A complete guide to the resources available to those residents of the islands of Hawaii who are concerned about asbestos exposure, or who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Included are resources concerning doctors and medical centers, clinical trials, legal compensation and asbestos abatement.

The Alcoa Aluminum plant, like many plants around the nation, once contained high levels of asbestos, which has put its former workers at risk to contract mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer almost exclusively linked to asbestos exposure, which affects the lungs and chest.

Mesothelioma is an extremely rare, but aggressive, cancer which affects the mesothelium, or soft tissue surrounding the organs. It is nearly always linked to previous exposure to asbestos, a naturally occurring silicate mineral, and can sometime appear as long as 50 years after asbestos exposure.

Mesothelioma is diagnosed after a patient has reported experiencing common symptoms of the cancer, or if the patient has high risk factors such as a history of working with asbestos, by using a combination of methods, including a physical examination, X-rays, CT scans, PET scans and MRI scans. www.asbestos.net

In treating your mesothelioma, you will likely consult with a number of doctors, including your primary-care physician, pathologists, oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists and palliative-care physicians.