Mesothelioma and Women

While most victims of mesothelioma are men, women are not immune from
contracting this deadly cancer. There is
no demonstrated biologic reason why
women who inhale asbestos would
have different biological responses to
harmful asbestos fibers than men. There is no data to show that female
physiological mechanisms are any
more protective against asbestos disease than those of their male counterparts.

Studies report that a little more than
20% of cases of mesothelioma occur
in women. There is also some
indication that there is a rising
incidence of mesothelioma in women
in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom in recent years.

Mesothelioma is a disease that is
strongly associated with asbestos
exposure. The latency between
exposure to asbestos and the
diagnosis of mesothelioma can be
many decades –twenty, thirty–even fifty years. It is not uncommon for
women who contract mesothelioma to
report to their physicians that they are
unaware of how they were exposed
to asbestos.

Many women did not work in
occupations where they directly
handled or were around asbestos.
Studies show that only about one-fifth
of women with mesothelioma had a
history of occupational exposure to asbestos. For the majority of women
with mesothelioma, their non-
occupational exposure experience
becomes much more significant.
Studies show that for the majority of
asbestos exposed woman with mesothelioma, most women were
exposed to asbestos when living in a
household where someone else
worked with asbestos or by
laundering asbestos-soiled clothing.
These are called domestic or household exposures .

Recognizing the strong association of
prior asbestos exposure to
mesothelioma in women is something
that is still lagging in some parts of the
medical and scientific community. One
reason is that the data that has been collected pertaining to the incidence of
mesothelioma has been narrowly
focused on looking at a person ’s occupation. The statistical reporting
often neglects to ascertain information
about domestic or household
exposures.

Since more women’s exposure to asbestos consists of domestic or
household exposures, as opposed to
occupational exposures, the female
exposure experience is often under-
reported. This “gender bias” in the medical and scientific literature makes
it easier for asbestos companies to try
to deny responsibility for causing
mesothelioma in many women.

If you are a woman diagnosed with
mesothelioma, the importance of
finding a mesothelioma law firm that specializes in asbestos lawsuits will be even more important in order to
achieve a successful and timely
settlement or verdict.

The attorneys at Clapper Patti Schweizer & Mason are experts in this field, having practiced on
mesothelioma law for close to thirty
years, and have won millions of
dollars for their clients. Because of
specializing in handling only asbestos
cases, the attorneys are experts at determining where, when and how
the exposure occurred and who was
responsible. For a free consultation,
visit www.mesothelioma- attorney.com