Asbestos can cause lung cancer and has done so with thousands of people who were exposed to asbestos on the job. However asbestos is primarily known for its unique ability to develop mesothelioma, a form of cancer that can occur in several areas of the body. Asbestos can be one of many causes for lung cancer; it is the only known cause for mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma – A Cancer with a Single Cause
This malignancy strikes in the mesothelium, which is a thin membrane that covers and protects several areas within the body. Various parts of the mesothelium have various names: the peritoneum is the portion of the mesothelium that covers the wall of the abdominal cavity. The pericardium is a mesothelial sac around the heart. The pleura are two parts of the mesothelium that cover the chest wall and provide the outer lining of the lungs. Mesothelioma may develop in any of these locations.
However seventy percent of all diagnosed cases of mesothelioma develop in the pleura – the outer lining of the lungs. This form of cancer is often called asbestos lung cancer, but it is actually cancer of the lining of the lung. Lung cancer as it is traditionally understood is cancer that causes tumors in the lung. pleural mesothelioma causes tumors to develop on the surface of the pleura, small tumors over a diffuse area across a thin layer of tissue. Pleural mesothelioma and lung cancer are two different forms of carcinoma.
When Asbestos Causes Lung Cancer
Asbestos is also recognized as a potential primary cause for lung cancer; in fact the way asbestos most often enters the body is through the lungs. Tiny asbestos fibers that have broken off from an asbestos product that is being manipulated or is deteriorating can float in the air like tiny dust particles and be inadvertently inhaled.
These fibers cannot be shed by the body and eventually work their way through the lung to the pleura, the lining outside the lungs. In some instances asbestos fibers stay in the lung and cause asbestosis or worse, the development to malignant cells which become the foundation for lung cancer. Asbestos fibers may be a primary cause for lung cancer or a contributing cause, as with cigarette smokers. Far more cases of lung cancer have primary causes that are unrelated to asbestos.
Like many forms of cancer, mesothelioma may metastasize in its late stages and cause the development of tumors in other areas of the body. Late stage mesothelioma may cause tumors to develop within the lungs; at this point the patient has mesothelioma as the primary form of cancer and lung cancer secondary to pleural mesothelioma.
The Three Asbestos Diseases
Asbestos can contribute to everything from bronchitis to emphysema, but there are three diseases for which it can be a primary instigator – all of which can be fatal:
• Mesothelioma
• Lung Cancer
There is no doubt that in past generations mesothelioma was often misdiagnosed as lung cancer by a physician or coroner filling out a death certificate. The frequency of asbestos-caused lung cancer today can be interpreted in many ways.
Ninety percent of all lung cancer cases are primarily attributable to smoking. However second-hand smoke, industrial pollution of all types and radon gas are among significant contributors to the likelihood of lung cancer. The same is true of asbestos. According to one medical source, asbestos exposure increases the risk of lung cancer by nine times. A combination of asbestos exposure and cigarette smoking raises the risk to as much as 50 times.
Asbestos Lung Cancer and the Law
Hundreds of thousands of health related liability claims have been filed against asbestos companies; in many of them lung cancer has been cited as one of the damages. Asbestos is recognized by the courts as a contributing toxin to several health problems and thousands of people have been compensated for contributory asbestos damage.
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