Is Surgery An Option For Mesothelioma Treatment In Louisiana? Doctors describe how advanced cancers like mesothelioma are given a four-stage grading system, where Stage I is the least advanced and most treatable, and Stage IV is the most advanced and most dangerous. For mesothelioma in particular, catching the disease early can extend life considerably, and even give cutting edge treatments a slight chance to the beat the disease. In Stage I mesothelioma, the cancer cells are localized on one side of the chest wall, and may include cancer cells in the chest cavity between the lungs. In advanced Stage I, cancer may have infiltrated to the lining of the lungs and diaphragm. In Stage II, cancer will have spread further in the chest wall, the lining of the lungs and diaphragm, the cavity between the lungs, and will have infiltrated the diaphragm itself, the lung tissue, or both. Stage II is considered…Read More
SV40, or Simian Virus 40, is a virus that is thought to have contaminated millions of doses of polio vaccine administered to Americans between 1958 and 1963. The virus originates in the kidney cells of rhesus monkeys, which provided tissue that was used in the production of the vaccines. It is known to cause kidney disease and cancer in monkeys, as well as attacking the body’s natural defenses against tumor growth. Sv40 And Asbestos Exposure In Louisiana In the decades since, there has been considerable evidence that SV40 plays a role in the development of mesothelioma in humans, though whether it directly causes mesothelioma or acts as a co-factor in the development of the disease remains an open question. Researchers have found that individuals who have had exposure to both SV40 and asbestos are at higher risk of developing mesothelioma, so individuals who were vaccinated against polio in Louisiana, between…Read More
Are Louisiana Mechanics Exposed To Asbestos? Auto mechanics continue to be at unique risk for asbestos exposure in Louisiana and nationwide. Consequently, mechanics and their family members may be at higher risk for developing mesothelioma later in life. Because many automotive engine parts produce heat through constant friction, asbestos has long been the preferred insulator in components like brake pads and linings, transmission parts, and clutch facings. While asbestos has become much more highly regulated in the United States since the 1970s, the automotive industry continues to rely on it. Mechanics are exposed to asbestos dust when replacing brakes, gaskets, repairing or replacing transmissions, and other work, especially on older cars and trucks. Even modern brake systems use asbestos, and when replacement is performed in a shop, the asbestos-containing dust produced by the action of the worn brakes is released into the air where it can be breathed in by employees…Read More
Am I At Risk For Mesothelioma If I Was Only Exposed To Asbestos For A Short Time? Short-term asbestos exposure may be hazardous for people in New Orleans, especially if the level of exposure is high. People who worked in a high-exposure field for a part of their career may be at risk for asbestos-related cancers like mesothelioma, especially if they have lifestyle risks like smoking in addition to asbestos exposure. Experts have concerns about asbestos exposure for those who worked to rebuild the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. People who took jobs in demolition and cleanup, even if the work only lasted a short time, may have come into contact with airborne asbestos fibers regularly for the duration of the work. Unfortunately, we are unlikely to know the full scope of this exposure for many years, but it’s important that people who pitched in to help in…Read More
Because asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that is present in the environment, everyone experiences some amount of asbestos exposure in their lifetimes. This type of low level exposure isn’t generally considered to be dangerous, but there’s no threshold exposure level where doctors can expect a negative health outcome once you’ve exceeded that degree of exposure. Most people who develop mesothelioma in Louisiana were exposed to asbestos through jobs in industries where it was heavily used, like construction, shipbuilding, automotive, milling, military service, and similar trades. Spouses and children of those workers also have a higher-than-normal risk for asbestos related diseases because asbestos fibers would become lodged in the worker’s clothes on the job, and then come into the home environment when they came home after a shift. Again, assessing the potential hazard to the family members of workers in asbestos-rich trades is difficult. Most will never develop mesothelioma, and the reasons…Read More
How Louisiana Women Have Been Exposed To Asbestos Over The Years When women are diagnosed with mesothelioma in New Orleans or elsewhere in Louisiana, the most common route of asbestos exposure so far is through a loved one who worked in an industry or on a site where asbestos was used. And while that’s been true for a long time, there are reasons to think that in the future, more females will be diagnosed through exposure from their own workplace experience. Asbestos continues to be legal to use in a number of applications, and while health and safety rules are in place to protect employees, women in construction and other asbestos-intensive trades are likely to have higher exposure than those in other fields. In addition, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina may have resulted in thousands of people being inadvertently exposed to asbestos. As devastated buildings were torn down, the pace of…Read More
Yes, much like the non-smoking family members of smokers, those who lived in a home with someone who experienced asbestos exposure were themselves often exposed to a dangerous carcinogen. Typically, these cases include the wives and children of industrial workers in Louisiana, such as shipbuilders, construction personnel, and other jobs and work sites that had a high exposure risk. When the family member came home from work and sat down on the couch, asbestos fibers could embed into the furniture. When they sat down to the table for dinner without changing clothes, passing dishes around the table could shake asbestos free of sleeves, making it airborne and breathable by everyone in the room. On laundry day, a spouse or child would likely handle a number of contaminated items, shaking asbestos fibers loose and breathing them in. Second hand asbestos exposure has been responsible for numerous asbestos-related cancers and diseases. Even…Read More
Are Women And Children At Risk For Developing Mesothelioma In Louisiana? For most mesothelioma sufferers, the cause is exposure to asbestos decades before, usually through professions like construction, plumbing, shipbuilding, electrical work, or various military specialties. Because women were less likely to work in earlier decades, and much less likely to work in fields like those listed above, their risk of exposure tends to be less than for similarly aged men. However, there are thousands of examples of women whose husbands came home in clothes contaminated by asbestos, who were then exposed and have later developed mesothelioma. It would be nice to think that women have been spared this disease, but the fact is that asbestos, once airborne, poses a risk to men, women, and children alike. New Orleans and Louisiana generally have a number of sites that have been identified as dangerous asbestos environments. People who worked there in earlier…Read More
Helping Mesothelioma Victims And Their Families In Louisiana And Across The Country Depending on the circumstances, Mesothelioma lawsuits can take a long time to be completed. Here’s why. Your attorneys typically have to do a lot of research on your case, such as: Your attorneys need to know every place that you have ever lived; Your attorneys will have to put together a detailed list of every job you and your family members have ever had; How long was it between your last exposure to asbestos and your diagnosis of mesothelioma; Determining how long you were exposed to asbestos; Your attorneys will need to know all possible sources of exposure to asbestos. For instance, we actually went to one of the job sites a client had listed, removed a piece of asbestos and had it tested. This proved that the job site we visited was the source of the asbestos that caused…Read More
Diagnosing Mesothelioma Symptoms In New Orleans Mesothelioma diagnoses tend to be among older residents in the 50-70 year old range. In New Orleans and across Louisiana, our firm has represented victims much younger. In rare cases across the country, children have been diagnosed with the disease. However, childhood cases are usually considered to be unrelated to asbestos exposure. The reason that so many Louisiana senior citizens end-up battling mesothelioma is that the effects of asbestos exposure can take decades to appear. People who worked in construction, ship building, the military, plumbing, and other high risk fields may experience no warning of trouble for as long as fifty years. Recognizing The Symptoms Of Secondhand Asbestos Exposure In Louisiana Oftentimes spouses and children are at risk of secondhand asbestos exposure. Kids rushing up to hug dad when he came home from work would have unleashed a cloud of miniscule asbestos fibers. They unknowingly…Read More
