At a Perrin asbestos litigation conference a couple of years back, Joe Rice commented on the continuing increases in the filing of lung cancer cases said to be related to asbestos intake. The continuing focus on lung cancer (not mesothelioma) is illustrated by a September 17, 2015 post by Anne McGinness Kearse at the Motley Rice blog. Among other things, the post points out the following:
“Asbestos’ Role in Lung Cancer is Often Overlooked
There are three main diseases caused by exposure to asbestos: mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer. While mesothelioma and asbestosis are almost always linked with exposure to asbestos, lung cancer victims often don’t realize the impact asbestos may have had on their disease. Smoking has rightly been attributed as the leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, but the combination of smoking with exposure to asbestos leads to an even greater danger. A 2012 study by McCormack, published in the British Journal of Cancer, claims that there are “3.2 to 4 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. for every mesothelioma death among individuals exposed to asbestos.” These statistics show that lung cancer is an even greater threat than mesothelioma or asbestosis to people who have been exposed to asbestos. This is despite the fact that lung cancer related to asbestos exposure often goes unreported.”
Comments