Asbestos Related Diseases: What to Tell Your Doctor
Asbestos exposure is associated with a wide range of serious respiratory conditions, up to and including cancer.
While the dangers of asbestos are well-known, most asbestos-related conditions have unusually long latency periods, presenting symptoms only after decades of dormancy. For many Americans with a history of asbestos exposure, the diagnosis of a serious, potentially life-threatening disease occurs late in life, offering limited opportunity for efficient relief and an effective medical intervention.
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If you believe that you were exposed to asbestos, even as a child, speak to a healthcare provider about tests and screening to help diagnose lung-scarring and screen for asbestos-related diseases.
Asbestos Exposure in Modern America
Asbestos is a type of naturally-occurring mineral. Asbestos deposits can be found across the country, from northern Maine to the Mexican border.
We know today that asbestos is an unusually potent carcinogen.
However, throughout much of American history, asbestos was considered a “miracle mineral,” prized for its strength and ability to withstand the elements. Resilient to fire, rust, and electricity, asbestos’s innate properties afforded it seemingly unlimited potential. During and after the Industrial Revolution, asbestos was used to meet unprecedented demand for inexpensive but durable housing.
By the end of the 1970s, asbestos could be found almost everywhere: in homes, office buildings, and even elementary schools.
“Some asbestos fibers may bypass…your body’s natural defenses…and lodge deep within your lungs. Those fibers can remain in place for a very long time and may never be removed.”Source: American Lung Association |
Understanding all the potential sources of asbestos exposure
While most Americans know that former asbestos workers now face the highest risk of developing asbestos-related health conditions, asbestos exposure occurs through a variety of routes. The most common types of asbestos exposure include, but are not limited to, the following:
Occupational Asbestos Exposure
Occupational asbestos exposure, or primary asbestos exposure, is asbestos exposure that occurred within the workplace.
Today, most asbestos-related diagnoses are reported among people who worked with or around asbestos. High-risk groups include military veterans, factory employees, and construction workers.
“All forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans.” 1
Although reported rates of asbestos-related illnesses have begun declining, researchers believe that an estimated 1.3 million Americans are still exposed to asbestos in their workplaces.
Several health studies have shown that the spouses of asbestos workers are at an elevated level of risk for asbestos illnesses like lung cancer.2 3 4 5
Secondary Asbestos Exposure
Secondary asbestos exposure, or take-home asbestos exposure, is asbestos exposure that occurs among people who never worked with asbestos.
Before the dangers of asbestos exposure became a matter of common knowledge, asbestos workers would often return home covered in asbestos dust and asbestos fiber. Since most of these workers did not know that asbestos was associated with serious medical conditions, they did not usually shower or remove their work clothes before returning home.
Sharing a home or vehicle with someone wearing asbestos-tainted clothing puts you at risk of asbestos-related diseases. 6
Secondary asbestos exposure is still asbestos exposure.
However, asbestos fiber—which has a characteristic rough texture and jagged features—could easily “follow” workers home. It spread inside cars, onto furniture, and inside laundry machines. Over the course of days, months, and years, asbestos workers’ entire families could be exposed to significant concentrations of carcinogenic asbestos fiber, placing entire households at-risk.
People who worked in these industries prior the mid-1980s have a higher risk of developing asbestos-related diseases:
| Construction | Factories | Foundries | Refineries | Shipyards | Mining / Milling |
| Demolition | Insulation | Steelworkers | Pipe Fitting | Shipbuilding | Mechanics |
 |  |  | |||
| Roofing | Textiles | Iron workers | Boilers | Firefighting | Brake Repair |
| Flooring | Cement | Electricians | Gasket Repair | Railroad | HVAC |
Unfortunately so do their families.
Environmental Asbestos Exposure
Environmental asbestos exposure could occur if asbestos is present in water, soil, or air.
Under most circumstances, naturally-occurring asbestos poses little—if any—risk to people living nearby. However, commercial activity can sometimes scatter aerosolized asbestos into the environment.
Some former “asbestos cities,” like Libby, Montana, have reported higher-than-average rates of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related conditions.
Asbestos has no taste or smell.
You may not know you’re breathing it.
While many of these diagnoses can be attributed to occupational asbestos exposure or take-home asbestos exposure, the intensity of asbestos mining and milling operations in communities like Libby led to the formation of massive “asbestos clouds,” which injured people who had no direct connection with the local asbestos industry.
“Generally, those who develop asbestos-related diseases show no signs of illness for a long time after exposure.”Source: National Cancer Institute (NIH)7 |
Talking to Your Doctor About Asbestos Exposure
Asbestos has been linked with a wide and worrying range of medical conditions, including, but not limited to:
Cancer, including cancer of the lungs, cancer of the stomach, and cancer of the ovaries
Since most asbestos-related illnesses have long latency periods, many people who are diagnosed with conditions like mesothelioma have long since left the workforce. They may not remember that they worked with asbestos-containing materials, or they might not realize that a minor respiratory complaint could be indicative of a more malignant disease.
“The overall evidence suggests there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.”Source: National Cancer Institute (NIH)8 |
While incidental asbestos exposure is unlikely to lead to long-term health complications, scientists believe that no amount of asbestos exposure is safe. People who lived with former asbestos workers, or who live in asbestos-contaminated houses, could also be at elevated risk for diseases like mesothelioma.
If you believe that you may be exhibiting the symptoms of an asbestos-related medical condition, seek immediate medical attention. Under most circumstances, physicians are best-equipped to combat malignant diseases before they progress and, potentially, spread to other parts of the body.
Asbestos causes six times more lung cancer than malignant mesothelioma.*9*About 38,000 people die each year of mesothelioma (cancer of the respiratory lining). 10 |
Preparing to meet with your doctor about an asbestos-related disease
Before meeting with your family doctor, you should prepare for your appointment by:
Documenting your existing symptoms, including the date when they started.
