Lung cancer and asbestos

It’s very important to remember that while smoking causes lung cancer, exposure to asbestos multiplies a smoker’s risk of getting cancer. When someone who has been a smoker is diagnosed with lung cancer the Dr. will almost always tell the person that smoking caused the cancer. This occurs even though the Dr. never asked the patient whether he or she was exposed to asbestos. Since the doctor has no other information to go on, he or she automatically says that smoking was the cause.
The facts however are that although smokers have a 10 fold risk of getting cancer compared to non smokers, smokers who were exposed to asbestos have a 50-90 fold risk of getting cancer. As a result, it’s simply not accurate to say that only smoking caused the disease.
If you smoked and have been diagnosed with lung cancer and worked with or around asbestos at a steel mill, powerhouse, chemical plant or in some other type of industrial environment please call us to investigate whether asbestos was a cause of your cancer.