Asbestos Exposure and Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is an uncommon form of cancer, and the most serious of all asbestos related diseases. Malignant mesothelioma is caused almost exclusively by the inhalation of airborne asbestos particles. It is a “signature disease” of asbestos exposure because in the absence of asbestos exposure, mesothelioma is almost nonexistent. Malignant mesothelioma can develop up to 40 years after the initial asbestos exposure. The incidence of mesothelioma rises with the intensity and duration of asbestos exposure. Cases of mesothelioma among people with very little asbestos exposure have been documented. Many of those who are being diagnosed with mesothelioma today unknowingly experienced asbestos exposure many years ago.

The symptoms associated with the disease make it difficult for doctors to diagnose. Often, by the time that a proper diagnosis is made, the disease has progressed to a point where patients do not respond well to treatment therapy. Another unique factor associated with the disease is that there can be a long latency period, twenty to forty years, between the time an individual is exposed to asbestos and the actual manifestation of the disease in the form of malignant mesothelioma. Depending on the kind of tissue and organ involved in the cancer, there are several forms of this disease.