About seven months after my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Obviously we both were afraid that there might be a common thread which could likely to be linked back to our house or immediate environment.

Asbestos testing was one of the first things we had done in order to see if that could be the cause for our cancers. We looked up asbestos testing services online and went with a local asbestos testing service. We actually were surprised to see them being all over the place, so apparently there must be quite some demand out there. A few days later someone from the company we had hired stopped by to take a few samples of the soil in our backyard, the siding of the house, the water and even little pieces of dry wall from inside. He explained that he was going to send the "specimens" over to their asbestos testing lab for further examination.
 

A lot people who live in old houses might be exposed to this material without knowing it. Only few decades back ago, asbestos has been used widely as an insulation material. So if you are concerned about being potentially exposed to this poisonous product, don't waste time and get your house checked. You can even call one of the many asbestos testing labs directly in order to find out about the next steps.

Other places which are typically linked for asbestos to be found do include fireplaces, wiring and plumbing.

Even though I strongly recommend you not to collect the samples yourself, but rather have an expert from a local asbestos testing laboratory coming over and do it for you, if you decide to take matters in your own hands, make sure that you are wearing the right protection gear before you get started.
 
But again, I recommend you to contact a professional asbestos testing lab have them doing the work for you. Asbestos testing is the last thing you should try to save money on, if you have serious concern that you might be unknowingly in contact with the material. The experts know their business and will be able to conduct the whole testing in a more thorough and reliable fashion. And unless you have been working with asbestos and therefore gained some experience, I doubt that you will have the same in depth knowledge as the professionals.

Another good place to inquire about nearby asbestos testing laboratories or companies, would be the health department of your town. Experts say that if your house was built before 1975, it is unlikely that it was ever tested for asbestos occurrence. So either way and for you own safety and peace of mind, it might be a good thing do have the testing done rather sooner than later. It is just another thing that could harm you and your family that you want to eliminate, so that you don't have to think about it anymore.

In 2007 we did some major remodeling on our house. Back then it would have been a great opportunity to have asbestos testing done, but unfortunately we didn't think about it until two years later. As we received our cancer diagnoses, we immediately thought about that period in time, while our contractors had ripped off the walls. We thought that maybe during their work, asbestos particles might have been "unleashed" and were blown all over the place. And intermingled with the air we were breathing in for a few months.

In sum: if you have any concern that you and your family might be exposed to the material, go and have an asbestos test done on your house and the immediate environment.