Baron & Budd, P.C. Warns About Lung Cancer Caused by Asbestos Exposure

How Do You Know If Your Lung Cancer Was Caused By Asbestos?

DALLAS (November 15, 2011) – As part of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Baron and Budd is raising awareness about the many misconceptions of lung cancer. Though smoking is a known cause of lung cancer, studies have found that a growing number of lung cancer cases are occurring in nonsmokers and are linked to environmental toxins, such as asbestos. Despite this, lung cancer continues to have a stigma of the “smoking cancer,” and, in many cases, people are unaware of these other causes and of how to tell if their lung cancer was caused by something other than smoking.

Having worked closely with asbestos cancer patients for more than 30 years, the mesothelioma attorneys at Baron and Budd know that it can be difficult for someone to figure out if their lung cancer was caused by asbestos. While significant asbestos exposure can often be linked to lung cancer, there are also a few distinct markers that indicate prior asbestos exposure:

• Pleural Plaque –deposits of fibrous tissue that develop in the chest cavity from asbestos exposure that are usually found on the membrane that lines the chest wall. These growths are the most common symptoms of asbestos exposure and are benign with little impact on a person’s health.

• Pleural Thickening –thickening of the pleural wall that is the result of scarring or inflammation in the pleura, usually making breathing more difficult.

• Interstitial Fibrosis –lung disease that occurs when scar tissue forms in the space between the lungs’ air sacs. Symptoms usually include difficulty breathing and dry cough.

If you were exposed to asbestos and also smoked, that does not mean that smoking was completely responsible for your lung cancer. In fact, smoking combined with asbestos exposure only increases your risk for lung cancer, and it does not prevent you from seeking legal compensation for asbestos-related lung cancer.

To learn more about how asbestos and lung cancer are connected, or to see if you may have an asbestos lung cancer case, call Baron and Budd at 1.866.855.1229.

Join our Facebook group Fight Mesothelioma | Mesothelioma News, sponsored by Baron and Budd, to learn more about Lung Cancer Awareness Month and asbestos.