Malignancy

Malignancy is another word for cancer. Cancer is the condition in which the natural process of programmed death (apoptosis) within living cells is halted and replaced by a process of uncontrolled growth. As the now-immortal cell grows, it divides again and again far beyond the normal limit, creating a lump of tissue called a neoplasm or tumor. These tumors cause harm in two ways: by growing on, over, and into neighboring tissues and organs, damaging them and disrupting their function (invasion); and by spreading to other locations in the body via lymph or blood (metastasis). Malignancy is another word for cancer.

Cancer is the condition in which the natural process of programmed death (apoptosis) within living cells is halted and replaced by a process of uncontrolled growth. As the now-immortal cell grows, it divides again and again far beyond the normal limit, creating a lump of tissue called a neoplasm or tumor.

These tumors cause harm in two ways: by growing on, over, and into neighboring tissues and organs, damaging them and disrupting their function (invasion); and by spreading to other locations in the body via lymph or blood (metastasis).

Mesothelioma is a malignancy of the mesothelium. When asbestos fibers are inhaled, the tiny, razor-sharp crystals sink into and through the walls of the lung, stabbing into and piercing the cells of the mesothelium. Since asbestos is rock, the body’s natural hunter-killer cells cannot digest and remove the asbestos crystals as they enter the mesothelium – and once inside, the fibers interact with the DNA of the mesothelial cells, “hacking” their cellular programming and turning them into malignant cells.

Soon tumors begin to form and spread; when these become widespread enough to interfere with body functions, the symptoms of mesothelioma appear.