Pleural Mesothelioma is a kind of mesothelioma that affects the pleura area of the body. The pleura is the membrane responsible for holding the walls of our chest and our lungs. It is the most common kind of mesothelioma accounting for over 60% of all cases with peritoneal mesothelioma reporting in at 30%-35% and pericardial mesothelioma making up the rest.
Exposure to asbestos is the main cause of this type of cancer called mesothelioma. As such, jobs that involve constant exposure to asbestos (Asbestos miners, Asbestos products, Shipyard workers) carries with it a huge danger. Studies have exposed that the vast majority of those that have mesothelioma had exposure to asbestos over period of time. Thought of a uncommon variety of cancer, mesothelioma cases number around 3 to 4 thousand every year. There are 3 primary kinds of mesothelioma cancer that differ according the region of the body that has been affected. They are acknowledged as Pericardial Mesothelioma, Peritoneal Mesothelioma and Pleural Mesothelioma.
Only 2,000 to 3,000 new diagnoses of malignant mesothelioma cancer crop up each year in the U.S., making it an uncommon type of cancer. Causes point to asbestos exposure in the past and the cancer can take anywhere from 20 to 40 years to show up.