Nearly all people diagnosed with mesothelioma have worked in jobs where they’ve inhaled particles from asbestos. Asbestos can be the starting point for a range of illnesses. People exposed to asbestos in the 1940s through the 70s are developing these diseases years later because of the extended latency period linked to all asbestos related disease.
It has been determined by The Department of Health and Human Services, the World Health Organization, and the Environmental Protection Agency that asbestos is a “human carcinogen.” It is widely recognized that the inhalation of asbestos particles can raise the possibility of developing cancer in people. Contact with asbestos has been determined a key occupational health hazard since the original unfavorable effects were noted during the 20th century. Since then, there has been recognition of an association between asbestos and lung cancer. Consequently, it was also distinguished that asbestos causes pleural thickening. A distinct association between asbestos and mesothelioma, an uncommon cancer of the lung or abdomen linings, was apparent by the 1960’s.
The connection between lung cancer and asbestos exposure is now greatly recognized. In a number of studies where all main types of cancer are analyzed, lung cancer in asbestos-exposed employees is said to arise at a somewhat younger age than additional lung cancers, which are usually located in the lower lobes of the lungs. There is also a correlation between cigarette smoking and asbestos contact. The risk of developing lung cancer increases to astonishingly elevated levels if the exposed person is also a smoker.
It is highly suggested that if one has been exposed to asbestos that they quit smoking immediately. This possibly will be the most imperative act one can take to improve his or her health while decreasing the possibility of developing cancer of the lungs.