For those faced with a mesothelioma cancer diagnosis, the complexities and intense nature of the disease make these next steps that much more difficult to navigate. If you’re preparing to fight back against your mesothelioma cancer (both medically and legally), here are eight important facts that you should know about the disease you’ve been diagnosed with:
1. You Deserve Compensation
When you’re diagnosed with a disease as rare and serious as mesothelioma, it’s rarely through any fault of your own. In most cases, your employer is responsible, and you deserve compensation and support from the company that led you to be diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer. Understanding how to contact and hire a quality mesothelioma and asbestos exposure attorney post-diagnosis can help you prepare yourself and your family for the hardships ahead of you.
2. You Were Likely Exposed on the Job
As we mentioned above, the vast majority of people who develop mesothelioma cancer are afflicted due to exposure to asbestos fibers and dust on the job. When these fibers are taken into the body, they damage your body’s cells and DNA, and with each asbestos exposure, the chances of you eventually developing mesothelioma cancer are increased significantly. Poor safety standards on job sites where asbestos was present are often to blame for workers’ mesothelioma cancer diagnoses.
3. Mesothelioma Can Take Decades to Develop
Unlike many other cancers, mesothelioma can take decades to develop after you’re exposed to asbestos fibers and dust. Without the ability to track how often you were exposed, you’ll have an even harder time calculating how long it might take for mesothelioma cancer to develop.
Unfortunately, many medical professionals still have to do a lot of guesswork when it comes to understanding how likely a person is to develop mesothelioma cancer.
4. Baby Powder Has Been Contaminated in the Past
While mesothelioma cancer is most common in adults, it has occurred in infants and small children as well. Typically, this is due to asbestos exposure from contaminated baby powder, or nearby environmental exposure to asbestos from mines or other natural sites. In some rarer cases, radiation exposure has been known to cause some forms of mesothelioma cancer in younger children and infants as well.
5. Symptoms Can be Difficult to Spot
Because mesothelioma cancer takes so long to develop, it can be incredibly difficult to spot the symptoms associated with the disease until it has developed significantly. Fatigue, sudden weight loss, difficulty breathing, anemia, and many other symptoms have been linked to the early stages of mesothelioma cancer, however. Watching out for extreme instances of these symptoms can help you catch mesothelioma cancer earlier on in some cases.
6. Asbestos Trust Funds Exist to Help
Unfortunately, there are many cases where victims of mesothelioma cancer, or their family members, are not financially prepared for lawsuits, medical care, or end-of-life care. Because many companies that knowingly exposed employees to asbestos are now bankrupt, suing them can become difficult. However, these companies have been ordered to create asbestos trust funds set up to assist victims and their families post-diagnosis.
7. Life Expectancy is Short
One of the most tragic aspects of mesothelioma cancer is that it’s both aggressive and deadly. In many cases, the life expectancy of a patient ranges between twelve and twenty-one months after the initial diagnosis. Due to this, getting treatment, legal help, and financial compensation as quickly as possible after a diagnosis is critical. Doing so will greatly boost your chance of preparing you and your family members for what comes next.
8. Some Industries’ Workers are at Higher Risk
Certain industries are more widely known for their involvement in covering up the dangers asbestos presented to their workers. If you are a worker who spent most of your life in one of these industries, you should be more aware of the potential symptoms that could point toward you developing mesothelioma cancer. Workers from the following industries should stay vigilant: military, mining, milling, shipbuilding, mechanics, and construction.
Help is Out There
Between legal experts, asbestos trust funds, family members, and community members, there is help out there post-diagnosis. While mesothelioma cancer is a frightening disease to deal with, there is still hope to be had. Being ready to support yourself, or an afflicted family member after their diagnosis is always the first step. With the right grit and determination, you can hold the greedy companies that hid the dangers of asbestos from you responsible for their devastating actions.
