Alaska is the one which has the lowest death rate resulting from Mesothelioma. However, this does not hide the fact that there have been several Mesothelioma cases diagnosed in this state. While the death rate is low, there may be large number of people who are either unaware of the possibility that they suffer from Mesothelioma or their symptoms have not yet appeared. The worst aspect of this disease being that symptoms take almost 20-30 years to appear thus, giving a false notion of health to people.
A very deadly cancer, Mesothelioma is known to affect peritoneum or the stomach lining. This is caused by extensive exposure to asbestos particles. No longer a rare disease, Mesothelioma is now spreading wherever asbestos has been used. Also, the diagnosis and the treatment for this disease are not easy and it does not respond effectively to therapies. Thus, most of the people diagnosed with Mesothelioma eventually die due to lack of proper treatment.
During the construction boom in the US, the period from the 1960 to 1980, many construction workers were exposed to asbestos as it was found in many construction materials. It was in 1989 that its real dangers were realized and the Environmental Protection Agency was prompted to ban asbestos usage. Workplace standards were controlled along with the retention of asbestos products from the market.
Mesothelioma in Alaska
Even though death rate from Mesothelioma is low in Alaska, yet it does not in any way mean that Alaskans should be carefree. Although the death rate is low, the number of people suffering from Mesothelioma has not been accurately determined. It was only after multimillion dollar lawsuits were won by Mesothelioma patients that people began to pay attention to this disease and came forward with their claims. Currently, there is no cure for this disease as only limited treatment options are available.
One of the important facts of this disease is that only people working with asbestos related industry are not susceptible to Mesothelioma. Their family members and loved ones are also vulnerable to Mesothelioma as asbestos particles can be transferred through clothing, shoes and hair of the workers. If these particles are inhaled by others, they can get affected too.
However, we should be thankful to the government which took timely measures and banned asbastos to protect people from this deadly cancer. Still, this came quite late as since the relationship of asbestos and Mesothelioma was discovered in 1930’s and since then thousands of people have lost their lives to this deadly disease.
Below are the figures for the number of deaths, mortality rate (per million population), and years of potential life lost (YPLL) in Alaska State in the year 1999, among residents aged 15 years and older.
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Alaska | 8 | 45 | 17.53 | 5 | 32.81 | 1 | 132 | 44 | 16.5 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
One good that came out of this mess is that victims of Mesothelioma and their families are entitled to compensations from the companies which are responsible for asbestos handling. They can be sued for the very reason that they did not provide safe workplace environment and deliberately endangered innocent lives due to which thousands of people fell victim to Mesothelioma and lost their lives.
Contact a Mesothelioma Attorney if you are suffering from this deadly disease and you contracted it because of unsafe working environment. We have listed Mesothelioma attorneys in each state on this site to help you find suitable legal help.
