My name is Aaron and I just learned that my uncle who lives in Rentz Georgia was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma about three years ago.  I haven’t seen any commercials for attorneys and lawsuits about mesothelioma until I heard that my uncle had it.

To give you a little background, My uncle Paul Worked in a mine in Australia for twenty years before retiring and moving to his home in Georgia.  The pay was good and when he retired, my whole family had a welcome back to Georgia party for him. That was the first time I met him Well my uncle quickly became one of my favorite people.  He used to talk to me like I was an adult rather than a little kid.  Every summer he would fly me out to Georgia and take me fishing and camping.

When he was diagnosed with mesothelioma looked it up and found a lot of good information.  Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos.  Asbestos is a natural product that occurs in stone.  It was used because it was cheap and abundant.  Asbestos made great insulation and was used in everything from ships to schools.  Asbestos is also fire retardant and chemical resistant.  There was only one real problem with asbestos; it’s toxic.

The reason I am writing this article is because my uncle was a stubborn man and he waited until he was nearly on his death bed before going to the doctor’s.  It was too late and none of found out he even had mesothelioma until we were called by my aunt that he was in the hospital

The asbestos causes your body to get cancer that covers the mesothelium or protective lining on your internal organs.  The results and early signs are coughing, abdominal  pains, chest pains, fatigue, or even problems using the bathroom.
The worst part of about mesothelioma is it’s very hard to detect in its early phases and many doctors still don’t recognize the signs until the cancer is present.  Uncle Paul thought that his pains were just because he was getting up there in years.  He was also a pretty heavy smoker and drinker and so contributed some of his problems to the bottle and Joe Camel.

What really became scary to me was finding out just how many of us have more than likely been exposed to the caner causing asbestos.  Because it was the cheapest form of insulation, and government contracts are awarded to the lowest bidders; most schools built before the mid 1980’s were done so with asbestos in their walls and ceilings.  This meant that if an air vent had any kind of hole in it, which sadly most do, the particles could be sucked in and pushed out into a classroom of kids.  Military workers, sailors, government workers, and even firefighters all are considered to be at risk for exposure to this deadly toxin.

Once you are diagnosed with mesothelioma there is little promise of a good recovery.  The best thing you can do if you think you may have been exposed to it at all is to go to your doctors and let them know as soon as possible.  If you are found to have it, get treatment as soon as possible.  Once it is malignant, your survival time can be less than a year.
Treatment can be expensive and will change your life.  So you know those commercials you see for mesothelioma attorneys and lawsuits?  Use them or click on the links for them that are probably in this article.

For my uncle treatment came too late and within just a few months he died.  At his funeral, they had an open casket and he did not look like the same man. He was much thinner than the chubby strong guy I had seen 6 months prior.

If I can help just one person by writing this it will have all been worth it.