This is because mesothelioma is a cancer that is notoriously difficult to diagnose. Caused by exposure to asbestos, this cancer can affect lungs (pleural mesothelioma), abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma), or heart (pericardial mesothelioma). The disease has a very long latency period, and onset of symptoms can take several decades from exposure to asbestos. In addition to this, symptoms of disease can be very non-specific at first, which means that they can be commonly confused with other more common ailments.

Asbestosis - Who Is At Risk?

Asbestosis is a disease that can affect those exposed to asbestos at high levels. Most at risk are those exposed to higher levels of asbestos over a number of years. In most cases this means someone that worked with asbestos products for a fairly lengthy period of around ten years or more. However, asbestos exposure can also affect those exposed to it for a lesser period, as well as those that have been exposed to it in other ways other than through working with it.

Research has shown that asbestosis has sometimes affected family member of people that worked with this substance. This is because they may have inhaled dust and fibers from work clothes, skin, and hair of worker over a period of time.