Asbestos Mesothelioma

Asbestos Mesothelioma is a rare form of lung cancer. Asbestos is a mineral that occurs as a long thin fiber in the environment. Up until the 1980’s, asbestos had been used in many industrial and insulation materials as a fire retardant and then was banned due to its health dangers. Jobs that expose workers to asbestos are those that involve factory work, demolition, insulation, shipbuilding, and carpentry.

Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma . Even low exposure levels of the tiny fibers or asbestos dust can be very dangerous. It can take up to forty years for signs of asbestos lung cancer to be noticed.

Most patients were exposed to asbestos fibers on the job or in the workplace in what is known as occupational exposure . Another form of exposure is called para-occupational exposure . This form of asbestos exposure can be harder to determine the source, but it usually develops from a family member who has been exposed to the fibers at their job. However, those that have homes or work near facilities that have asbestos may also be at risk even though there isn’t direct contact.

Mesothelioma has a long latency period, meaning symptoms don’t develop until twenty to fifty years after exposure. Each year in the U.S. an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people are diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma. Common early symptoms of this lung cancer include: fatigue, coughing, shortness of breath, and reduced respiratory function.

Mesothelioma Statistics:

• Between fourteen to thirty people out of every million will be affected by mesothelioma each year.
• The National Institute of Health estimates that eleven million people were exposed to asbestos fibers between the years of 1940 and 1978.
• Fifty percent of patients will experience a life span of eight to eighteen months after treatment. About thirty percent have a chance of living five years or longer.
• Mesothelioma is commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of fifty and seventy.
• Males are four times more likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma than females.
• Doctors advise chemotherapy treatment patients to eat fifty percent more protein and twenty percent more calories than they normally do.
• Common side effects of mesothelioma treatment include: sore throat, nausea, hair loss, and pnuemonitis.

Occupations with the highest chance of exposure include: Auto mechanics – boiler makers – brick layers – building inspectors – carpenters – drywallers – electricians – furnace workers – glazers grinders – insulators – iron workers – longshoremen -merchant marines – operating engineers – painters – plasterers – plumbers – roofers – sand blasters – tile setters – welders .

If you or a loved on has been affected by asbestos mesothelioma, contact our product liability attorneys today for your free initial consultation.