Mesothelioma – An Industrial Killer
Mesothelioma is a silent killer, a particularly aggressive form of cancer that is rarely diagnosed before it reaches advanced stages and comes with a very high mortality rate. It shows few symptoms in its early stages. This form of cancer is so named because it develops in the body’s mesothelium – which is the lining that protects most of the body’s major organs. Most commonly , it forms in the lining of the lungs and is, perhaps most tragically, almost invariably caused by one particular toxic substance.
This form of cancer is caused by exposure to asbestos, a substance now illegal in most developed nations because of its potentially fatal toxins. It hasn’t always been this way, though. Prior to us fully understanding the dangers of chipped or cracked asbestos, hundreds of thousands of construction workers were exposed to it every single day. The accident claims industry is worth £6 billion annually in the UK, with an estimated 3% of this related directly to asbestos claims. But unlike a slip, trip or fall, this is one accident claim where no amount of compensation can effectively make up for the consequences of exposure.
But 2050, it is estimated that asbestos will have been directly responsible for 90000 deaths just in the UK. The USA has similarly alarming figures and what is of drastic concern is the fact that asbestos remains legal and commonly used on the African continent. Experts warn that they forecast a huge surge in cases of mesothelioma and a number of other more common asbestos related illnesses in African nations if the substance is not made illegal, as it was in Europe over a decade ago.