Los Angeles Mesothelioma Information

Mesothelioma is a heartbreaking condition and a devastating diagnosis.  The National Cancer Institute suggests that mesothelioma is an “uncommon” form of cancer, yet for those who have experienced its ruinous ramifications firsthand, the disease is both overwhelming in scope and lethal in purpose.  In fact, mesothelioma is one of the deadliest forms of cancer known to man, claiming the lives of over 2500 people annually in the United States alone.  Advancements in medical technology continue to bring hope of a cure, but tragically, the mortality rate for diagnosed mesothelioma cases is 100%, with survival times averaging about 20 months from the initial diagnosis. 

Mesothelioma usually develops and proliferates in a four-step staging process, ranging in severity from least (Stage One) to most (Stage Four).

• Stage One: Mesothelioma has affected one layer of the pleura, or the space between the lungs and the chest wall.  It may also have grown into the heart and diaphragm cover.


• Stage Two: Mesothelioma has affected more than one layer of the pleura, but is only on one side of the body.  


• Stage Three: Mesothelioma has spread into the chest wall, food pipe and lymph nodes on one side of the chest.


• Stage Four: Mesothelioma has gone to the bloodstream and other organs of the body, including the liver, brain, bone and lymph nodes on both sides of the chest.

While all primary causes for mesothelioma have failed to be identified, it is clear to medical practicioners that the spread of the disease can be traced to the exposure and ingestion of dust, fibers and/or particles from a mineral called asbestos.

Few may be familiar with asbestos in particular, but many have been exposed to its varied applications.  Asbestos was originally used in clothing fabrics, insulation products and various other fire-resistant materials, and its impacts on fields of industry have been wide-ranging and notable for over 150 years.  Many countries have recently attempted to regulate – and even eliminate - the amount of asbestos used in common product creation and distribution as physicians become more familiar with the extensive physical damage caused by this microscopic mineral.

Unfortunately, a host of industries in the Los Angeles area have failed to heed safety warnings from established healthcare agencies, and subsequently exposed their employees to the potentially fatal impacts of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. Shipyards, construction sites, auto parts production facilities, insulation manufacturing plants, oil refineries and power plants are some of the areas where employees are likely to come into contact with asbestos, and prolonged exposure to this dangerous mineral has led to the untimely deaths of fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers; all taken before their time.

In fact, over the last 20 years in the Los Angeles area, anywhere from 533 to 914 individuals lost their lives at the expense of mesothelioma, and over 1,000 people succumbed to the ravages of asbestos-related diseases in that same time period.