USA Mesothelioma statistics

The deadly disease of mesothelioma is diagnosed in close to 3,000 Americans each year. The only established cause of this cancer is exposure to asbestos. The real tragedy is that this fatal disease could have been avoided. Most victims were unknowingly exposed to asbestos at work or while serving in the military. Other victims developed mesothelioma due to environmental exposure from loved ones coming home from work with their clothes covered in asbestos fibers.

Mesothelioma Statistics Summary

·         Research shows more than 20 million people in the United States are at risk of developing malignant mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure.

·         18,068 Americans died from malignant mesothelioma between 1999 and 2005. 14,591 of the deaths occurred in men.

·         Today, malignant mesothelioma is responsible for approximately 3,000 deaths per year in the United States.

·         An estimated 1.3 million construction and general industry workers potentially are being exposed to asbestos.

·         The World Health Organization estimates that asbestos causes approximately half of all deaths from occupational cancer, and 125 million people worldwide are exposed to asbestos in the workplace.

Mesothelioma and Asbestos

While a rare disorder in the general population, mesothelioma is not rare among individuals exposed to asbestos. There are two to three thousand new diagnoses of the cancer every year.
Exposure to asbestos is the only confirmed cause of mesothelioma, and most people diagnosed with the disease were exposed to asbestos in the workplace and were never told of its dangers or given proper protective gear.Unlike many other predominantly pulmonary-related cancers, cigarette smoking has no known causative effect on its incidence, although asbestos workers who smoke do have a much greater likelihood to develop lung cancer, even more so than regular smokers who don’t work with asbestos.