The Maune Raichle Law Firm

Asbestos Cancer Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a cancer which is known to be most commonly caused by the exposure to asbestos. Asbestos was commonly used to insulate and retard fire in many products as well as in the construction of buildings and cars. Although asbestos has been a known carcinogen for decades, many individuals who were exposed to this cancer causing substance are only being diagnosed now. Decades after exposure to asbestos ended, many individuals who were exposed to asbestos before the asbestos ban are now being diagnosed with the deadly disease mesothelioma.

A cancer like many others, mesothelioma has the ability to spread from its most common starting location in the mesothelium of the lungs to other organs. The spread of cancer complicates treatment and in many cases prevents any treatment from being 100% effective at treating the cancer. This means that many cases of mesothelioma are considered terminal at the time of first being diagnosed. This is complicated by the fact that many cases of mesothelioma are dismissed as simple aging because the early symptoms of labored, painful breathing, and shortness of breath are nondescript and are common symptoms of many unrelated illnesses and aging in general.

The most common thread among those diagnosed with mesothelioma is that the vast majority are 50-70 year old men who were exposed to asbestos during their jobs, years before asbestos bans stopped the common use of asbestos throughout the United States. The majority of these men never guessed that the substance they so commonly worked with had the ability to cause them major health problems decades after their exposure stopped. Many men in their 50's-70's will continue to be diagnosed with mesothelioma as the cancer continues to develop in men who were exposed years ago.