Pennsylvania community celebrates much loved mesothelioma victim

Mesothelioma cancer affects about three thousand American families each year. Caused by exposure to toxic asbestos fibers, mesothelioma affects the respiratory system as malignant tumors grow and spread through protective organ lining. Most often found in lung lining and called pleural mesothelioma, the disease can also affect other abdominal cavity lining, in which case it is called peritoneal mesothelioma.

Once asbestos fibers are inhaled, they can begin a mutative process in otherwise healthy tissues. Characterized by a long latency period, typically ranging from twenty to fifty years, mesothelioma does not demonstrate symptoms until decades after original asbestos exposure.

This makes early detection of mesothelioma very difficult, particularly as most mesothelioma patients have no idea they were ever exposed to toxic asbestos in the first place. Malignant mesothelioma symptoms mimic those of pneumonia and bronchitis, often further postponing proper diagnosis.

Particularities of mesothelioma are not unknown to Mario De Simone, a Plymouth, Pennsylvania resident and native of Italy, whose story was covered by a recent Times Herald article.

Diagnosed in March with mesothelioma, De Simone is now home trying to rest and enjoy the time he has left with family and loved ones. De Simone is a husband, father, grandfather and sibling to three.

De Simone believes his asbestos exposure may have taken place during his employment at a steel company back in the 1970s. It wasn’t until the 1980s that asbestos regulations and workplace protection would become stringent and strictly enforced. Until then, asbestos was used heavily in manufacturing and industry in the US and other leading industrial nations. Due to mesothelioma’s latency period thousands of people suffered with the disease before the connection could be put together and steps taken to protect employees and the public.

Today, World Health Organization estimates at least twenty thousand people worldwide die of mesothelioma each year. Many cases go unrecognized and unrecorded, however, so this number is considered conservatively low. If asbestos use is not immediately halted or greatly curbed globally, ninety thousand people annually could be diagnosed with mesothelioma in the near future.

Although mesothelioma treatments exist, there is no known cure for the disease. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, often administered in combination to relieve pain and extend patient life expectancy.

The De Simone family is hosting a beef and beer fundraiser celebration in honor of Mario. Family, friends, and participating community organizations hope to make the occasion a special one for their suffering loved one.