Case Study For Mesothelioma Attorney California
ALL’S WELL DOES NOT END WELL
Bundle of nerves
David Robinson* and his wife Aliyah Robinson* were patiently sitting in the waiting lounge of a consultant’s private clinic. Aliyah who had been married to David for 40 years was calmly chatting with David who was feeling like a bundle of nerves. The receptionist at the desk finally called out David’s name. David a sprightly man of 60 years leapt up and walked with Aliyah into the doctor’s room. David narrated to the well-known oncologist Dr. Laura Hanser* the symptoms that he was suffering for the last couple of months and how unsuccessful his attempts were in getting the right treatment. Whenever David forgot to mention any detail of his condition, Aliyah would fill in the blanks.
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Never ending problems
Initially he had breathing problems. Then for some odd reason he started to hurt in his lower back. Aliyah would sometimes massage the area to give David some relief. Then David’s chest would pain at times. Then one morning Aliyah asked David why was he talking to her in a hoarse voice. That’s when David knew that something was wrong and he needed to go to a specialist to get to the bottom of his health problems. All the doctors that he went to came up with different diagnoses: one said he had allergy, another said he had asthma and one other doctor even suggested that the disease was all in his mind!
Giving a shot
However his condition worsened. David had great trouble in eating his food. Aliyah made him soups and broths so that David did not go hungry but then he started to have difficulty in sipping fluids. Some times he would perspire for no reason and come down with fever. David had read about Dr. Laura Hanser in some prestigious medical journals so he decided to give her a shot.
But naturally
The consultant upon hearing David’s health stories and issues immediately sensed that all of this had to do with asbestos fibres. Her first question to him was about his job. David told her that he was involved in the business of floor and ceiling tiles. When Dr. Laura questioned David about his knowledge of asbestos, David confessed that he was aware of the hazards of working with asbestos but never took them seriously.
Bad news
Dr. Laura went straight to the point and told David and Aliyah that because of his line of business David had been directly exposed and thus he may have pleural mesothelioma, in which the lining of his lung may be diseased with cancerous cells. But just to be certain David had to undergo extensive tests.
More than one way to skin a cat
Normally a needle biopsy is done for pleural mesothelioma but the doctors decided to go for the latest surgical procedure called ‘thoracoscopy’, as it gives very good results. ‘Thoracoscopy’ is a procedure in which a slim telescopic tool known as ‘thoracoscope’ fixed with a lighting system is inserted through a perforation in the patient’s chest wall. The tumor at that time is sampled with a forceps like tool.
Next David’s doctors asked him to go for an MRI or Magnetic resonance imaging scan. In this painless but noisy procedure, a magnetic field, radio waves and a computer are utilized to generate pictures of selected regions of the body. The doctors also recommended MRI in order to do the staging of his pleural mesothelioma using the TNM system.
TNM system
The team of mesothelioma experts in David’s case decided to use the TNM system, one of the latest staging processes. TNM denotes tumor, lymph nodes and metastasis. This system considers the size and spread of the mesotheliomic tumor, involvement of lymph nodes and how far the tumor has spread. TNM system, Dr. Laura put in plain words to the Robinsons that it examines the mesothelioma in four stages.
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| Stage 1 entails the lining of the right or left lung, pericardium or diaphragm on the same side. Lymph nodes are not included in this stage. Stage 2 is when mesothelioma spreads from the lining of the lung on one side to a lymph node on the same side. At this stage the cancer may also spread to the lung, pericardium or diaphragm on the same side. Stage 3 is when mesotheliomic cells are found in the chest wall, muscle, ribs, heart, esophagus or other organs in the chest on the same side as the main tumor. In stage 4 the mesothelioma has spread into the lymph nodes in the chest on the side opposite the main tumor or extends into the lung opposite the main tumor or directly into the organs in the abdominal cavity or neck. Metastasis is included in this stage.
Status Report
David Robinson is presently going through a cycle of treatments for pleural mesothelioma, with Aliyah by his side and under the efficient care of Dr. Laura Hasner and her team at one of California’s medical centers. Names of people have been changed to protect their privacy
Do consult your doctor about the above mentioned procedures |
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