Exposure to asbestos has the potential to lead to the development of other cancers, including esophageal cancer, colon cancer, and other cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
Below are additionally types of asbestos-related diseases. If you believe your disease may be related to asbestos exposure, our asbestos lawyers may be able to help you recover damages as a result of your asbestos exposure-related disease, contact us at 800-916-4400 or info@asbestosvictimslitigationgroup.com.
Asbestos Lung Cancer (Asbestos-Related Lung Cancer)
When airborne, lightweight asbestos fibers are easily inhaled by workers at construction sites and in industrial settings. The small, thin fibers are hard to filter out without high-quality (and expensive) filtering gear. Breathing protection on job sites for many years was lacking at best, and often non-existent. Many workers were heavily exposed to friable (easily crumbled or reduced to powder) asbestos for years and even decades. Heavy exposure to asbestos increases the risk of developing lung cancer five times.
Asbestosis
Asbestosis is the scarring of the lung tissue that results when asbestos fibers become lodged in the lung. Some of the fibers remain in the lung, where they cause scarring. The disease hinders the ability of the lungs to absorb oxygen limiting the lung’s ability to expand and contract, essentially smothering the sufferer.
Symptoms include labored breathing during routine tasks and exercise, chest pain, coughing and loss of appetite, weight loss, swelling in the neck or face. Doctors prescribe breathing treatments, prescription medication and sometimes surgery for people with asbestosis.
Since asbestosis is not a form of lung cancer or mesothelioma, people can live many years with the disease, although the condition usually gets worse over time. If so, treatment will be required.
Cancer of the Larynx (Asbestos-Related Laryngeal Cancer)
This relatively rare cancer of the structure containing the vocal chords strikes just less than10,000 people each year. During a review of 50 epidemiological studies, the National Institutes of health found “compelling evidence that asbestos exposure is associated with an increased incidence of laryngeal cancer and that the risk increases with the intensity and duration of exposure.” Asbestos exposure may increase the risk of developing cancer in the voice box by more than 2 1/2 times. Like asbestos-related lung cancer, smoking may compound the effect of the asbestos fibers in the lining of the larynx.
Pleural Plaques
Like asbestosis, pleural plaques are a non-cancerous condition caused by exposure to asbestos, these plaques are areas of thickening on the pleura (the thin membrane lining the lungs and chest cavity) and may be caused by low levels of asbestos exposure. Often, the plaques are asymptomatic but, as an indicator of past asbestos exposures, there is an increased incidence of asbestos-related diseases associated with them.