Asbestos Cancer

Asbestos cancers are the result of high exposure to the fibers of the mineral asbestos, which an individual may inhale without even being aware of doing. Asbestos is a mineral that was used in thousands of products that surround us — bricks, insulation, plumbing, furnaces, floors, walls, and ceilings. Although many uses of asbestos have been banned, the number of asbestos cancers diagnosed in the U.S. continues to rise.
Asbestos Cancers May Take Decades to Develop
Asbestos cancers can develop relatively soon after exposure to asbestos, or they may take decades to manifest themselves. This is because when the microscopic fibers of asbestos are inhaled, they become lodged in the lungs and/or other internal organs, initiating a cancer process that may take months, years, or decades to develop. Every individual asbestos cancer case is unique.
There are a number of different asbestos cancers:
Small cell lung cancer
Non-small cell lung
Mesothelioma
In addition, a link between asbestos and some cases of colorectal and gastrointestinal cancers has been suggested by several clinical studies. Asbestos exposure has also been linked to an elevated risk for gallbladder, throat, kidney and esophageal cancers. Together, these asbestos cancers have affected hundreds of thousands of Americans and their families.
Who Is At Risk for Asbestos Cancers?
Millions of people in the U.S. received significant asbestos exposure in the years since the early 1940s, often on their jobs or because their spouses worked in an asbestos-laden environment. Thousands of members of the military, for example, worked with asbestos products as part of the shipbuilding process, or because they built structures that had asbestos-containing materials. Asbestos cancers are especially common in the following professions, although there are many other lines of work in which asbestos can be present:
Submarine personnel
Asbestos removal workers
Shipyard workers
Demolition workers
Drywall installers and removers
Firefighters
Automobile industry workers
Automobile mechanics