Asbestos and lung cancer are strongly connected to each other, even though, most people typically associate asbestos contact with mesothelioma. This is not surprising because the fact of the matter is: the majority of the people, with only a very few exceptions reported, who developed mesothelioma, came in occupational contact with asbestos. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is mostly malignant. It starts to develop in the mesothelium, a very thin protective lining that covers a number of internal organs. When the toxic asbestos fibers get inhaled or ingested over prolonged periods of time, the origination of several severe illnesses can be triggered, including asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.

As we just discussed, the main risk of contracting an asbestos induced disease is when individuals come into contact with the material through their job. Unfortunately, the hazard and the potential danger of occupational exposure to asbestos, was addressed decades back already. However, some corporations saw their huge profits slipping and sliding, so they decided neither to disseminate the information adequately nor to protect their employees appropriately by installing the required safety measures. As a result, we experienced a trend of increasing numbers of newly diagnosed mesothelioma and lung cancer patients, which could be clearly linked back to exposure to asbestos. Asbestos related health conditions have one common denominator: they are known for their exceptionally long latency period. In other words, it may take up to 50 before they manifest in conclusive signs or symptoms. However, by the time they get detected, they have likely advance to a further stage already, which makes the effective treatment very difficult. Hence, the outlook when diagnosed with asbestos induced lung cancer or mesothelioma is rather poor.

It is therefore of utmost importance to seek medical attention on a regular basis, if you have worked in an occupation that regularly exposed you to asbestos. This can be a real lifesaver and I am not overly dramatic. I have kidney cancer and my left kidney had to be removed because it was completely taken over by a malignant mass. When I encountered blood in my urine, I immediately made an appointment with an urologist. Therefore, my cancer was found relatively early. Well, it depends what one would consider “early” – according to the pathology report; it could have started as long as 20 years back ago. Therefore, there is a certain likelihood that it could have been caused by asbestos exposure, since I was in daily contact with the material back then.

The bottom line is: undeniably, there is a link between asbestos and lung cancer, and a variety of other related health conditions. Go and see a specialized health care professional for regular check ups if you know that you have been in contact with the material.