Guest Article:
Mesothelioma
Eric Stevenson is passionate about mental and physical health, specifically how one can avoid environmental elements that lead to chronic and terminal illnesses. He wrote to the Hockey Chump with interest in sharing his message with the Hockey Chump fan base.
Here’s his article – enjoy:
Hockey isn’t for the weak-willed and the sensitive. In fact, it’s more of a skate to certain pain and inevitable injury. Hockey players are often well aware of the
injuries that await them when they skate into the rink. Lacerations, contusions, wrist fractures, muscle strain and tearing, concussions, knee sprains, torn ligaments, and dislocated shoulders are commonplace occurrences.
Hockey players are built tough, though, and precautions are taken to ensure their safety during practice and during the game. But aside from the chance of physical injury, some players face the risk of chronic illness without even knowing it.
Many old buildings, like indoor tracks, gyms, and yes, hockey rinks, were built using asbestos, a natural mineral found in earth deposits and used for its fire resistant properties. When asbestos fibers are damaged they are released into the air and inhaled by players and spectators alike. For players, especially professionals who spend most of their time on the ice, asbestos fibers build in the lungs, causing a cancer called mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma symptoms often don’t show for 20-50 years after the cancer appears. Therefore, many who have the cancer aren’t diagnosed until it has spread. Unfortunately, regular physical check-ups aren’t designed to detect rare cancers and when allowed to spread, mesothelioma life expectancy is short. The best way to avoid mesothelioma is to stay clear of asbestos in buildings. Though regulation against continued use of asbestos has been passed, not all the buildings that contain the toxin have been found and quarantined.
To protect the long term health of players, it may be beneficial for team managers of any sport to request asbestos abatement information before playing or practicing. Rather than waiting for symptoms of mesothelioma to show, requesting cancer screening for players that may have been exposed to asbestos can spare our hockey stars, whether amateur or professional, from unnecessary health devastation.
Players know how to protect themselves from dangers in the rink. Protective gear, stretching, conditioning, hydration, and frequent physical checkups keep their muscles, bones, and ligaments in check. Through spreading the word about the dangers that asbestos exposure poses to our players, we can spare them from asbestos and save them an extended hospital trip down the road.
If you have any questions about Mesothelioma, you can contact Eric Stevenson at
epicsurvivor@gmail.com.
If you'd like to read a first hand account about dealing with Mesothelioma, you should check out
http://www.survivingmesothelioma.com/, which centers around a book by Paul Kraus, a Mesothelioma survivor.
###
Do you have a hockey article that you’d like to see posted to the Hockey Chump? Write to ust at
HockeyChump@gmail.com.
