Mesothelioma Causes:
Just Asbestos or
Asbestos Plus Lifestyle?

In a few rare cases, mesothelioma has been associated with irradiation or inhalation of other fibrous silicate materials such as erionite. Mesothelioma has been reported in some individuals without any known exposure to asbestos.

With asbestos, there is a linear relationship between exposure and incidence of the disease. At low doses and brief exposures there is less risk but it is still present - there is considered to be no known safe level of exposure to asbestos.

The duration of exposure to asbestos causing mesothelioma can be short. Cases of mesothelioma have been shown to occur with only 1-3 months of work-related exposure. however, the time from first exposure to manifestation of disease symptoms (latency), is long, ranging from rarely less than fifteen years to a maximum of from 30 to 40 years.

Mesotheliomia causes can include environmental exposure. Incidence has been found to be higher in people living in areas with high levels of naturally-occurring asbestos. The presence of asbestos fibers in water supplies and some food products has raised the concern, because of the long latency period, of increased levels of mesothelioma in the general population in future decades.

Asbestos has been widely used in many industrial products, including cement, brake linings, gaskets, roof shingles, flooring products, textiles, and insulation.

Among mesothelioma causes should be included the lack of sufficient use of those life-style factors that can help the immune system to deal with such challenges. Many lifestyle factors are mentioned in various pages on this site. If I had a history of asbestos exposure, I would, even more so, use multiple methods to build up the immune system and improve general health. There are lifestyle changes described in various pages of this site that you can incorporate into your lifestyle to help your body deal with serious health challenges. There are indications with some of our common western diseases that, while there may be an identifiable causative agent, it often works more like this:

"The agent (or it might be genetics) loads the gun but lifestyle pulls the trigger."