Although the use of asbestos in the country has declined in recent decades, a number of people still get a steady mesothelioma. That's because these cancers can take anywhere from 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos before the symptoms appear, and an oncologist can make a definitive diagnosis.
Although there is no cure for mesothelioma and the outlook is generally poor, researchers have made significant progress in the understanding of cancer and to develop new treatment options and alternative therapies.
How Asbestos Causes Cancer?
Mesothelioma usually develops after a person is exposed to asbestos in the workplace - in industrial settings, shipbuilding, automobile repair shops, old houses, schools and public buildings. While it usually takes long-term exposure to put someone at risk, short-term exposure and one is also known to cause this cancer.
Asbestos can cause health complications when the job duties or other activities disturb asbestos-containing material and releasing fibers into the air. When we inhale or ingest these microscopic fibers, our bodies are struggling to get rid of them. For decades, the fibers trapped trigger biological changes that can cause inflammation, scarring and genetic damage that sometimes lead to cancer. Long gaps between asbestos exposure and diagnosis is called latency period.
Asbestos fibers are most often become trapped in the lining of the lungs, called the pleura. They also can collect in the lining of the abdominal cavity (peritoneum) or heart (pericardium). Once the fibers cause biological damage, the stage is set for a decade-long latency period for the development of malignant mesothelioma.