Get Educated About Asbestos

When you or someone you love has been diagnosed with an asbestos related disease, you immediately feel like you want to know everything.

Facts do not make it easier, but they can bring some clarity. Facts also help you make educated decisions when dealing with a diagnosis. Searching for answers can be a very daunting task because a lot of information is out there. Some information you can trust and some you cannot. It is better to start simple with some trusted sites. Let me give you a run down on some facts that I thought would jump-start your search. Even better, I provide links for you to quickly go the sites where I personally found the information so you can read even more.

Lets get started.

Asbestos is a general term for six different types of mineral fibers. Asbestos is tough and flexible and can be resistant to heat and chemicals. Here's a good source for additional info.

Here is how I pronounce it: as-best-us.

It has been approximated that almost 3,000 products at one time contained asbestos. Here’s a sample list.

How does one actually get exposed to asbestos?

Asbestos products that are manipulated, cut, torn, mixed or in some other way disturbed such that they release asbestos fiber into the air. The fiber may then be inhaled or swallowed. Here's a good source for more info.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are responsible for regulating asbestos exposure for workers.

Mesothelioma is a disease that can be caused by asbestos exposure.

Here’s how I pronounce it: me-so-thelee-o-ma.

About three out of four cases of mesothelioma have been linked to asbestos exposure.

Just over 19% of mesothelioma deaths from 1999 to 2005 were women. That means more than 80% were men.

Symptoms for mesothelioma can include weight loss, shortness of breath, chest pain under the rib cage, fluid on the lung, abdominal pain and more.

There are three types of standard treatment to consider when diagnosed with mesothelioma: surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Surgery attempts to remove the cancer. Radiation is a therapy that may kill or stop the progression of cancer cells through measures like high energy x-rays and radiation. Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses drugs to kill the cancer or stop the cells from dividing.