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Asbestos and Mesothelioma

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It is impossible not to be aware of the increased concern that is coming out of the medical community about the impact of asbestos on health in society.  The alarm has become severe enough that at the governmental levels, there have been mandates go out to get the asbestos insulation out of those buildings because of the concern.  Even homeowners who may find they have asbestos as part of the construction of their homes are being strongly encouraged to get it out of their homes as quickly as possible even though that can be quite an expense. 

The nature of concern is the direct tie that has been drawn between the incidence of a cancer called Mesothelioma among people who have had extended exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma is an insidious form of cancer because there is such a lengthy gestation period of the disease.  In many cases, people who have been exposed to a lethal amount of asbestos may not see Mesothelioma materialize for decades.  And by then the damage is severe and very difficult to reverse.  It is for this reason that many Mesothelioma victims currently being diagnosed with the disease are men who were involved with installation of asbestos in building projects as long as 20 or 30 years ago.


The sudden explosion of Mesothelioma cases may have surprised medical science but it is not sudden at all.  Decades ago, asbestos was considered to be a safe and effective form of insulation.  So men in the building trades often got a significant exposure to asbestos, which laid the seed for an outbreak of Mesothelioma in later life.  The eruption of so many cases of the cancer has had the effect of causing the building industry and local and federal government agencies to mandate the removal of asbestos from buildings and to create strict rules about protected clothing for the workers who would be responsible for removing asbestos from older buildings.

These precautions are effective in cutting down the potential harm asbestos related cancer will have on the current and future generations of citizens who use public buildings.  But the legions of people, primarily men who are not suffering and dying from Mesothelioma are a tragic consequence of using asbestos so much decades before.  Lawsuits claiming damages for these victims have been successful giving victims and their families funds to use for medical care for the affected patients.  But there is no doubt that dying victims of Mesothelioma would gladly give up those funds in exchange for good health and long life again.

Sadly, it is not just men who worked with asbestos that are potential victims of Mesothelioma late in life.  Many times families of people who had a significant exposure to asbestos also were put at risk.  When the breadwinner came home with clothing covered with asbestos fibers or dust, that deadly residue is released in the home putting the spouse and children at direct risk.  Like secondary smoke from cigarettes causes health problems in non-smokers, even those who had no direct exposure to asbestos are now becoming victims of this cancer through secondary exposure to it early in life.

Like any cancer, early detection drastically increases the possibility of treatment.  But because the disease does not appear for so long after the exposure to asbestos, many times discovery of the cancer comes late.  Because of this, survival rates among Mesothelioma sufferers is low.  Medical science will continue to seek ways to improve survival rates.  Meanwhile building codes and governmental agencies will do all they can to remove asbestos from our living spaces so we can see this dread disease die out within a generation.
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