Does Asbestos Cause Leukemia?

Asbestos is known to cause several different kinds of cancer. The clearest examples of this include both lung cancer and mesothelioma. 

But what about Leukemia?

Short Answer: Based on current research and data, the link between asbestos and leukemia is not as clear, compared to other kinds of cancer. 

However, there is still ongoing research and debate on this topic. This means that is it well worth exploring the link between asbestos and Leukemia. Here’s what you need to know about how asbestos plays a role in the development of leukemia.

What We Do Know About Asbestos

Asbestos Causes Cancer

We can first start with what we do know about asbestos. Asbestos is a group of silicate materials that naturally occur. Because of its durability and resistance to the effects of nature like heat and corrosion, this material has been widely used in both homes and various industries for centuries. Asbestos is most dangerous when it is friable (broken up into fragments and airborne).

Asbestos becomes deadly to our bodies when exposed to its fibers and particles, released in the air. 

Asbestos can be found in older homes as well as industrial work areas. Even the public square can become a dangerous place for asbestos exposure. One famous example of this is the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The streets of New York City became deadly ground zero of asbestos dust in the wreckage of the World Trade Centers.

Regardless of how someone is exposed to asbestos, it is important to know that asbestos fibers can be inhaled or swallowed. Since these fibers do not break down, they remain in our bodies, causing ongoing damage over time. Unfortunately, this damage remains unknown to many people until symptoms appear, often numerous decades after the time of exposure.

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Asbestos-Related Disease Takes Time to Show Itself

By this time, asbestos symptoms like chest pain, dry cough, fluid in the lungs, and shortness of breath can sometimes indicate non-malignant asbestos injuries. These are non-cancerous injuries related to asbestos, but they are still chronic diseases that cause a debilitating lifestyle, such as asbestosis, pleural effusions, and pleural plaques. However, the symptoms associated with asbestos can often indicate that lung cancer or mesothelioma has developed. That brings up the important point that although asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral, it is a known carcinogen to the human body when we are exposed to its fibers.

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If you may have been exposed to asbestos, speak with your healthcare provider about tests and screening to help detect the presence of asbestos fibers and asbestos-related diseases.

What We Do Know About Leukemia

Leukemia is defined by the Mayo Clinic as cancer in the body’s blood-forming tissues. This can include the bone marrow as well as the lymphatic system, tissues, and organs that produce, store, and carry white blood cells. Besides the bone marrow, parts of the body that are included in the lymphatic system are the spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and lymphatic vessels. 

Like asbestos, leukemia can harm the body’s defenses.

Leukemia can be an especially dangerous form of cancer because the white blood cells that are responsible for helping our bodies fight disease become compromised and fail to function properly. 

This can break down the body’s natural ability to repair itself, causing symptoms of frequent infections, irregular body temperature, bleeding and bruising, bone pain, and even swelling of the liver. Leukemia can even be overlooked until the disease has developed much more fully, especially because many of the symptoms mimic the flu or other illnesses. Blood tests are a common way that leukemia can be identified and professionally diagnosed

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.

Is There a link between asbestos and leukemia? Unclear.

One study conducted and published in H & O Clinical Case Studies includes a patient who had been exposed to asbestos and went on to develop both leukemia as well as thrombocythemia, which is a disease when too many platelets are made by the bone marrow, leading to abnormal blood clotting. The case study points to a possible correlation between asbestos exposure and the increased risk of these cancerous diseases, and that is based largely on what is known about asbestos exposure. As a carcinogen, asbestos leads to chronic inflammation in the body, which can produce free radicals in the body, damage the DNA responsible for cellular growth, and contribute to the formation of cancerous tumors. 

Cause vs. Contributing Factor in Health Research

Those same kinds of concerns in the increased risk factors for leukemia have been well documented as well. In other words, the risk factors that are associated with leukemia are the same risks that can occur in the case of asbestos exposure.  While no direct link between asbestos exposure and leukemia has been revealed, the dangers associated with asbestos exposure can contribute to the development of leukemia.

Asbestos causes cancer. Health researchers are learning how.

Studies show that asbestos fibers embed in the bodily tissue:

• Causing scarring

• Disrupting the body’s defense mechanisms

• Increasing formation of free-radicals (electrical charges known to increase the likelihood of cancer)

• Harming DNA that controls cellular growth, potentially leading to the formation of carcinomas (cancerous tumors)

How to respond if you’re concerned about asbestos and leukemia

While current research to link asbestos exposure and the development of leukemia is still ongoing, what remains clear regarding both asbestos and leukemia is that the sooner they are identified and diagnosed, the better. Both asbestos-related diseases and leukemia run the risk of not being identified until much later on in someone’s life. 

This is especially true in the case of asbestos exposure, which can take between 20 and 50 years in its latency. It is important to know whether leukemia can in fact be caused by asbestos exposure, but it is much more important for us to know if and when we have been exposed to asbestos. 

Getting Tested Now (Not Later)

One of the most important first steps that can be taken is to reach out to your medical provider as soon as possible if you have any concerns about exposure to asbestos. Even if you did not directly work in an industry where asbestos was present, exposure to asbestos could have happened in your childhood, especially with asbestos particles being brought into the home through a parent that worked around it.  

If you suspect you may have symptoms of an asbestos disease like cancer, don’t wait to be tested.

Getting in touch with your healthcare provider can consist of getting an X-ray or other screening for asbestos-related health damage. The good news is, there’s nothing lost from receiving a clean bill of health and doing so can offer great peace of mind. If you determine that you have been exposed to asbestos, you may be entitled to financial compensation to help you get the treatment you need. To help you through the whole process, reach out to the professionals at AsbestosClaims.law today. They’re available to help you every step of the way.

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.