Until a couple of years ago doctors were certain that children cannot get infected with mesothelioma cancer simply because asbestos fibers need a lot of time to develop, much longer than the time spent on this earth by any child. Unfortunately, they were wrong, because lately, more and more children under the age of 10 have been diagnosed with mesothelioma.
How to children get asbestos diseases?
Doctors can't say for sure how children get infected with asbestos and develop diseases related to the mineral. One thing is clear for doctors, the cause of mesotheliomain children is not asbestos exposure, because of the mesothelioma latency period needed by the fibers to develop cancerous tissue in adults.
A recent study conducted by specialists reviewed 8 children suffering from mesothelioma. All of the children were suffering from abdominal mesothelioma (peritoneal mesothelioma, attacking the abdominal cavity lining) and in three of the patients mesothelioma developed a pleural metastasis. All of the children were coming from families that had a history of mesothelioma patients, but that can't be taken as a clear cause of the disease because doctor know that cancer is not a disease that can be inherited from the parents.
Symptoms of mesothelioma in children
As awkward as it may seem, children only exhibit minor symptoms of the disease at first, compared to adults suffering from mesothelioma lung cancer caused by asbestos. After a while the full range of symptoms will be obvious:
- the child will lose weight with no obvious reason
- he or she will not be able to sleep
- the child will cough uncontrollably
- pain in the abdominal area will become very intense
- the loss of appetite is also common
- the energy that most children have will fade away as the cancer progresses throughout the body
Being an extremely rare disease in children, mesothelioma is even more difficult to diagnose compared to an adult suffering from the cancer. Unfortunately, because most children have a very fast metabolism the cancer will spread very fast and will not allow for time to be diagnosed properly. It is a known fact that it is important that the cancer be discovered before the end of the first stage of mesothelioma.
It is vital that you pay attention to your child and to be able to recognize any signs of mesothelioma that he or she might exhibit. Remember that doctors do not know what causes mesothelioma in children yet, so don't hesitate to have a doctor check on your child if you see any of the signs or symptoms.
Please feel free contact asbestosis and mesothelioma centers if you require any more information on the subject. It is completely free.