What Resources Are Available To People With Asbestos-Related Illness?

If you've been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, there is hope. As with most conditions, your diagnosis—whether it be mesothelioma, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, or laryngeal cancer—determines your next course of action.

"For diagnosed cancers, one should seek advice from an oncologist or perhaps a surgeon, depending on the type of cancer," says Dr. Arthur Frank, who specializes in occupational lung diseases including those related to asbestos exposure. "For asbestosis, one might see a pulmonary specialist, or an occupational physician with experience in dealing with asbestos diseases. For some diseases, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) might have an appropriate clinical trial at their cancer center. Some hospitals around the U.S. have special expertise dealing with asbestos-related cancers, especially mesothelioma."

From medical treatments to legal options, here are resources available to people with asbestos-related illness.

Medical treatments

Depending on diagnosis and prognosis, a number of treatment options are available if you have an asbestos-related illness.

• Surgery—Surgeons will work to remove the tumor before it grows and spreads. Lung tissue or an entire lung may also be removed during this procedure as well.
• Radiation—This process utilizes high-energy beams to kill off remaining cancer cells following surgery while preventing them from growing and spreading.
• Chemotherapy—This is the use of drugs and chemicals to try and combat the tumor. The chemicals target the cancer in the hopes of shrinking and/or slowing its growth.

Legal options