2009 was a very tough year for my family and me. First, in March my wife’s annual mammogram revealed a Stage 1 breast cancer in her left breast. Seven months later, I got diagnosed with kidney cancer. This is when I started to look into a potential connection between kidney cancer, mesothelioma and asbestos exposure. I was 37 years old.

Two cancer diagnoses in the same family within seven months, is unusual. We obviously freaked out and thought that there must be a common cause. Apparently...