Asbestos is used in over 3000 modern products and most people have suffered at least some degree of exposure to it at one point or another. Most asbestos exposure is limited to minute portions of well maintained building materials such as concrete, insulation and siding. Regular maintenance of these materials is important for preventing asbestos from degenerating into airborne fibers. Unfortunately, because asbestos is so widespread, it is impossible to compute the damage that even a small quantity can cause.
The lightweight nature of the asbestos particle facilitates airborne spreading of these deadly carcinogens. This is why most asbestos-related diseases affect the respiratory system. These are incurable diseases. Even tiny amounts of asbestos can inflict irreversible damage as symptoms usually only emerge 20 to 30 years down the road.
Mesothelioma, Asbestosis and lung cancer are consequences of prolonged asbestos exposure. Any contact with asbestos merits immediate medical consultation because treatment options and survival rates are greatly improved the earlier they’re detected. Unfortunately most asbestos-related conditions don’t show symptoms until the disease is terminally advanced. Most patients diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition rarely survive more than 18 months after diagnosis.
For more information on asbestos related diseases and mesothelioma please visit http://www.resource4mesothelioma.com
Vinyl Chloride and Angiosarcoma
The chemical Vinyl Chloride has been historically known to create a number of health problems for decades even before it was known to cause angiosarcoma. The federal government was aware of the risk of Vinyl Chloride and had regulated workers to only be exposed to 500 ppm (part per million) a day. Because Angiosarcoma takes decades to fully develop, the initial studies of vinyl chloride were observing more obvious conditions like liver disease and degenerative bone disorders. In the late 1960’s the connection between Vinyl Chloride and Angiosarcoma presented itself as B.F. Goodrich workers were exposed to above average rates of the chemical. These workers had much higher rates of developing liver angiosarcoma. More studies were conducted after this initial discovery because it seemed strange that such a large number of workers in one plant could suffer from such a rare disease by coincidence.
Duragesic Pain Patch Recall
Last year on April 5th, 2004 Janssen Pharmaceutical Products announced that it was recalling several of their popular Duragesic pain control patches because of a major flaw that caused leakage of the active chemical fetanyl. One edge of the patch leaked fetanyl into the bloodstream, which is a chemical 100 times more potent than conventional morphine. Fetanyl is mostly used to combat the acute and debilitating pain that comes along with many forms of cancer. This recall affected almost 2.2 million patches and about 20% of those patches were still in active use.
Breast Augmentation - Cosmetic Surgery
The breast augmentation procedure is becoming more and more popular. There are three approaches to this procedure and your surgeon will help you decide which technique is best for you.
