November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month – 2017
The National Cancer Institute places lung cancer as the leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. One out of every four cancer deaths is attributable to lung cancer, and in 2016 alone The America Cancer Society an estimated 158,080 people passed away from this disease.
Lung cancer begins in the lungs when abnormal cells mutate and cluster together. Over time tumors develop, destroying the healthy lung tissue and spreading to other organs in the body.
Raising Awareness
Finding lung cancer in the early stages can increase survival from 11% to 55%, which makes cancer screenings one of the most effective tools for diagnosis. The Computerized tomography or CT scan, is an efficient diagnostic tool that takes X-ray like images of the lungs to create 3-D pictures showing different angles to determine abnormalities and tumor location. Studies have indicated that despite lung cancer being the leading cause of cancer death for men and women, many do not know that they, especially older people, should be screened regularly. Often times people think that CT scans are too expensive and don’t realize that Medicare and other health care plans typically cover these types of screenings.
The Lung Cancer Alliance and other organizations aim to raise awareness about screening opportunities, risk factors and statistics, and how you can contribute to the cause. Donations can be made here.
Find our more information about Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Lung Cancer and Asbestos Exposure
The link between asbestos exposure and lung cancer dates back to 1935 but it wasn’t until 1986 when the Occupational Health and Safety Administration announced the risk for lung cancer was greatest among Americans that worked with asbestos. When asbestos fibers become airborne, they are easy to inhale and can become trapped inside the lung. As the fibers work themselves deeper into the tissue of the lungs, the infected areas become inflamed and scarring occurs ( this is called fibrosis, which and develop into asbestosis). The once normal cells begin to change and cluster together ultimately forming tumors in the lung. As the cancer cells continue to grow and multiply, the surrounding healthy tissue becomes more damaged and the organs cease to function properly. These tumors can also spread to other parts of the body, by way of the bloodstream, or the lymphatic system.
The risk of lung cancer is expected to rise between 0.5% and 4% for each year that a person is continually exposed, making the duration that one is exposed to asbestos one of the most important factors in determining lung cancer due to asbestos exposure. Smoking plus asbestos exposure increases the risk of developing lung cancer five or more times than smoking alone.
Asbestos Lung Cancer Compensation
Companies spent decades protecting their assets instead of their employees, violating workplace conditions and denying their laborers a safe and healthy working environment. As a result, many people suffered and are continuing to suffer from lung cancer, asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other asbestos-related diseases. If you are suffering from one of these cancers but are unsure of asbestos exposure, the attorneys at Goldberg, Persky & White will be to help. Their extensive court records, documents, purchase orders and invoices reveal what asbestos products were used and sent to various work sites and can help determine not only how and when you were exposed, but what compensation you deserve. Contact GPW today for a free no obligation consultation.
