Short Answer: Not necessarily. But even a short or small exposure can lead to mesothelioma over time. In fact, after the first asbestos exposure, mesothelioma can take 20-50 years to appear. One of the biggest predictors of mesothelioma for future disease is how young you were exposed.

If you believe you were exposed to asbestos, even as a child around your parent’s work clothing, speak to your healthcare provider about X-rays and other procedures to test for asbestos damage.

Mesothelioma rates have stayed high longer than predicted when asbestos was first banned.

Mesothelioma has become a buzzword almost entirely associated with asbestos exposure. This makes sense due to the close connection between the two. But does everyone exposed to asbestos get mesothelioma? The short answer is no, but there are some important things to know about asbestos-related diseases, mesothelioma, and the various ways asbestos exposure can take place.

Asbestos Exposure and the Variety of Diseases

Probably the best way to explain mesothelioma and asbestos is in the following: Not everyone who is exposed to asbestos will develop mesothelioma, but almost everyone who develops mesothelioma has been exposed to asbestos. Let’s explain how this is the case.

Asbestos exposure can range from life threatening or harmless. To be sure, this does not suggest that asbestos exposure itself is harmless. In fact, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. In other words, it only takes one instance of asbestos exposure to result in asbestos-related diseases and cancers.

Asbestos exposure while as a child can last a lifetime… Unfortunately.

It is true that some people can theoretically be exposed to asbestos numerous times without contracting a disease or cancer, but that is more the exception than the rule for asbestos exposure. There are many instances where someone was only exposed to asbestos a single time and went on to develop a terminal cancer, such as mesothelioma.

With that being said, the reason that not everyone who is exposed to asbestos will develop mesothelioma is not that asbestos is harmless but that there are a whole range of other cancers and diseases attributed to asbestos exposure besides mesothelioma.

Non-malignant forms of asbestos diseases

In terms of non-malignant asbestos diseases, some of the more well-known include:

Asbestosis– once identified simply as tuberculosis or COPD, this lung disease is uncurable apart from a lung transplant and often progresses to cancer.

Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease (COPD) – the obstruction of airflow to and from the lungs

Pleural Disease- This lung disease can relate to plaque and or fluid around the lungs

Malignant forms of asbestos diseases

While research surrounding asbestos exposure and cancer is still ongoing in certain types of cancer, there are either direct or attributing factors associated with the following:

The common denominator in all types of asbestos related diseases is the simple fact that asbestos fibers have made their way into the body and attached themselves to organs in the body. How this happens is one of the most troubling aspects of asbestos exposure.

Asbestos fibers are invisible to the naked eye, and these tiny, microscopic needle-like fibers can easily be swallowed or inhaled when airborne. To make things more troubling, asbestos has no taste or smell, so there is no perceptible experience of asbestos exposure. In this way, asbestos exposure is a ‘silent threat’.

Mesothelioma and Asbestos

Now we understand why not everyone exposed to asbestos gets mesothelioma. In short, this is because asbestos exposure can lead to any number of diseases and cancers. Mesothelioma is just one of the many possible outcomes of asbestos exposure. But what exactly is mesothelioma and why is it used almost synonymously with asbestos-related topics?

What exactly is mesothelioma?

First, mesothelioma is a cancer of the mesothelium. This thin tissue surrounds vital organs in the chest and abdomen such as the lungs and heart. This type of cancer is highly aggressive, and it is deemed incurable by the medical community. What’s more, the aggressive rate of this cancer results in an estimated 1 year survival rate after the time of diagnosis, on average.

In relation to asbestos, mesothelioma is almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure, which is why the two terms are used in tandem. Statistically speaking, virtually everyone who has mesothelioma has developed the cancer from some occurrence of asbestos exposure. Hopefully now, “Not everyone who is exposed to asbestos will develop mesothelioma, but almost everyone who develops mesothelioma has been exposed to asbestos” makes more sense.

CDC Warns of Underreported Rise in Mesothelioma among Women

Occupational and Second-hand Exposure Considerations

In a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cases of mesothelioma have continued to increase at an surprising rate, particularly among women.

What’s even more surprising is that of the number of women who died from mesothelioma in 2020, 1in 5 consisted of homemakers. In other words, over 20 percent of the women who died from mesothelioma in 2020 had no history of working with asbestos.

The report stated that while the cause of mesothelioma was in fact asbestos, these homemakers were exposed in a way other than direct hands-on exposure from work, known as occupational exposure. Instead, they experienced asbestos exposure from what’s called second-hand or secondary exposure.

Second Hand Exposure is More Common Than You Think

Women aren’t the only ones who are exposed to asbestos second-hand and that’s due to the nature of second-hand exposure. If a husband or father works in an asbestos environment at work, there is a possibility of bringing contaminated clothing or tools home from work.

In this case, these contaminated items can carry asbestos fibers into the home, onto furniture, in the washing machine or dryer, and spread throughout the house from ceiling fans and air vents.

This exposure unknowingly puts spouses and children at risk. Sadly, it is not uncommon for women and children to go on to develop mesothelioma or any number of asbestos-related diseases later in life- all related to this instance of secondary exposure.

Compensation Options Still Exist for Asbestos Exposure

While mesothelioma and certain types of asbestos-related cancers are incurable, there are still compensation options that exist so that victims can help pay for their medical treatments to improve their quality of life and leave a legacy for their loved ones. However, there are certain qualifications that need to be met in order to receive compensation.

First, if you or a loved one have lived in a home or worked in an industrial environment prior to the mid-1980s, there is a high likelihood that you have been exposed to asbestos in some form.

Asbestos symptoms can take decades to appear, but if you have began to develop any variety of asbestos-related symptoms, you will need to undergo X-ray testing that will be reviewed by a specialized radiologist, known as a B Reader. Once diagnosed, there are a range of compensation options available depending on your situation. Since time is of the essence, be sure to reach out to an experienced asbestos claims attorney to help you determine which compensation options are right for you and what kind of documentation is required.