Mesothelioma is a serious disease, and 99% of all cases are attributable to exposure to asbestos. It's a disease that can remain dormant for as long as 20 to 50 years before it starts taking its devastating toll on a person's health and life. Although the cancer may show up in less than 20 years in some cases, most people don't develop any symptoms until somewhere around 35 years after exposure. Early symptoms may not ring any bells, either, because they may be as basic as general pain in the chest or back. Therefore, anyone who ever worked in an environment where there were asbestos fibers needs to be on guard for the rest of their lives.
Mesothelioma patients have been diagnosed as having cancer cells surrounding their lungs or abdominal organs or inside their ribcages. While even a little exposure to asbestos could cause the disease, it's far more likely to occur in people who were exposed over longer periods of time. It's real possible that you aren't even aware that you were ever working around asbestos, because it was common for employers back then to withhold from their employees the information that was coming out regarding asbestos exposure. Some examples of people who may have been innocently exposed prior to the 1970s include construction workers or those who were in the Navy.
Prior to the 1970s asbestos was widely-used in many different applications. Once the reports of the health risks involved in its use started to be made public, this use of asbestos was curtailed. Before that time, however, almost every type of insulation contained asbestos, such as that used to insulate pipes, do fire-proofing, and in boilers. Types of plasters, cements, and joint compounds that came in powdered form and were intended to insulate were also full of asbestos. Since the powders caused a lot of dust, employees who breathed the air while using them were particularly vulnerable to asbestos exposure.
If you worked in the following fields prior to the mid 1970s, you may have been exposed to asbestos: * Insulation * Steel refineries and other industries that used steel * Shipyard workers * Building trades such as electrical, carpentry, or bricklaying jobs * Maintenance workers * Boilermakers * People who fabricated brakes and clutches * Paper mills
Even if you did work in any of these occupations, that's not a sure sign you're going to come down with Mesothelioma. However, it does put you at a higher risk, and you should let your physician know that you were exposed. He may recommend that you take some tests in order to determine if the asbestos is having any effect on you. He may want to do a complete physical, have x-rays taken of your chest and abdomen, and ask you to take pulmonary function tests. In some cases CT scans or MRIs are advisable. All of this testing may well find no evidence of Mesothelioma, but at least you'll know for sure which can be a relief.
If the time comes when you're diagnosed with Mesothelioma, one of the first things you'll want to do is to hire a lawyer who specializes in cases involving the disease. He will be able to evaluate your claim and file a suit against your employer seeking damages if it can be proven that there was any negligence on the part of your employer in withholding information or not providing the safety equipment you needed.
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