Reply #22: "respiratory illness"

[CatFelyne]

This really gets me upset. Hello news media - its CANCER. This woman died of a very aggressive CANCER. WTF is up with sugar coating this.

My fiance's father helped with the original building of the Towers. Approximately 2 1/2 years ago, he came down with mesothelioma in his lungs. With him too, started with a cough. They told him he had 2 years, he died in less than 5 months. Husband, father, grandfather - gone that fast.

Too early to link cancer to exposure my ass. There's numerous large lawsuits and this issue has even been brought to the Senate. That's no comfort to my family, or anyone else who has faced this and will be facing this in the many years to come.

Please please don't let them minimize the seriousness of this - What we're seeing is just the tip of the iceberg. There are also many, many other people at risk from this cancer; those who have had regular contact with a person who has worked with asbestos. Because these workers and rescuers carried dust and fibers on their clothes, skin, and hair, the fibers and dust could be ingested by family members, who then become at risk

Here's a quote from one article out of numerous

Mesothelioma: risk apportionment among asbestos exposure sources.

Risk Anal. 2005; 25(4):937-43 (ISSN: 0272-4332)

The mesothelioma epidemic in the United States, which peaked during the 2000-2004 period, can be traced to high-level asbestos exposures experienced by males in occupational settings prior to the full recognition of the disease-causing potential of asbestos and the establishment of enforceable asbestos exposure limits by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1971. Many individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma where asbestos has been identified as a contributing cause of the disease have filed claims seeking compensation from asbestos settlement trusts or through the court system. An individual with mesothelioma typically has been exposed to asbestos in more than one setting and from more than one asbestos product. Apportioning risk for mesothelioma among contributing factors is an ongoing problem faced by occupational disease compensation boards, juries, parties responsible for paying damages, and currently by the U.S. Senate in its efforts to formulate a bill establishing an asbestos settlement trust.