How Frequently Does Asbestosis Develop into Mesothelioma Lung Cancer?
Asbestosis is a disease of the respiratory system, not a cancer. As the name suggests it is caused by exposure to asbestos, usually over a considerable period of time. One thinks immediately that those working in the construction industry are most at risk and that assumption would indeed be correct. Even though asbestos was known to be harmful to human health since the 1920s it was still used in the construction industry for insulation and fireproofing purposes well into the 1970s.
It was not just those who had been directly working with the asbestos who were put in danger. Members of their household were also endangered as the fibers stuck to workers clothing and were transmitted through the air almost invisibly. Unfortunately once they are inhaled the tiny fibers that make up asbestos are not expelled from the body as other matter might be. Instead the body’s systems create scar tissue that wraps itself around these invading particles and eventually the lungs capacity can become severely restricted.
How badly a patient is affected by asbestosis is very much dependent upon the length of the exposure, and it may indeed be decades before an individual experiences any ill effects of their exposure to asbestos. When symptoms do manifest themselves they include severe coughing bouts, a marked shortness of breath and in many cases otherwise unexplained weight loss.
On the other hand mesothelioma is indeed a cancer, and it too is caused by exposure to asbestos. Although for the most part asbestos is no longer used in the construction industry there are still two to three thousand cases of mesothelioma diagnosed annually in the United States. One characteristic of the disease is that it tends to lie dormant for many years. People have been known to develop active signs of the cancer up to 65 years after their initial exposure to asbestos. One of the reasons that the disease is so very deadly is that it is often not diagnosed until a patient is in the very late stages of their illness. Most commonly mesotheliomas develop in the chest area. About two thirds of the cases diagnosed each year are of this nature but the disease can also be found in the abdominal cavity and in some rare instances around the heart.
The figures on mesothelioma that are issued by the National Cancer Institute are rather grim. They estimate that out of the approximately 8 million men, women and children exposed to asbestos over the last 50 years 300,000 of them will develop mesothelioma by the year 2030.
Those who suffer from asbestosis are indeed at a greater risk of developing mesothelioma, as the two diseases are so closely linked and are caused by the same factors. Those who suffer from asbestosis are also at increased risk for developing lung cancer, the number one cancer killer in the United States.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
I worked in the pipe covering and insulating trade for two summers in 1957 and 1958. For a period of 2-3 weeks I was in an enclosed area cutting pieces of insulation without any protection. At the end of the day I would have asbestos in my hair and on the top of my eyebrows. Nobody knew in those days.
My father worked in that trade for over 35 years and died at the age of 74. He was a non-smoker and never came down with the cancer. Almost all of his co-workers that smoked died in their 50’s and 60’s. I am now going on 69 years of age and was diagnosed with asbestosis three years ago when I came down with pneumonia.
I did notice some shortness of breath as I go older; but just considered it “old age” or overweight. I never smoked cigarettes; but did puff on cigars for some time.
So far so good, I will being seeing my lung guy the first of the year. When I saw him two years ago he stated I had 60% lung capacity.
Point of interest. My mother lived to be 95, was a smoker for over 50 years, and washed a ton of asbestos covered clothing.