Other symptoms can include shortness of breath, persistent chest pains, hoarseness and anemia. People who have been exposed to asbestos and who smoke have a significantly greater risk of developing lung cancer than people who have only been exposed to asbestos. One study found that asbestos workers who smoke are 90 times more likely to develop lung cancer than people who neither smoke nor have been exposed to asbestos. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the chest and abdominal membranes that almost never occurs without exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma can spread rapidly over the surface of the lungs, abdominal organs and heart.
Symptoms can include cough, shortness of breath, weight loss, excessive sweating and chest pain.
Patients often use oxygen and pain medication such as morphine to reduce the symptoms of the disease, which is currently incurable. Asbestosis is a serious, chronic, non-cancerous respiratory disease. Asbestosis is a chronic disease of the lungs which makes breathing progressively more difficult and can lead to death. There is no effective treatment for asbestosis and the disease can be disabling or fatal. Our office has handled claims against manufacturers of asbestos products in 17 states, including Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Texas, Minnesota, California, Ohio and West Virginia.