Vinyl Chloride and Angiosarcoma
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Understanding angiosarcoma requires an understanding of cancer. Cancer is the over-reproduction of damaged or malfunctioning cells, which can sometimes spread to healthy cells in a process called metastasis. Cancer is deadliest when it occurs in places that have easy access to the blood stream, because it can spread its diseased cells freely and quickly throughout the body.
Angiosarcoma is cancer of the blood vessels, and is one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose and treat because it is so aggressive and has a long dormancy period. Anywhere in the body that has blood vessels (which is virtually everywhere) is susceptible to angiosarcoma, and should it disappear in once location it usually quickly recurs in another. Further complicating diagnosis is the nature of the symptoms angiosarcoma; this rare but deadly cancer has many non-specific symptoms that are often confused with other, less deadly conditions.
Vinyl chloride is one of the most widely used industrial materials in the world, with production topping 20 billion pounds annually. Although vinyl chloride has been tied to a host of health problems, but one of the clearest links is to angiosarcoma. When vinyl chloride workers began to exhibit symptoms of angiosarcoma in the early 1970s, it was bizarre that so many people in one location would suffer from such a rare disease.
When workers in beauty shops also began to suffer from angiosarcoma, doctors were puzzled and struggled to find a connection until it was revealed that the aerosol cans used in hair salons used vinyl chloride as a propellant. The connection was established, and vinyl chloride was strictly regulated to protect workers, innocent bystanders, and the environment at large.
If you were exposed to the dangers of vinyl chloride and have suffered the horror of angiosarcoma, you should seek reparation from the chemical industry that harmed you. Contact a lawyer in your area today.
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