Mesothelioma Lung Cancer

For builder, asbestos has many attractive qualities not only is it strong but it is also flexible and anti-corrosion. Over and above that, it is burn resistant and can act as a good insulator. These qualities are the reason why this substance is so widely since there aren’t that many substances that have all of these traits.

Asbestos is made up of microscopic fibers the inhalation of which can be hazardous. When these become airborne and are inhaled they may get into the lungs and result in a serious or in some cases fatal disease. The following are some diseases which may be caused by exposure to asbestos.

Asbestosis
This is a non-cancerous lung disease which takes twenty five to forty years to develop and is caused by inhaling asbestos fibers for an extended period of time. The body produces an acid to eliminate asbestos fibers trapped in the lungs and continued production of this acid can lean to scarring the tissues in the lungs. The lungs may stop functioning properly if the scarring gets to a point where it can be considered as excessive leading to serious breathing difficulties.

Leaving asbestosis untreated can lead to cardiac failure. Currently, there is no effective treatment for it and the people at the greatest risk of contracting it are those who either renovate or demolish buildings. The chances of one getting asbestosis through physical contact with a person who works with the substance are minimal. Some of the first people to get diagnosed with asbestosis were the ones working in naval shipyards.

Mesothelioma
This is a rare form of cancer that affects the outer membrane that encloses the lung and chest cavity otherwise known as the pleura and/or could affect the membrane that lines the walls of the abdominal cavity, known as the peritoneum. There are only 3000 new cases of this disease in the U.S every year and exposure to asbestos over a prolonged period of time, from anywhere between fifteen to thirty years, has been the cause of contracting it in all the cases.

This is the one and only known cause of mesothelioma unlike other cancers which have several different known causes. Studies show that people working in areas such as mines, factories, mills or shipyards which contain, manufacture or install asbestos are at the greatest risk of contracting mesothelioma. Those that live near someone exposed to asbestos or near an area containing it are also at a risk. According to studies younger people that inhale asbestos are more likely to get mesothelioma and this is why people are doing what they can to protect young school children from exposure to this substance.

Lung Cancer

Exposure to asbestos has been the cause of several lung cancer cases, which has been the leading cause of death as compared to the diseases listed above. Smoking exacerbates the affects of lung cancer by about fifty percent.

People working in places where they are involved in the direct handling of asbestos are at the greatest risk and those that are exposed to both asbestos and carcinogen, such as cigarette smoking, are at an even greater risk to contract this disease and as one study suggests people who smoke and are exposed to asbestos are ninety times more likely to get lung cancer as compared to a person who isn’t exposed to either.

Usually, it takes about fifteen to thirty years of asbestos exposure to contract lung cancer and some of the symptoms include breathing irregularities, coughing, and anemia and chest pains.