Can You Get Mesothelioma Without Asbestos Exposure?

Can You Get Mesothelioma Without Asbestos Exposure- In this post, we would like to share various risk factors and causes of mesothelioma. Well, as you see, the ailment is quite tough to handle, it is better to prevent it from happening.

One thing you would require in order to prevent the dreaded disorder is by knowing its causes and risk factors. Doing this would help you move way ahead than others in knowing how to keep a tab on it.

As you are aware, asbestos exposure happens to be the prime factor responsible for spreading mesothelioma, there is a need to know more about the effects of asbestos in causing plural mesothelioma.

In order to ascertain if mesothelioma can spread even without asbestos exposure, you need to understand different types of asbestos exposures that actively take part in spreading the dreaded disorder.

Researchers are done in this regard to ascertain the effects of asbestos on different patients. It was only in 1892 when doctors were first able to ascertain the exact cause of plural mesothelioma.

They were able to do so after finding the tumor in the linings of lungs. This caused a lot of theories to generate explaining the real cause of spreading the ailment. Later, it was clearly established that mesothelioma is caused mainly due to the asbestos exposure.

Initially, a team of doctors studied the effects of asbestos in causing mesothelioma in as many as 33 patients. Later, it was established beyond doubt that this type of cancer is caused mainly after the exposure of asbestos.

On the other hand, asbestos industry continued to maintain that only certain types of asbestos cause mesothelioma. However, all researches maintained that all types of asbestos (including Chrysotile and Amphibole) are dangerous and can become the cause of cancer.

Different Types of Asbestos Exposure That Cause Pleural Mesothelioma

Hundreds of patients with plural mesothelioma (in the past) have reported a number of sources of asbestos exposure. Please take a look at some of the sources of asbestos that fall into these categories:

• ·      Non Asbestos Industry- Construction Sites (Gypsum drywall factory)
• ·      Military facilities- Fort Bragg, USS Alabama
• ·      Asbestos Processing Plans-  WR Grace Vermiculite Plant, Jeffrey Asbestos Mine
• ·      Shipyards- Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Todd Shipyards
• ·      Naturally Occurring Asbestos / Mines- California, Montana, Libby

If we try to analyse all the cases of asbestos exposure, then we come to the conclusion that almost all the exposures have occurred at industrial sites.

Until 1980's (when no major steps were taken to combat the asbestos exposure), asbestos continued to contaminate the official like power plants and refineries. And this caused a plethora of workers to cause long term exposure till the time they continued to work. This kind of slow and steady asbestos exposure becomes the most common reason to lead the disease.

As you see, the long term asbestos exposure has many ill-effects. Sometimes it may lead to more dreaded forms of the ailment like sarcomatoid mesothelioma. It's a rare form of mesothelioma and happens to be more aggressive to handle.

How Patients Get the Disorder Outside of Their Workplace

Well, it has been reported that patients have also been exposed to asbestos outside of their workplace. But this kind of exposure is far less frequent than the regular exposure levels.

You might be thinking where such kind of exposures are coming from? Well, we would like to tell you that these low range exposures generally arise from asbestos contaminated products that include loose-fill insulation, or the exposure coming from home on the skin or clothing, etc. All such asbestos exposure are categorized as secondary exposure or second-hand exposure.

Now, this is quite evident beyond doubt that low level asbestos exposure over a long period of time is sufficient to cause plural mesothelioma. In some of the cases, it has been noted that patients encounter the fibers in the natural environment.

Is There Any Minimal Levels of Asbestos Exposure that Gets Transformed Into Tumor?

Well, the duration and the level of asbestos exposure can very well affect the risk of developing the dreaded disorder. Even lower level of asbestos exposure can be harmful and may take the shape of plural mesothelioma.

As per the latest research done in this regard, there is no threshold value of the level of exposure ever recorded. So, nothing can be said on the minimal levels of asbestos exposure to get transformed into a tumor.

Can You Get Mesothelioma Without Asbestos Exposure

It's highly unlikely in most of the circumstances that you have the chance to get mesothelioma without coming in contact with asbestos.

In order to understand it properly, you need to know how it causes mesothelioma in the normal exposure of asbestos levels.  

It's only a rare occasion when patients without having a detailed history of asbestos exposure have transformed into plural mesothelioma. Please note that there are a few minerals that almost behave like asbestos, particularly in their structure.

They are often known by the term asbestiform minerals. These minerals behave in the same manner as asbestos and are known by the names Richterite and Winchite. Both these asbestos minerals are known to cause the lung tumor.

Other than the above, there are some other minerals that behave more or less in the same manner as asbestos and exist in the form of minerals like Zeolite or Taconite.

As per the latest research done in this regard, close to 80% of all plural mesothelioma cases are caused by the exposure of asbestos. There are some other ways responsible to cause the dreaded disorder like chemicals, radiation, some kind of inflammation and metals.

Among other reasons, radiation happens to be one of the ways that become the cause of a handful of mesothelioma cases.