Every year hundreds, if not thousands of people die from cancer from asbestos, which may include mesothelioma. Exposure to asbestos is one of the most commonly known triggers to the development of this cancer.

If you or someone you know have developed cancer from asbestos, including lung cancer and mesothelioma, or developed another disease from exposure to asbestos, you may be eligible to file a cancer from asbestos lawsuit and become eligible for compensation for negligent asbestos exposure by a company or past employer.

Overview: Cancer from Asbestos

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), asbestos includes six naturally occurring minerals that develop as bundles of fiber. Asbestos was used in a variety of commercial and industrial applications because of its natural ability to be resistant to chemicals, fire, and heat. It can also be spread apart into thin long lasting threads.

Prior to the 1990s, asbestos usage was extremely prevalent, and although outlawed for usage since, there are still products that contain some traces of asbestos today. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned new uses of asbestos in 1989. Other agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), have all classified asbestos as a human carcinogen, a substance able to cause cancer in living tissue.

It is still possible today to become exposed to asbestos through building materials and thus become diagnosed with an asbestos related illness such as mesothelioma.

In a published study, the British Journal of Cancer concluded that while asbestos exposure today is rare, asbestos, in fact, kills twice as many people through the development of lung cancer than through mesothelioma.

Victims and family members of those who have been diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma are filing asbestos class action lawsuits and asbestos lawsuits to claim their portion of mesothelioma compensation funds.

Family members of victims of lung cancer or mesothelioma are also eligible to file lawsuits as they may have also been exposed to asbestos and diagnosed with an asbestos condition, even though they never came into direct contact with the substance. Inadvertently, asbestos fibers may have been brought home from the workplace causing serious health complications. This is known as secondary exposure.

Typically, cases of lung cancer appear 15 years after exposure to asbestos. Family members are eligible to file an individual asbestos lawsuit to become awarded through asbestos compensation funds.

Mesothelioma Cancer from Asbestos

The Mayo Clinic describes mesothelioma is an “aggressive and deadly form of cancer.” A cure for mesothelioma has yet to be found and the cancer develops in a thin tissue layer covering all major organs on the body known as the mesothelium. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common kind of mesothelioma; a cancer that affects the tissues of the lungs.

Signs and symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include some of the following:

• Painful coughing
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain below the rib cage
• Unexplained weight loss
• Lumps of tissue under the skin on your chest

Approximately 100,000 people have died, or are expected to die from mesothelioma after asbestos exposure in shipyards. However, these numbers do not include asbestos miners, construction workers, and other persons who may also become exposed to asbestos while at home or at work.