools was releasing asbestos fibres which spurt out round doors, skirting boards etc when disturbed by, for instance, doors being slammed, children running, walls being banged etc.
• It requires Councillors to critically examine asbestos management methods in practise and carefully respond to asbestos issues with facts that encourage alertness and proper asbestos management rather than encourage complacent acceptance that all is perfect.
• Councillors and Director of Children’s Services might also consider carefully the opinions of the Teachers Unions, the all party parliamentary asbestos sub committee, specialist scientists, specialist doctors, and the asbestos consultants association that asbestos is not perfectly managed in schools.

Source From : Schools asbestos is'no cause for alarm'

• The firm also accepts cases involving asbestos cancers such as lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Source From : Weitz & Luxenberg lawyers offer free case reviews to those…

• Helen Llewellyn, previously Frost, was aged 69 when she was diagnosed with mesothelioma five years ago.
• Mrs Llewellyn, who lived in Newcastle, is thought to have been occupationally exposed to asbestos in the course of her employment at the English Electric Company factory at Butt Lane between 1967 and 1968.
• Her family want to trace former colleagues who can confirm the nature of the work performed at the factory which would have brought Mrs Llewellyn into contact with asbestos dust.
• Her son, John Frost, aged 52, who lives in Ronaldsway Drive, Newcastle, said: "Mum started feeling unwell about five years ago and she went to see a specialist who diagnosed her with cancer caused by asbestos.
• "We checked through her employment history and the factory in Butt Lane was the only place where we thought she could have been exposed to asbestos.
• "Before she passed away she was a bit disillusioned that no-one had taken responsibility for her catching this awful disease and she insisted we kept on asking and pushing for answers." There are a variety of conditions which are thought to be caused by inhaling asbestos and they can take many years to develop.
• Mesothelioma, which Mrs Llewellyn suffered from, is an aggressive cancer which most commonly occurs in the lining of the lungs and is extremely rare in the absence of asbestos exposure.
• The Government has started handing out compensation to asbestos sufferers in some cases and Helen was writing a letter to the Prime Minister but unfortunately she was too unwell to finish it.
• We need her old workmates to come forward and tell us what kind of work Helen used to do so we can take this forward." The family's solicitor, Helen Childs said: "We need to locate former colleagues who can confirm the nature of the work performed at the Butt Lane factory which would have brought her into contact with asbestos dust.

Source From : Family seeking answers after mum's death

• The National Cancer Institute for example, has a wealth of valuable information on mesothelioma.
• He works closely with the asbestos lawyers and mesothelioma lawyers of Weitz & Luxenberg in raising awareness of the dangers of asbestos.
• Our mesothelioma attorneys have observed first hand the emotional, financial and health challenges faced by people who are living with mesothelioma.
• Weitz & Luxenberg is the leading asbestos and mesothelioma law firm in the U.S.
• Our mesothelioma attorneys have seen that this knowledge can help a person better prepare for the physical changes associated with mesothelioma.
• In representing people with mesothelioma, our mesothelioma lawyers have gained some valuable insights on how a person who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma can cope with this cancer.
• Our mesothelioma lawyers have seen that support from loved ones can help a person cope with mesothelioma.

Source From : Mesothelioma lawyers Weitz & Luxenberg recommend ways of…

• Albert Thatcher, who died aged 67 from mesothelioma, a form of cancer linked to asbestos, spent most of his life in Mortlake before retiring in 2006.
• “When he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2008 we were both absolutely devastated.
• “Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related disease, for which there sadly is no cure.

Source From : Wife’s asbestos appeal after ‘fit’ husband dies