A key ingredient in almost everything built before 1980 can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body, including the penis. Asbestos-related penile cancer is quite rare, mostly because so few studies have been conducted in this area. However, it has been recorded among veterans and other direct exposure victims who handled asbestos-laced materials and didn’t wear proper PPE (personal protective equipment).

Malignant mesothelioma in the tunica vaginalis testis is a nasty form of a nasty disease. In one case, a 67-year-old man noticed some slight swelling on his scrotum, a condition which understandably concerned him. Upon examination, doctors found an aggressive cancerous mass, and the man died twenty-six months later. 

Alas, this man’s story is very common among mesothelioma victims. Frequently, these victims are in their 60s or 70s and planning a quiet retirement with their families. Then, almost like a bolt out of the blue, a mesothelioma diagnosis shatters everything. Because of the emotional and physical pain these victims must endure, and also because asbestos companies deliberately buried the health risks for so many years, an asbestos exposure lawyer works hard to obtain the compensation these victims need and deserve.

Why Does Asbestos Cause Cancer?

If you’re a potential asbestos/cancer victim, asbestos exposure is almost inevitable. 20,000 of these toxic fibers can fit between Abraham Lincoln’s mouth and nose on a U.S. penny. These fibers wreak havoc on the body.

  • Free Radical Particles: Scientists aren’t sure why asbestos increases the production of these particles, but they know there’s a connection. Free radical particles are associated with an elevated cancer risk. For example, victims with high free radical counts could develop lung cancer even if they don’t smoke or have other risk factors.
  • DNA Alteration: Toxic particles, such as asbestos fibers, basically rewrite cellular DNA, causing issues like accelerated reproduction. This process often leads to the formation of carcinomas (cancerous tumors).  This process is often painless, as in the above example. So, by the time doctors test patients, the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
  • Scarring: Damage goes beyond cellular alteration. Asbestos fibers don’t just burn the lungs and other organs and leave scar tissue. The resulting scar tissue is dense and thick, a quality that contributes to asbestosis (blocked airways in the lungs). Doctors believe there’s a direct relationship between the amount and composition of scar tissue and the disease’s survival rate.

Pleural mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive kind of heart-lung cancer, may be the most common asbestos exposure-related cancer. A tumor forms in the mesothelium (membrane between the heart and lungs). 

Early diagnosis is usually the key to a successful outcome. Early diagnosis doesn’t happen in mesothelioma cases. Tumors that hide among thick membranes are difficult to find. Furthermore, many asbestos exposure victims don’t show signs of illness, such as trouble breathing, for about a half century. 

In simple terms, doctors have no reason to look for a lung cancer tumor, and even if they did look, traditional diagnostic tools probably wouldn’t find the tumor anyway.

Mostly depending on the type of exposure, asbestos fibers could also cause cancer in other parts of the body, mostly the abdomen and gastrointestinal system (pancreas, etc.)

Potential Asbestos/Cancer Victims

As mentioned, asbestos was very commonly used before 1980, mostly as an insulating and fireproofing material. The widespread use created three basic categories of potential asbestos exposure victims.

Ocupacional

Usually, these “double whammy” victims handled asbestos-laced products and also worked in asbestos-laced facilities. 

We mentioned veterans above. Naval veterans usually worked with asbestos every day and didn’t know it. That’s especially true among sailors who served in the 70s. A 1967 fire aboard the USS Forrestal accelerated the use of asbestos in high-heat areas, like boiler rooms, and high-risk areas, like ammunition storage dumps. Shipbuilders also used this waterproof mineral in other areas, like ceiling and floor tiles. 

Once released into the air, asbestos fibers normally float for at least seventy-two hours. Therefore, Navy veterans who seldom set foot aboard a ship, like communications, intelligence, and JAG officers, were also at risk.

Like most private companies, the Navy largely ignored the aforementioned health risks. Because he went AWOL, Steve McQueen scraped asbestos off pipes when he was in the service.

Take-Home

Chrysotile (white) asbestos fibers, the most commonly used form of asbestos, have jagged edges. Therefore, these fibers often latch onto surfaces, like clothes and hair. As a result, exposed sailors and other workers often unwittingly carried these fibers home, where they infected friends and loved ones.

Studies have consistently shown that sharing a household or vehicle with someone who regularly wore asbestos-tainted clothing could create serious health problems. 

Take-home asbestos poisoning is much more common than previously believed. Many housewives and other take-home victims chalked up lung cancer and other serious illnesses to bad luck. As a result, this form of asbestos poisoning may be the most under-reported form of asbestos poisoning.

Ambient

The fire aboard the Forrestal spread a cloud of toxic gas over a great distance. But, since this aircraft carrier was out to sea at the time, the cloud probably didn’t affect anyone. Fire-related toxic clouds that appear on land are another matter. 

A nondescript warehouse fire in Oregon may have contaminated people living and working nearby. The World Trade Center fire in New York is another example. Natural disasters, like floods, also spread asbestos fibers over great distances.

Occupational and take-home asbestos poisoning is difficult to diagnose. When it comes to ambient exposure, fugget about it. Even if doctors quiz these victims about their occupational or lifestyle backgrounds, and that’s a pretty big “if,” no red flags appear.

The last thing an older person with a debilitating disease wants is a bitter court fight. Fortunately, an asbestos exposure lawyer can usually obtain the compensation these victims need and deserve without going to trial, and in many cases, without going to court at all.

One such non-court option is a bankruptcy victim compensation fund claim. Federal judges forced Johns Manville and other large asbestos providers to transfer their assets into these funds, which contain over $30 billion.

Court cases usually settle before trial as well. Asbestos providers often pay their lawyers more than $1,000 an hour to fight these claims. At this rate, the legal bills pile up quickly, and these companies are anxious to cut their losses. As a result, they usually make favorable deals during settlement negotiations.

Several different options, such as a civil claim, a VA disability claim, and a Social Security Disability claim, may be available.