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ASBESTOS EXPOSURE

If you suspect you have been exposed to asbestos, GET TESTED!

This Foundation highly recommends that you consult with your primary care physician for an x-ray or CT scan referral. It has been estimated that over 30 million people have had asbestos exposure in the past 42 years. There are very small amounts of asbestos in the air we breath every day and most of us have asbestos fibers in our lungs. Construction workers, plumbers, pipe fitters, boilermakers, insulators, refractory workers, shipyard workers and others whose work brings them in contact with asbestos or asbestos containing material, risk occupational exposure by inhaling airborne asbestos fibers. There is also a risk to family members who breath asbestos fibers from the clothes of those workers.

Common symptoms of asbestos exposure are shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, a dry crackling sound in the lungs while inhaling and weight loss. The detectable symptoms of asbestos exposure can appear as early as 15 years after exposure, and they can reappear at any time during one's life. This makes it very difficult to associate a symptom with the disease and a good reason why annual asbestos detection tests are recommended.

Asbestos still poses a threat to global health: now is the time for action

The adverse health effects of asbestos are well known in medical circles and some developed nations. Although use, import and export of asbestos and asbestos containing materials is banned in 52 countries, an estimated 125 million people around the world are still exposed to asbestos in their home and work environment. Chrysotile (white asbestos) accounts for 95% of the asbestos produced and used globally since 1990. There is no safe level of exposure to asbestos and not discernible threshold below which there is no risk of mesothelioma.

Globally, the major problem is with continued mining and use of asbestos, with over 2 million tons produced in 2008. In many developing countries, exposure is uncontrolled, and education of workers is, at best, minimal, and often non-existent.

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Ask Dr. Gill - Oncologist

Bring your concerns and questions related to malignant mesothelioma to the doctor

Dr. Parkash Gill is our Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board to the Foundation, and he welcomes you to freely ask him about asbestos, mesothelioma, incurring the disease, clinical trials related to cure research, or any other related concern you have.

Dr. Gill and questions about mesothelioma treatment trials.
Dr. Parkash S. Gill is a professor of Medicine and Pathology and leads our trials team.

To answer these questions please use this form to send a request. Dr. Gill will make a reply by return e-mail.

Please allow some time for him to respond, depending on his schedule and the volume of questions this can take a few hours or days.

Compose your question for Dr. Gill here:

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