Asbestos Related Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both lungs. Healthy lung tissue cells reproduce and develop into healthy lung tissue. By contrast, abnormal lung cancer cells reproduce more rapidly than normal cells and never grow into healthy lung tissue. Lumps of cancer cells, also known as tumors, form and disrupt the normal operation of the lung, making it difficult for the lung to function properly.
Many people think of lung cancer as a disease that is caused by cigarette smoking, but it can also be caused by asbestos. Workers who have been heavily exposed to asbestos are several times more likely to develop lung cancer than people who have not been exposed to asbestos. People at the most risk for developing lung cancer are those people who smoke cigarettes and also have a history of asbestos exposure. Such people have as much as a ninety times greater chance of developing lung cancer than those who neither smoked nor were exposed to asbestos. Lung cancer can also be linked to exposure to other carcinogens, as well.