Paying close attention to worsening symptoms and emergent complaints.
Reviewing your employment history to determine whether you could have been exposed to asbestos at work.
Assessing your family medical history, noting whether any close relatives have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition.
Although speaking to a doctor about asbestos can be intimidating—especially when you fear a worst-case outcome—you should always be honest about your medical history, potential asbestos exposures, and the severity of your symptoms.
Your physician, after all, can only help you if they have a holistic understanding of the nature and cause of your illness.
Over $30 Billion is still available (No lawsuit. No fees unless you receive money. No risk.) Stake your claim.  |
Affording the High Costs of Asbestos Treatment
Asbestos-related illnesses continue to devastate families across the country.
Unfortunately, many families—even families with comprehensive health insurance policies—struggle to pay for the high costs of medical care, which can easily range into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
People who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, for example, may have to undergo expensive, time-consuming treatment regiments. According to some studies, mesothelioma-related care can cost well over $10,000 per month. When complications arise and patients are admitted to the hospital, they may incur per-incident costs averaging $25,000.
However, people who have been hurt by asbestos could be entitled to significant legal relief.
Do You Qualify For Compensation?
Quickly and easily find out how you were exposed by searching W.A.R.D., the largest asbestos database on the planet.
FREE SEARCH >Legal options for people with asbestos-related diseases
Many people with asbestos injuries can receive money without a lawsuit.
This can help cover medical and ongoing treatment costs, lost wages, and the pain and debilitated quality of life from asbestos-related scarring and disease.
Courts across the country have long since recognized that the asbestos industry was negligent in its policies and practices. Even after asbestos companies were confronted with evidence that their products were killing American workers, they refused to warn the public, silently paying off scientists, legislators, and victims.
If you, or a loved one, have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, you could be entitled to significant compensation through a personal injury lawsuit, insurance settlement, or asbestos trust claim.
AsbestosClaims.Law
For Justinian C. Lane, getting compensation for asbestos victims is personal.
Justinian’s grandparents and his father all worked with asbestos in their younger years and died from asbestos-related cancers in their later years.
At the time of each of their deaths, no one in Justinian’s family knew that they were eligible to file an asbestos lawsuit and to seek compensation from the asbestos trusts.
Because no one in Justinian’s family knew their options, they never received any compensation for the death of their loved ones.
If you believe that you or your family member’s injury was related to asbestos exposure, you could be entitled to significant compensation.
This is money you could use to cover the costs of asbestos removal services, pay for medical treatment, and preemptively protect your physical well-being.
There are also asbestos trusts that offer compensation much more quickly and easily (without filing a lawsuit.)
If you’d like help with filing a claim, please get in touch by email at [email protected], or call or text us at (833) 4-ASBESTOS (427-2378) or (206) 455-9190. We’ll listen to your story and explain your options. And we never charge for anything unless you receive money in your pocket.
In addition to legal claims, veterans disability, social security and employment protection like workers compensation, FELA and The Jones Act for maritime workers, there are asbestos trusts that have been set up to compensate those harmed by asbestos without having to file a lawsuit.
There is no risk or cost to speak with one of our staff about your asbestos litigation. There are no fees unless you receive money.
If you have any additional questions or concerns related to asbestos, check out our website and YouTube page for videos, infographics and answers to your questions about asbestos, including health and safety, asbestos testing, removing asbestos from your home and building, and legal information about compensation for asbestos injuries.
Introducing the largest database of asbestos information on the planet.
W.A.R.D., which stands for the Worldwide Asbestos Research Database, helps clients to narrow down when and where they may have been exposed, as well as which products may still contain asbestos. W.A.R.D. will also help indicate compensation types and how much a person may be entitled to.
1 IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. Arsenic, metals, fibres, and dusts. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. 2012 ;100(Pt C):11-465. PMID: 23189751.
2 Ferrante, D., Bertolotti, M., Todesco, A., Mirabelli, D., Terracini, B. and Magnani, C., 2007. Cancer mortality and incidence of mesothelioma in a cohort of wives of asbestos workers in Casale Monferrato, Italy. Environmental Health Perspectives, 115(10), pp.1401-1405.
3 Miller, A., 2005. Mesothelioma in household members of asbestos‐exposed workers: 32 United States cases since 1990. American journal of industrial medicine, 47(5), pp.458-462.
4 Reid, A., Heyworth, J., De Klerk, N. and Musk, A.W., 2008. The mortality of women exposed environmentally and domestically to blue asbestos at Wittenoom, Western Australia. Occupational and environmental medicine, 65(11), pp.743-749.
5 İşten, B.H.S.T.O. and Maruziyetler, E.T., 2021. Exposures Moved from Work to Home as a Public Health Hazard.
6 Anua, S.M., Semple, S., Shakri, S.F.M., Safuan, S., Mazlan, N. and Asri, A.A.M., 2019. A review of the take-home exposure pathway of workplace hazards. International Journal of Medical Toxicology & Legal Medicine, 22(3and4), pp.13-19.
7 National Cancer Institute (NIH), Asbestos Fact Sheet.
8 National Cancer Institute (NIH), Asbestos Fact Sheet.
9 The current understanding of asbestos-induced epigenetic changes associated with lung cancer. Cheng, Y.Y., Rath, E.M., Linton, A., Yuen, M.L., Takahashi, K. and Lee, K., 2020. Lung Cancer: Targets and Therapy, pp.1-11.
10 The current understanding of asbestos-induced epigenetic changes associated with lung cancer. Cheng, Y.Y., Rath, E.M., Linton, A., Yuen, M.L., Takahashi, K. and Lee, K., 2020. Lung Cancer: Targets and Therapy, pp.1-11.