3 Important Medical Costs Associated With Asbestos Related Diseases.

The medical costs associated with diseases that are related to asbestos exposure can be extremely high. Every patient afflicted with an asbestos related disease must be aware of the likely medical expenses he/she will likely incur. Asbestos-related illnesses can be very expensive for a variety of reasons. Understanding the expenses involved in treatment is an important factor when considering filing a claim against the company responsible for asbestos exposure.

1-Long-term care costs.

Asbestosis is a progressive disease with no true cure. If you are diagnosed with asbestosis, your physician will work to make you as comfortable as possible and maintain your lung functioning as long as possible. The use of oxygen therapy (which provides the body with adequate oxygen) is one method of therapy. Another beneficial treatment is respiratory therapy, where the patient works with a respiratory therapist to strengthen the lungs. A respiratory therapist can also teach special breathing techniques that will help the patient clear secretions from the lungs. This therapy can help slow the progression of asbestosis.

2-The cost of combination therapy.

Mesothelioma is aggressive and highly resistant to treatment. Once diagnosed with the disease, the average mesothelioma patient survives roughly one year. There are several reasons why mesothelioma is so difficult to treat. One factor is the difficulty in detecting the cancer. By the time the patient is diagnosed with mesothelioma, it has often spread. Another factor is the location of the tumors, which are sandwiched in the mesothelium lining. Because of these factors, any hope for a cure must include aggressive treatment. This may entail surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation in any combination, and includes frequent medical monitoring to determine how well the treatment is working. This form of combination therapy is usually very expensive requiring the use of expensive drugs and highly specialized medical personnel whose services do not come cheap.

3-The cost of participating in clinical trials.

Because mesothelioma is often a terminal disease, many mesothelioma patients are advised to participate in clinical trials. Clinical trials are used to test the efficacy of new drugs to treat diseases before approval for general use by the drug regulatory agencies {FDA in the US}. Involvement in clinical trials is strictly voluntary, and may provide a last hope of successful treatment for many patients. The costs of participating in clinical trials are not usually covered by insurance, as they are not considered standard methods of treatment. Some expenses of a clinical trial will be paid by the hospital conducting the trial and some expenses will not be covered which the participant will have to bear.

Medical treatment for asbestos related diseases can be very expensive and every victim should file a lawsuit against the companies that were responsible for the wrongful exposure to asbestos to be able to claim much needed compensation.




Bello Kamorudeen. http://www.mesotheliomacorner.blogspot.com